Microsoft has done it again; they’ve “improved” their Word product.
Three features that I’ve grown used to are suddenly no longer functioning correctly after the latest MS “update”. As a writer, I liked the recently used files, pinned files, and the bookmarker that lets me pick up where I left off the last time that I was in a document. Stupidly of me, I like them so much that I trusted Microsoft to leave them as they are.
No.
I’ve been dealing with Microsoft products for over thirty years. Their updates and improvements regularly ripped up what I’m used to using, slowing me down, wasting time, and adding unnecessary aggravation.
My latest used files, according to MS Word, was in September of 2016. This is from a program that I use every day. The pinned files? All unpinned. Thanks, Microsoft. You’re a fucking peach.
After finding the files that I used yesterday, the bookmark for where I left off is absent. I know where I was working, etc., but what the hell?
Of course, I must laugh. I must release long, bitter peals of angry laughter because, while Microsoft taketh away and fouls things up, it urges me, “Look! Look at our bright, shiny, NEW stuff. We’re improved, not like the sucky old product that we used to be.”
- Why should I look at your new and improved shit when you just removed my normally used shit, Microsoft?
- Why can’t I keep using the old, sucky shit.
(And yes, I recognize that the MS Word features that I’d grown accustomed to using were themselves new features, once upon a time. It’s great that they created an provided them. But can’t they see how it builds distrust when they do this sort of crap? It’s like good ol’ Charlie Brown trusting Lucy to hold the bowl. She always pulls it away, and he keeps believing that THIS TIME it’ll be different. Then, Lucy, like Microsoft proves, nope, we fooled you again.)
It’s the world’s way, innit? Don’t know about that, but it sure as hell is the Microsoft way.
GRRR.
I HATE when Microsoft updates things – especially in excel. Just leave it alone. Not all of us like change! I’m all for bring back Clippy!
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OMG, Excel, yes. I used Excel a great deal during my corporate life, and fought updating it. It’s so damn exasperating. I usually only updated if a proven bug fix was in the update, and NEVER during the first week that the update was available.
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My corporate offices are just like “hey! Let’s change this today!”
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Great rant! I feel the same way as I cringe whenever there is any updates made. None of my files, etc. are as I left them but reorganized in a weird way or duplicated and moved somewhere else! Took me a long time to be brave enough to delete all the “extras”! Guess this is one of Life’s “bumps” in the road. . .?
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Great rant, Michael! I feel the same way. I cringe whenever Microsoft does any upgrades as I usually find my files disorganized or rearranged or duplicated and moved elsewhere. It took me a long time–being a non-techie person—to be brave enough to delete all the extras. Guess the computer is the “bump” on Life’s road!
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I know, innit bizarre what happens. I hear what you mean about deleting the extras. I often saved them under a separate file for a few months before deleting them, you know: just in case. Cheers!
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Hey, just saw that I sent 2 replies—blame that on the computer, too! 🙂
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Yeah, I saw that, and thought, what the what?
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I can’t remember the last time an update (website or software) actually improved anything. Beyond frustrating.
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I was thinking the very same this morning. It seems like they’re attempting to add new features to attract new customers, but often screw over existing customers. I know it’s the corporate way — hey, new customers = more revenue — but as a customer who’s been with them a while, I constantly fill trampled underfoot. Microsoft isn’t alone in this, either.
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I have to wonder how many new customers they actually attract with these new features. Thinking about some recent “improvements” online, I can’t imagine anyone was asking for them or would want them.
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I think engineers and product managers become enamored with a change and push it to make it more powerful and versatile. I don’t want power and versatility, myself. I like things simple.
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Agreed. I don’t know what they think people use Word for, but I don’t recall ever thinking my essays/manuscripts/letters needed more bells and whistles.
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