[KLUG Members] Re: Calling all Linux novices: -- Mega-ignorance on MS Office!

[Bryan J. Smith]

Quoting John Bridleman <john@bridleman.org>:
> Yea, that's what my wife says. ;-)

Trying to guess Linux marketshare is trying to guess long-term virus infections.
 Not only are you counting "after the symtopms," but an organization that wishes
to calm fears will purposely use statistical methods that minimize the number.

> He probably didn't check with these lightweight retailers.

Only major resellers and teir-1/2 OEMs are in the IDG studies.

> Amen.

Software-based hardware is not only incompatible outside of Windows, but often
tied to a _specific_ Windows version release.  This means the hardware is only
good for 1-2 years.

> yes, but we do need better applications on Linux so we can share the
> data better with Windows. I'm thinking here of StarOffice/Microsoft
> Office. StarOffice is nice but there are still those weird docs that
> don't work.

This is *MEGA-IGNORANT* statement that I see over and over and over.  As Linux
users, we are supposed to be _technically_accurate_.  As such, don't believe
this common, but quite _false_ view!

First off, the community of Open Source developers can do 0 about that.  Why?

CASE-IN-POINT:  Microsoft Office for Mac has _interoperability_issues_ with
Microsoft Office for Windows!

Anyone who has supported both platforms simultaneously can tell you horror
stores, especially with MS Office 98 and 2001 for Mac when changing files with
MS Office 97 and 2000 for Windows, respectively.  E.g., MS Excel 98 for Mac
can't even read MS Excel 97 for Windows files!!!

It's interesting to note that the StarOffice 1.0.1 for MacOS X developer
releases maintain better file compatibility, especially in non-Word apps, than
MS Office for MacOS X.

And then their's the Microsoft/Autodesk approach of "we only read files 1
revision back."  And how do they do this?  By _reusing_ attributes of one
version in another for a different purpose.  E.g., Word XP (v10/2002) reuses
some attributes from Word 97 (v8) to purposely _force_ people to first upgrade
to Word 2000 (v9) to read the document, then Word XP (v10).  Again, Autodesk
does this with AutoCAD as well.

> Let's go to Advocacy.....

Er, outside of political comments (like the Microsoft/Autodesk non-sense), I
want to keep this 100% _technical_.

When you consider the technology, it is _ludicrious_ to choose MS Office as an
office suite.  Such _technical_-based statements should stay on "MEMBERS" IMHO.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith, E.I. (BSECE)       Contact Info:  http://thebs.org
[ http://thebs.org/files/resume/BryanJonSmith_certifications.pdf ]
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Microsoft states Linux's GPL is "viral" so I guess all the authors
in the US who require you to pay royalties to print their books
must be the digital "black plague."  Copyright is copyright and
the GPL prevents commercial use without a license from the holder.