From: amr@chiton.ucsd.edu (Tony Richardson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.advocacy
Subject: Re: Gosip in 1993(The Public Trial of Appsoft Draw - be on the Jury)
Date: 25 Jan 93 17:45:37 GMT
Organization: MPL of SIO at UCSD

In article <1993Jan22.012356.12057@wam.umd.edu> gaia@wam.umd.edu (L. Anathea Brooks) writes:
>In article <1993Jan21.185151.26004@squid9.cuc.ab.ca> terry@squid9.cuc.ab.ca writes:
>>What happened here?
>>
>>Yesterday it was 'Draw is crap. Appsoft should be nuked for releasing this  
>>product. Draw is unuseable.'
>>
>>Today it's 'Draw has promise. Draw is OK. We use Draw all the time.'
>>
>>Is it always going to take threats like Randy Adams' to get people to switch  
>>from whine-and-bitch mode to constructive-criticism mode?
>>
>>I think Randy's (obvious) anger is justified. This thread has a particularly  
>>suitable name, but it should have been prefaced with 'malicious'.
>>
>Well, not exactly. Draw always had promise, else we would have just 
>chucked it and asked for a refund.
>
>The thing was that tools would NOT stay selected, which alone
>rendered the darn thing an enormous pain to use. It was "unusable"
>according to my definition (if I can't use an app to do what
>the app exists purportedly to do, it's not usable).

I agree completely.  Try drawing an object that consists of a series of
connected line segments and see how much fun it is to go back and select
the line drawing tool after drawing *each* segment.  I usually draw all
of the same type objects at the same time, it's a real pain not to have
a way to override this "feature".  It's a serious enough problem for
me that it is "unusable" for me also and I won't recommend buying it.

>Version 1.03, put out because of this pressure, is a little better. 
>Tools still don't stay chosen, but not as bad as before. 

You were lucky.  They pulled version 1.03 off of the archive before I
could get it.

I don't like airing my negative views in public.  I've tried email to
Appsoft concerning both the object selection problem and also how I can
get 1.03 (if it *still* doesn't have the object selection problem fixed
I'm not sure I want it though).  No response.  (By the way, the manual
recommends contacting them by email and provide an address.) Posting here 
seems to have better dividends.  This implies to me that AppSoft is more 
concerned about their public image than with individual customer service.  
(Hmm. Now that they know I read and use news, maybe I'll get a response?)
The people at TopDraw (before AppSoft took over) at least responded to
my bug reports and sent me pre-releases that fixed the bugs I had
reported.

I don't want to see Draw die.  I spent a lot of money for it and I don't
want that money to be wasted.  I suspect a lot of others feel that way too
and that's why we're seeing positive comments now.  If Draw were fixed it 
would be a good product.  It doesn't look like that is going to happen. 
They don't respond to customer complaints,  they don't tell us that they
are addressing Draw's problems.  Just a few things to consider if you're
considering buying an AppSoft product.

I figure that if AppSoft kills Draw it will be a public relations nightmare
for them.  I certainly don't expect that anyone who bought Draw would
consider buying any other AppSoft products.  Here's my solution, if you
decide to kill Draw instead of fixing it, just return the money everyone
paid for Draw.  (You're right. I live in a dream world.)  You'll come out
looking like saints.

Oh, I've never applied for a job at AppSoft,  I have no connection with
them other than having bought one of their products.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.advocacy