brecher@well.UUCP (Steve Brecher) (08/15/89)
Here is a review of a new software product. The product is "The Macintosh Way" published by Scott, Foresman and Co. The author is Guy Kawasaki, who has been heretofore primarily known for his work in the sociology of automobile selection. This product is unusual in that it comes with only a 200-page manual and no diskette. Its suggested retail price is $19.95. (The publisher probably justifies the omission of a diskette by the relatively low product price.) It is not copy protected. The product is targeted at a very narrow vertical market segment, i.e., the management of guerillas. According to the manual, "It is aimed at the inner circle, and it is not meant to appeal to the largest possible audience or the lowest common denominator." The product is implicitly positioned as a tool, not a solution. As a programmer, the first thing I look for in a software product is technical quality. In using this product, I quickly concluded that the author's technical expertise is laughable. For example, the author states that "a crash is when your competitor's program dies. When your program dies, it is an 'ideosyncrasy.' Frequently, crashes are followed with a message like, 'ID 02.' 'ID' is an abbreviation for 'ideosyncrasy' and the number that follows indicates how many more months of testing the product should have had." Some of the manual's claims are more accurate, but incomplete. E.g., "The term 'beta' is an abbreviation for the phrase 'beta than nothing,' which is exactly what beta software is. Software companies like to give beta sites beta software because they think it prevents them from buying the shipping versions of their competitor's products." This omits the primary motivation for providing beta software, i.e., to provide competitors with advance notice of one's own new features so they will have an opportunity to implement them earlier and thus provide better product balance in the marketplace. The product includes on-page help with many tutorial exercises. For example, the Support section includes the following user exercise: "Call Apple (408-996-1010) and ask for technical support." The book unaccountably includes a chapter on "The Macintosh Guide to Dating and Marriage." (The author excuses its inclusion by saying, "After all, this is my book.") The author's sexism is revealed by such statements as "High-tech men are body by Volkswagen, brains by Cray, heart by Frigidaire, personality by Metamucil. And all men are SCSIs. SCSI is the name of the type of port or orifice on Macintoshes. Thus, 'all men are SCSIs' is an adaptation of a frequently heard phrase when single women get together." In sum, this is a dangerous product. It will cause loss of productivity, sleep, and composure. -- brecher@well.UUCP (Steve Brecher)
David.Bolduc@f54.n382.z1.FIDONET.ORG (David Bolduc) (08/17/89)
Enjoyed your review - I'll look for a copy of the book. Also - THANKS for Suitcase. Keep up the good work. -- David Bolduc via cmhGate - Net 226 fido<=>uucp gateway Col, OH UUCP: ...!osu-cis!n8emr!cmhgate!382!54!David.Bolduc INET: David.Bolduc@f54.n382.z1.FIDONET.ORG