Perhaps in no other instance would people refuse to take something, even just to try it out, because they're content to use what they had first acquired. If they make their deadline with a lot of bugs, it's somehow more acceptable. They just get a slap on the wrist. However, some companies do issue products at an advanced beta stage, in order to meet release dates. The second criterion that we put forward to the vendors was that all the features should be present and working as advertised.
Consumer advocates say that 'substantially' is a weasel word if ever there was one.
Moreover, that it's not in the product manual or documentation where overreaching claims are made. Keep that in mind, therefore, when you salivate over the list of features in brochures, position papers, packages and Web sites. The only documentation that counts when it comes to enforcing the warranty is the manual. Navin Raigaga, technical manager at Microsoft, noted that it's these two documents that tend to get ignored when the user rips off the shrink wrap in his hurry to install and try out his recent purchase. This is unfortunate, he said, since a well written manual is a crucial tool for getting full use from your software.