In recent years, a body of literature has developed which shows that users' perceptions of software are a key element in its ultimate acceptance and use. We focus on how the interaction style and prior experience with similar software affect users' perceptions of software packages. In our experiment, direct manipulation, menu-driven and command-driven interfaces were investigated. We studied users' perceptions of the software in two hands-on training sessions. In the first session, novice users were given initial training with word-processing software, and in the second session the users were trained on a word processor which was functionally equivalent to the prior one, but had a different interaction style. In the initial training session, we found that the interaction style had a reliable but small effect on learners' perceptions of ease of use. The direct manipulation interface was judged easier to use than the command style. The interaction style, however, did not affect learners' perceptions of the usefulness of the software. In the second training session, subjects who had used a direct manipulation interface in the first session learned either the menu-based or command-based software. The perceptions of these users were compared to those of learners, who had used the menu or command software in the initial training session. We found that both interaction style and the prior experience with a direct manipulation interface affected perceptions of ease of use. Subjects with prior experience of a direct style interface tended to have very negative attitudes toward a less direct interface style. The interaction style did not affect perceptions of usefulness of the package, but the prior experience did. These results suggest that users' attitudes toward software are strongly influenced by their past history of usage, including what interaction styles the user has encountered, and this should be considered in the design of software and training programs.