Out with the Old

["N. Sivin" nsivin@xxxxxxxx]

Leslie is taking all this bitching too seriously. I have
subscribed to lists for several of the 7 word processors
that I use intermittently (incl. XyDos and XyWin, which I
use by preference, simply because they work better). *Every*
list is full of complaints, just because it is boring to say
"this is great" all the time. A few weeks ago I came across
(and read) a full-size, very intelligent computer book named
_Word 97 Annoyances._ It is entirely devoted to workarounds
for Word's bugs (some of them documented in version after
version but never fixed) and dumb features.

But it is true that on this list the complaints keep
repeating themselves, esp. because there are so few problems
in XY compared with the big typing-pool programs. It is
definitely more fun to learn something new. Toward this end,
in the message that follows I will propose a more
constructive exercise.

Cheers,
--
Nathan Sivin
History and Sociology of Science
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia PA 19104-6304
(215) 898-7454
nsivin@xxxxxxxx