Stop Making Us Feel Stupid

Jerry Pournelle, whose column I enjoy, says that he was made to feel stupid by not knowing how to prevent DOS-based games from blowing up in Windows 95 (Chaos Manor, August). This is a very computer-literate person who was made to feel stupid by something that is supposed to provide entertainment. Imagine how John Q. Average-Computer-User feels! I have shared Jerry's frustrations, and I have been involved with computers for 30 years. I finally gave up and threw out my DOS-based games after trying special boot disks and all the other suggested remedies.

The software producers have lost sight of the fact that their ultimate market potential depends not only on super graphics but also on simplicity and reliability. Inadequate manuals (forget on-line help) and nonexistent technical support are driving customers away. Developers are struggling with the interactions of layers of gigabyte software. Try to explain the advantages of s pending megabucks on three-tier intranet data-warehousing systems to a CEO who has misgivings about entrusting his corporate and personal futures to a technology that cannot even run a game.

If the software industry sees its future in ever-larger, more complex, more expensive reissues of current products, it is wrong. The network computer may not be the answer, but Oracle's Larry Ellison is dead on target when he talks about the need for simplicity. Then nobody will feel stupid.

Kim Bassett
KimBassett@compuserve.com