The Eager Beaver

                              I Have Seen the Future...
                         Copyright 1995 by Frank McGowan

 Call me what you like: backslider, recidivist, hopeless Luddite... I
 plead guilty to all of the above. I have seen the future and opted for
 the past, at least for the present - and at least for now.

 A few weeks ago, I went out and purchased my very own copy of Windows
 95. Overcome by enthusiasm, I rushed home and hastily installed it -
 with emphasis on hastily. I couldn't wait to get started; so I didn't
 and that was a big mistake. Almost at once I began feeling buyer's
 remorse or more accurately, installer's remorse.  I knew things would
 be different, but I wasn't ready for how different. Not only did my
 screen change radically, I suddenly found that programs I wanted to use
 seemed to have gone AWOL.

 Yes, yes, I know: I didn't heed Microsoft's warning to make backups of
 all my INI files, and take all the other precautions I should have. No
 question, it's my own fault that things went to hell in a hand-basket.
 My punishment was to spend most of two days trying to put things back
 the way they were. The good news is that I'm now using Windows 3.1, and
 my applications are back to about 95% of where they were. A few
 reminders of my 32-bit operating system adventuring remains like why I
 can't fax from Word as I used to. Perhaps  a bit more tinkering will
 solve that one... I hope!. The bad news is that I may have soured
 myself on Windows 95 to the point where I don't want to put it back
 onto my computer. I did talk  Sue, my wife, into installing it on hers,
 though...(What kind of a guy am I anyway?) We were a lot more cautious
 in doing so, and everything appears to be going okay on her box. Still,
 I have some questions for the wunderkind at Microsoft.

 First off, what was the point of changing the interface so drastically?
 I know it's sometimes necessary to put a new product in a new package,
 but in this case the package is the product. What you see is indeed
 what you get when it comes to interfaces. Thousands of seasoned Win
 3.1/3.11 users were made obsolete in a trice. Millions of hours of
 learning became outdated in a New York millisecond. I think I speak for
 the majority of Win3.1-ers when I say that I felt a profound sense of
 abandonment when I first laid eyes on that Win 95 screen.  What
 happened to Program Manager?  And where were my warm and fuzzy program
 group icons?

 And what is what I already know how to use? By that standard, Win95
 misses by the proverbial mile. The new-improved interface only opens
 Microsoft up to a lot of snide sniping from the Mac crowd, etal while
 doing nothing for those who've been in the Windows camp all along.

 On the other hand. Being in the business of training people to use
 computers, I have to see Win95 as a golden opportunity. Companies just
 starting down the road of computerizing their offices will surely need
 to learn to use it; and those wanting to stay current will convert.
 Those, who are computer-hip will probably wait for the next release.
 Rather than ranting on about Microsoft, I guess I should thank them.
 Just maybe !

 Frank McGowan is a teacher and a free lance consultant. He is a
 regular WindoWatch contributor.

                                    ww