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The problem with Clippy, for us, is that we are not a part of his target
audience. Too often, programmers spend so much time adding in idiot
proofing extras that they neglect to include an override for those who don't
need them, such as the XP version of Outlook not allowing users to receive
certain types of files as attachments because some people can't learn to
protect themselves from viruses.
As an experienced Office user, I can find what I'm looking for a lot quicker
using the regular help with its familiar interface than I can trying to
figure out the magic phrasing that will let Clippy know where to point me.
The animation I could live with...if it were smaller and out of my
workspace, maybe somewhere on the toolbar.
The interruptions are, for me, what is unforgivable. If I want help, I will
ask for it, and I certainly don't need some A.I. function telling me what
type of document I'm working on. I feel the same sort of annoyance toward
the new "improved" Office clipboard (imagine how much memory that thing
could drain from your system if you filled it with large graphics) that pops
up every time I do a CTRL+V.
Having said all that, I would like to know how novice users feel about
Clippy.
Which part of Clippy did you not like? The animation? The interruptions? The
quality of answers? I am curious because I see people complaining about
Clippy, but not differentiating between the animated character and the
actual search functions the character represented.
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