The Trailing Edge: Gurus, Guides, and Ghosts

Abstract

Microcomputer consultants can help a library install and use a complex software package but different styles of consulting will have different results. The first section of this column discusses two common styles of consulting, when each might be appropriate, and the dangers of using one type of consultant. The second focus of this column is the ghost of software (or hardware) future, vaporware, and the debilitating effect that vaporware has on users and vendors alike. Vaporware damages the library automation field as well, although perhaps not quite as much as it damages the microcomputer software field. This quarter's literature watch includes several printer reviews, reviews of improved project management software and a raft of personal information management software, several reviews of portable computers, and the remarkable suggestion that every computer user needs a $6,000–$12,000 computer!

Citation

Crawford, W. (1989), "The Trailing Edge: Gurus, Guides, and Ghosts", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 91-101. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb047759