What were they thinking? (MS Office 2007)

[Ronn! Blankenship]

At 10:05 AM Thursday 4/24/2008, Nick Arnett wrote:
>So... I "upgraded" to Microsoft Office 2007 recently.  Can't do half of what
>I used to do because I can't find anything.  They seem to have succeeded in
>making it harder to use.
>The most bizarre thing is that I cannot find the Help menu anywhere.  My
>wife, who was forced into this particular torture a few months ago, has had
>the same problem.
>
>The whole point of using drop-down menus in a GUI is to be table to slide
>the cursor across them and immediately see what's available.  Somebody in
>Redmond apparently thought they were improving on that.
>
>Vi is easier than this.



;)



>Sheesh.
>
>This brings to mind an elderly friend who yesterday was talking about her
>extreme frustration in trying to buy a new head for her electric toothbrush.
>  There are so many models from the same manufacturer that she can't figure
>out which one is for hers... and bought the wrong one.  This is a woman on a
>very low fixed income who isn't very comfortable driving and really doesn't
>want to have to go back to the store repeatedly.  But I'm sure the
>toothbrush company comes up with a new model at least every year in order to
>urge people to upgrade... for no good reason.  The fifth new version is
>really no more effective than the first one.  Sometimes marketing, which I
>sort of work in, drives me nuts.  At least my job is more or less about
>making marketing responsive to people, instead of manipulating people to be
>responsive to marketing.  I think.  I hope.



I fear that particular ship sailed decades ago . . .



>What else is like this... endless "upgrades" to convince people that their
>perfectly good old product is obsolete?  Lots of things, I guess.  There's
>nothing new and improved about "new and improved."  I suppose one of the
>worst offenders is the pharmaceutical industry, where the newer allergy and
>heartburn drugs are no better than the old ones, just tested less... and far
>more expensive.



Not to mention restricting the purchase of the older, more effective 
OTC products to only so much per 30 days (<< a 30-day supply) with ID 
or making them Rx-only in the name of "doing something" wrt "the war on drugs."



>Nick
>
>P.S. Oh, look, a tiny question mark in the upper right corner of the window
>brings up a help page.



?


>   First item: "What's new."  I'll bet that will try to
>rationalize all the changes.  Second item, "Getting help."



Maybe it's a link to a list of anger-management clinics.



>   Too late.



Or a suicide-prevention hotline . . .




. . . ronn!  :)