I went to search for a simple document in the KB this morning, and lo
and behold, Microsoft has elected to change everything around -- I can't
access the useful, straightforward KB interface, instead I had to create
a user account, log in, and type a single query for the entire KB.
Don't they have better things to do with their time than break things
that were working fine?  The combination of bureaucratic overhead on the
new site and the fact that the search mechanism returns scads of false
positives has cost me about 45 minutes today.

Andy Perrin
UC Berkeley, Demography

You think you're upset?  I foolishly paid hundreds of dollars last year for
a subscription to the MSDN Professional version, and now the entire thing,
including the MSKB, is out there for free on the 'net!!!  Oh, yeah, I
forgot, it's about two months behind what I get in my subscription, so I
guess that makes it worth the five large I donated to MS.
--
Pete B

Visit www.microsoft.com/msaccesssupport and download the knowledge
base onto your own system.

Tony
----
Message posted to newsgroup and emailed.
Tony Toews, Independent Computer Consultant
The Year 2000 crisis: Will my parents or your grand parents still be receiving
their pension in January, 2000?  See www.granite.ab.ca/year2000 for more info.
Microsoft Access Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm

Amen!
Jay
On Fri, 03 Oct 1997 09:29:59 -0700, "Andrew J. Perrin"

Here Here

--
Stephen Forte
President NYC Access VB Users Group www.nycaccessvb.com
Jet Web: www.orcs.com/access97

Our firm has several subscriptions to TechNet and MSDN, but I at least,
rely on the Knowledge Base for the fastest, most up-to-date information.
That is now gone! Where is the Q number search? Where is the ability to
refine or expand by using the references within an article?

I spent 2 hours of otherwise billable time doing a search which should have
taken less than 5 minutes. Look at the posters complaining here! We are not
your neophyte desktop users. We are professional developers, trying to do
our jobs efficiently. Who did the usability study on this piece of junk
anyway?
--

Arvin Meyer

Arvin Meyer

Amen x1000 to Mr Meyer's comments about the books saving the day!  I agree
with Ken that the books are cheap at any price (and they are really not as
costly as most technical Windows manuals).  I am fortunate that I work in a
place that agrees such items are the equivalent of the tools used by a
craftsman to do his job.  If one app problem is resolved using the books,
or one conference attended for however-many-bucks brings back one new
approach to satisfying a company need, then the money is extremely well
spent.  I have designed more than one app, using ideas from these various
sources, that has been universally adapted across our entire
globally-located company, saving thousands of dollars in time over the
previous methods used to accomplish the same thing.

And I second the other question posed by Mr. Meyer: Whence an Access '97
HOW-TO???
--
Pete B

says...

Hi,

seems to be relocated. If you have access to this Newsgroup, you can
probably find it back (see "Search Support Online" tab). Sends the thanks
to IE4 (increased security?).

Hope it may help,
Vanderghast, Access MVP.

says...

So a book costs $50 or so. How much do you bill at?  Most likely, more
than that per hour.  So if you save EVEN ONE HOUR by buying a book, it
pays for itself. And I can't see how almost any book you could buy
wouldn't save you one hour of work.  I can't think of any computer book
that I own that hasn't paid for itself nearly instantly.  Of course, I
only buy books that are useful to me...

So don't give me that "expensive" stuff <g> -- Ken

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't ever quit the MSDN or TechNet subscriptions,
they have a helluva lot more on them than the Knowledge Base, and are well
worth their price. They are like your books, expensive, but dirt cheap when
you need a good, reliable answer fast. Our clients pay well for our time, I
try not to waste even a minute of it.
--

Arvin Meyer

That's exactly what I was saying Ken $50 is a lot of money for a book, but
dirt cheap when you need an answer. I know your percentage of the price is
ridiculously small, as a matter of fact I declined to write one for Que on
NT for that reason. I've saved thousands of dollars worth of time with your
books. I own every one of them. They've saved my bacon, a hundred times
over their cost. There is no way that I could write and debug the code for
even one large routine for $50. Even if money was an issue, your books
would still be the first I'd buy.

 I wrote Waite months ago with a complaint about their short-sightedness.
Your books are indispensible. Keep writing them, and I'll keep buying them.
BTW, I've heard rumors of an Access97 "How-To". Are they true, and if so
when?
--

Arvin Meyer