[KLUG Members] Re: Calling all Linux novices: -- there is no solution to moving file format changes

[Bryan J. Smith]

Quoting John Bridleman <john@bridleman.org>:
> I understand what your saying. I'm just saying this isn't a technical
> discussion.

Actually, it is _very_technical_ if you make it.  I can explain _exact_
_technical_ details of how NT does something, or a Microsoft app does something,
and how and why it destroys corporate assets.

> It's very easy to say - "Don't buy into proprietary software". To late.
> That cat is already out of the bag. My question is now that the cat is
> out of the bag, what are we going to do about it?

1.  They need to stop upgrading.
2.  They need to adopt the software that reads that version

If you stopped with Word 95**, then you're set today (I did** ;-).
If you stopped with Word 97, Corel already offers an alternative, and StarOffice
is damn close.

Of course #1 doesn't help you with colleagues that refuse to see the problem.

For that there is _no_answer_, _nor_ will there ever be.  Microsoft changes file
formats ever version, and its a real bitch to reverse engineer them.  It's a
moving target.  That's the reality.

Microsoft _refuses_ to adopt XML with documented schema, XSL, etc...  They
aren't changing that anytime soon.  XML export from MS Office is _useless_. 
OASIS itself (considered the biggest organization behind XML submissions) has
openly criticized Microsoft on this, and both Corel and Boeing (a massive
documentation leader) have now joined OASIS in supporting Sun on its XML standars.

Gartner had a great study (which you can buy) that showed the massive amount of
corporate documentation that is lost every year by companies that continue to
use Microsoft applications, instead of Corel or Open alternatives.  Eventually
major companies, like Boeing, have come to the realization that many technical
organizations, like the IEEE, did years ago, proprietary formats result in
millions of dollars just spend 3-4 years ago being flushed down the drain.

[ **NOTE:  Personal note.  I lost 50% of my templates and documents formatting
and even key data in an upgrade from Word 95 to Word 97 in 1999.  I stopped
using Word altogether and switched to both StarOffice 5.1 and started writing
all new technical documentation in LyX at that time. ]

-- 
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.