Message Queue

Dave Kearns' column "Microsoft ad leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth" (April 24, page 26) hit the nail on the head. All too often, people confuse marketing with innovation. Microsoft is a marketing dynamo but is sorely lacking in the innovation department. To make up for this, Microsoft just acquires what it wants.

In his excellent column "Microsoft ad leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth," Dave Kearns summarizes the Microsoft fairy tale accurately and in an even-handed manner. Gates should post on his Web site a list of Microsoft "innovations" he and his pawns have been talking about.

Chi-Yang Cheng

Associate professor of mechanical engineering

Grove City College

Grove City, Pa.

Since when has Microsoft been a good corporate citizen? It is trying to create a myth because lies, when told often enough, sound like the truth.

Dave Kearns' column reminds us to always be vigilant of half-truths and lies peddled by powerful entities.

Renato Sabolboro

Oakdale, Pa.

Regarding your article "Employee study cites rampant Internet abuse" (April 24, page 38):

Has any study ever been done on how much time employees spend calling their travel agents or planning vacations during work hours using the phone or non e-mail facilities? Stories like this incite employers to trap their employees, who are just trying to do a good job while maintaining some modicum of a life. Has anyone considered that it takes less time to shop over the Internet than to take a long lunch hour or make personal calls on the job?

We spend a lot of time at the office these days. If we aren't allowed to spend a few minutes here and there taking care of personal matters, then I would like to see my job revert to 40 hours a week so I can have time to do these things.

Gale Persil

Reston, Va.

Regarding your article "Habits of healthy help desks" (April 24, page 53):

I get e-mail, phone calls and written requests from end users with a wide variety of questions. I use these questions to evaluate the success of our Web site. If a lot of these questions are in the same category, we need to redesign some aspects of our site.

I deal with questions on issues in which I have some expertise, and forward questions that are best handled by someone else. I need to know about all questions because they affect what the Web site offers and how we modify our design to meet our customers needs, but I don't need to and shouldn't answer all questions myself.

Don MacLeod

Analyst, programmer and Webmaster

Systems Engineering and Security

Hanover, N.H.

I was surprised and offended that your article "Suited for success" (May 1, page 77) provided pointers for men's attire only. Do you think all network executives are men, or is women's attire not worth writing about? I can tell you from personal experience that the issue is as important for women as it is for men.

The idea for the article was a good one. Too bad you excluded part of your target audience.

Pamela Gerbino

Washington, D.C.

Editor's note: We plan on running a similar feature focusing on women's dress. Because men's business attire tends to be more standard than women's, we decided to tackle the easier case first.