As a rule Technical Writers, and other commercial writers, tend to be
led by the requirements of their clients and/or employers. I use
OpenOffice and other FOSS applications whenever I can -- but I'm usually
asked if I can use MS Office to submit my work.
I tend to use OpenOffice as my application of choice when writing, and
simply save in MS Word format for delivery to clients as required. I
haven't had any complaints yet, but I can see why writers would be
nervous, especially when clients have specifically asked for documents
to be delivered in a certain format. Why risk change when you're used to
your current workflow and the clients are happy with what you deliver?
At the end of the day writers are service providers -- they produce
words and deliver them in the format their clients (and/or employers)
choose. It's about giving the customer what they want -- and the
customer is ALWAYS right.
Bottom line: get the customer to accept FOSS, and the writers (and other
service providers), will follow suit....
Cheers,
Calvin!
Daniel Carrera wrote:
Cristian Driga wrote:
Thoughts ?
I think we should pick a set of market segments where it's easier to
sell FOSS. What I got from Bruce's article was not that Linux on the
desktop is hopeless, but that Tech Writers are not the best segment to
target. You have to pick the battles you are most likely to win. From
Bruce's article I'd say that Tech Writers are simultaneously demanding
users and unwilling to try FOSS. Therefore, we should aim for markets
that are either less demanding (this is the disruptive technology
approach) or more motivated to change (like governments who want to
promote competition).
Best,
Daniel.
--
Calvin Jones
CJ Writing -- Writing for business, writing for life
www.cjwriting.com
"I'm a writer... I give the truth scope!"
Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer in the film 'A Knight's Tale'
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