 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group The Perfectionist Ray Beatty raybea@melbpc.org.au |
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I'm suffering from an advanced case of MAIDS. In fact I suspect it could be terminal. This disease inevitably seems to afflict those who devote too much of their time and energy to the world of computing. And like its fellow acronyms - AIDS, MS, STD, PID and the rest - this is a relentless, debilitating disease.
The letters, of course, stand for Manual Aversion and Instruction Dislike Syndrome, a peculiarly 20th-century disease which is the result of such a long-term exposure to computer manuals, upgrade booklets and READ.ME files (which turn out to be two hundred pages long) that the brain finally screams: "I can't take any more!" and refuses to digest another single page.
At the moment most of the members of our Group community are suffering from a sharp relapse of the disease owing to the recent onslaught in which virtually every known computer package has issued a new upgraded version, Windows remodel or accessory.
Each publisher promises faithfully, in every press release and "unofficial preview", that the programs will be easier to understand, simpler to learn and quicker to grasp. Well, we all know that such promises should be taken with a pinch of silicon.
DOS 6 offers to double your hard disk space, but nothing in the manual tells you how to undo it gain should your computer turn out to be the one which has a major, disastrous flaw.
The latest Lotus Smart Pack has enough programs and manuals crammed into its two foot wide box to keep you studying for the rest of your natural days. And in my own field, WordPerfect, I now find myself wading through the WordPerfect for Windows 5.1 manual, the WPWindows 5.2 supplementary book, and the WP for DOS 6.0 manual, which in itself matches the size of my War and Peace. Shortly I'll be receiving the WPWindows 6 program. Jeepers, I still haven't finished reading the WordPerfect 5.1 manual which I got four years ago!
The major advantage of WordPerfect 6, though, is that for the most part it still responds to the commands you've grown used to in 5.1, even when you're working from the graphical interface. But in the world of computing we've all learnt not to become complacent. Sure enough just when you think that everything is happy and swinging, you will press a key sequence which used to do one thing, and suddenly find yourself somewhere else completely. Then the real skill comes in getting yourself back to your original screen without losing the past two hours' work or scrambling it beyond recognition. Let's face it, WordPerfect 6 boasts in its literature an extra 639 features and functions, all things that various buffs like us have asked for over past years, and computer journalists have castigated WordPerfect for not having them. Well you want all these functions they have to go somewhere, so it's inevitable that the interface will change.
It's also inevitable that you'll decide you cannot really live without these functions, and drag yourself - reluctantly, leadenly - back to the hefty manual to find out how to use them. So gird yourself for a further, more advanced attack of MAIDS.
Bulletin Board Opens
WordPerfect have set up a bulletin board for users with queries, or who want news, or just want to chat. At present it's in Sydney only but they are currently having talks with the WordPerfect Users Group about setting up a Melbourne board. The number is (02)415 5361, setting 8-N-1, speed from 1200 to 14400 on two lines.
Reprinted from the November 1993 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
