Dear Mr. Gates:
Please stop changing things! Every time I learn a new program, you re-mystify the thing, pronto. You do realize, don’t you, that we Baby Boomers still represent a sizable portion of your demographic? That we use computers and most of us have some disposable income?
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t continue to innovate–there are a lot of tech-savvy folks out there, I realize that, and you have to hustle to keep up with those wildly creative people over at Apple if you want to stay in the game. I get that. But why don’t you offer OPTIONS when you “upgrade” Word or ‘Excel’ or whatever? Let the hot-shots have their bells and whistles, but let the rest of us keep what we already like. What a concept.
I earn my living on a computer, Mr. Gates. I have been using Windows and Word since you rolled them onto the show-room floor, so it’s not like I’m unfamiliar with your products. What galls me is, after about the third major shift—(that Vista thing was a great idea now, wasn’t it? Not.)–is that I’m still trying to figure out how to use simple features in my manuscripts, like headers, and getting the spellchecker to add one of my invented names or words to the dictionary, all things I USED to do with ease.
And, while we’re chatting, what’s with this weird circle on my monitor screen?
Respectfully,
Linda Lael Miller
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.
