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>MS Word, and many other products, are tremendous successes and will continue to
>dominate BECAUSE they are the standard. Clearly the market has rendered a
>decision about these product: they are quality enough for everybody to use.
>That's democracy in action.
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BS. There's no democracy in action here. If the knowledge workers had their
choice, they would vote against MS-Weird, and that vote would be decisive.
MS-Weird is the de facto standard in spite of, not because of, the people
who have to use it. Corporate management thinks the product used by
secretaries and other non-professional creators of documents is also
sufficient for professional writers who create long, complex documents.
Microsoft relies upon the ignorance of its corporate management customers to
maintain its MS-Weird's position as the de fecto standard.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>Again, this is a powerful lesson for tech writers. Just because you have an
>exquisite internationally recognized development methodology, an extensive
>style guide, and a well-ordered tech pubs team does not mean you will write
>good documents.
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How in god's name does this "lesson" relate to the issue at hand--namely
that MS-Weird has become the de facto standard despite the fact that it's a
piece of crap?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>The equation for success in today's markets is much more complex that just
>"doing the right thing." You must possess a certain market finesse and be able
>to quickly produce and distribute products (documents). Many corporations fail
>because they are too damn slow at responding to market forces.
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And one of the reasons they're slow to respond is the crappiness of
MS-Weird. There is solid evicence that products like FrameMaker and
FrameMaker+SGML can yield substantial productivity gains compared to MS-Weird.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>Many writers fail because they are too damn slow at responding to the volatile
>environment of today's business. Obsessing over every tiny detail in a document
>may FEEL like the responsible thing to do, but it is not necessarily the RIGHT
>thing to do. Whining about how FrameMaker is better may feel like the
>"professional, expert's" thing to do, but it does not get the job done. And
>nobody cares about your ideas if you cannot get the job done.
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Why is it that almost any other profession (certainly including the
egineering profession) can demand the right tools if they're expected to do
things right and on-time, but professional writers are not? I think you have
your h___ up your a__.
====================
| Nullius in Verba |
====================
Dan Emory, Dan Emory & Associates
FrameMaker/FrameMaker+SGML Document Design & Database Publishing
Voice/Fax: 949-722-8971 E-Mail: danemory -at- primenet -dot- com
10044 Adams Ave. #208, Huntington Beach, CA 92646
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