[oclug] (OT) back to DOS II

[Mike Roy]

Hello everyone:
	Thanks for all the good advice. However, I found it very strange that the 
world's biggest software company (I didn't say best, I said biggest) is so 
user unfriendly. 
	I don't need the accents that often, so going the ALT + three-key code isn't 
a big deal. What is annoying is that WordPerfect and Star Office offer 
complete character maps within the program.  The ones I found in Word are 
incomplete.
	These aren't the only hiccups as I'll often open a file and then, when I try 
to save it, I'm told it is 'read only'. The techie advises 'open the file and 
then close it immediately and then open it again to have it save the changes 
properly.
	The techie also said the wheel mouse problem exists because of a 
compatibility problem between Word and a program they use to manage the 
network. So, even if there are 'fixes' out there, I might not be able to use 
them if they interfere with the network program (whatever it is).
	What annoys me about M$ is that their stuff doesn't work. I shouldn't have to 
jump through three hoops to get an accented letter. I shouldn't have to open 
and then close and then re-open a file just so it doesn't give me the 'read 
only' alert. And, in today's world, the wheel mouse should work without any 
extra effort on my part. That the way computers are supposed to work.
	Word 97 under XP should be seamless - not loaded with hiccups. I know there 
are solutions to all these problems. My point is that there shouldn't be any 
problems with a mature program running under a company's flagship product. 
	It is M$ problems like this that speak volumes for the value of Linux.
cheers,
Mike