stupid dogbot
Haughty and Superior
A long, slow, painful death.
(this is only a joke. i'm actually not that fussed by 2k7, s'ok)
Open Office v Microsoft Office
- Thread starter ashie259
- Start date
A long, slow, painful death.
(this is only a joke. i'm actually not that fussed by 2k7, s'ok)
soulfulofsoul
Well-Known Member
I also tried open office and went back to microsoft. I didn't use it for that long and I think that probably the only reason I changed back was because I was so used to word, excel etc - it was just easier for me and seemed more intuitive (but that's probably habit). I also think it looks nicer.
Are there any objective reasons why open office is crap? I kinda want to give it another go. Have people had trouble with the compatibility thing.or any other specific problems?
Are there any objective reasons why open office is crap? I kinda want to give it another go. Have people had trouble with the compatibility thing.or any other specific problems?
Cheers - don't think I can do that on work computers without IT approval though, and that takes aaaages to sort out (remote desktops etc).
The only beefs I had with OO were that it was slow to start up and that it didn't have an equivalent to Picture Manager. So when somebody told me how easy it is to torrent the entire 07 Enterprise suite I switched back.
skunkboy69
Reverend of Eternal Light
BlueSquareThing
With chips
Depends what you're using it for. We run rolling presentations on screen in the lobby that get built using ppt (it's there and it's cheap) - on those a subtle transistion etc... is well worthwhile.
stowpirate
skinflintish camera nut
The problem is not using the native formats and exporting to other formats as required. My son found that one out when he tried to work in word format in OOo on his Eee and lost all his course work. There are loads of free alternatives so maybe it would be a foolish to part with money for MS offerings. For word processing I use abiword.
Here are a few alternative word processors:
http://go-oo.org/
http://www.abisource.com/
http://www.jarte.com/
Being based on OOo, go-oo is possibly the way forward if you want a full blown office replacement
Here are a few alternative word processors:
http://go-oo.org/
http://www.abisource.com/
http://www.jarte.com/
Being based on OOo, go-oo is possibly the way forward if you want a full blown office replacement
stowpirate
skinflintish camera nut
That is still £8 more than a free alternative. I was wondering if there is some sort of snob value in having to have MS office or any software that cost money?
If you have a valid license you generally get better support and access to regular updates. Plus you're helping the developer keep going which is always good.
In the Office stakes I find iWork to be quite good on the Mac. I can put together a interesting presentation much faster in Keynote. On Ubuntu I generally use Abiword / Gnumeric, unless it's some corporate communication from on high. Then Crossover Office runs Microsoft Office 2003 really well...
stowpirate
skinflintish camera nut
Who is really interested in support or updates? Maybe system administrator justifying their jobs? As a user I have never had to consider either option except when forced upon me by the OS or software update function. Or worse when my employer decided to update their computer equipment because the back room boys could no longer play current games on the ageing hardware
People who depend on the software for some reason...
Which o/s are you using that forces you to upgrade...?
stowpirate
skinflintish camera nut
Like in fly by wire, some medical applications where equipment connected to patient? In the real world I doubt if support is an issue especially with office applications. Networking is the only thing that comes to mind that might cause minor problems, it so easy now for a novice especially in Linux to set up a network and get real time free support on a forum somewhere. It took me twenty minutes to set up a home wireless network so we could all access a single printer
Which o/s are you using that forces you to upgrade...?
You did not need to ask as we all know which os has ott update system. Also ubuntu has a nasty habit of hitting you with upgrades including bits of open office on occasion. I know what you are going to say next, turn it off or decline the option requests etc...
I was thinking of more mundane applications that become mission critical to someone's workflow. In the real business world people don't have the luxury of spending time looking on forums for solutions. They want them yesterday.
I know what you are going to say next, turn it off or decline the option requests etc...
Well quite.
stowpirate
skinflintish camera nut
We are talking office applications I hope
If so the problem is more likely to be a lack of understanding or job training than a real support problem. Forum solutions only take a few minutes with google. I am talking about Ubuntu & Puppy Linux not sure about the dark murky world of ms and online support 
mwgdrwg
Be a Pisces. Jam.
I wrote all my University assignments with that. Worked well saving to rtf and taking them into the library on a PC formatted 720k disk. It was very annoying having to load it off 4 disks though (I couldn't afford a hard disk at the time).I also had XCAD2000 which exported dxf perfectly so I could work on my AutoCAD drawings at home.
Cid
Proper break this time
Depends on the computer you use... At work we do most of our stuff on single-core Dells (for various good reasons) and OO is an absolute nightmare, even with pretty small files.
Office 2007 has several key problems that means it's a pile of overdeveloped poo.
It's file formats are sooo bad. I've had dozens of users lose work because 2007 doesn't work properly with 2003 formats. Outlook is unwieldy and clunky and many plugins have caused serious headaches in excel.
We used to use OO to 'fix' files broken by office 2007! That doesn't mean OO is better though.
I currently use iworks on a mac for general stuff and it's great. Fully compatible with office 2003 and 2007 (moreso that office 2007 is!)
It's file formats are sooo bad. I've had dozens of users lose work because 2007 doesn't work properly with 2003 formats. Outlook is unwieldy and clunky and many plugins have caused serious headaches in excel.
We used to use OO to 'fix' files broken by office 2007! That doesn't mean OO is better though.
I currently use iworks on a mac for general stuff and it's great. Fully compatible with office 2003 and 2007 (moreso that office 2007 is!)
ChrisFilter
Like a boss.
We used to do that before Office 2007 and it's xml goodness. Never have problems like this with 2007!
BlueSquareThing
With chips
We regularly have files saved in 2003 format from 07 that simply won't open in 07 but will open in OO. Kids doing their work at home and bringing it into school so it could be the way they're saving it I spose.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I think Powerpoint should be banned generally tbh. It's a conceptual virus.
TBH, I'm so used to Word and Excel that it's hard to wean myself off them. OO's a bit disappointing and unfamiliar, as are Apple's iwork equivalents
Powerpoint is however fucking predictably shit; an eyelid closer of a program with every presentation. It's worth investing in Keynote if you're a mac user, or even learning a bit of Indesign/Quark if you do presentations regularly
Powerpoint is however fucking predictably shit; an eyelid closer of a program with every presentation. It's worth investing in Keynote if you're a mac user, or even learning a bit of Indesign/Quark if you do presentations regularly
BlueSquareThing
With chips
That's the twat giving the pres then rather than the software - although I guess it's made people lazy.
Depends how you use it. Bit like anything else when it comes to presentations I spose - and it does have other uses tbh.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
No!!!!! 
if I get another wireframe for a fucking web page done in fucking powerpoint I will kill a motherfucker
if I get another wireframe for a fucking web page done in fucking powerpoint I will kill a motherfucker
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