On 1/16/07, Ian Lynch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
If it ain't broke don't fix it. The only compelling reason to buy a new office suite is if it does something you need that your existing software doesn't do.
Absolutely. However, from an "OpenOffice.org Marketing" perspective - we need to focus on what our office suite does that theirs doesn't. Ok, some people will upgrade to say they have the latest and greatest
like people buy cars as status symbols but office software is only really a status symbol to some sad geek that understands office software versions ;-)
What are you trying to say? Are you calling me sad because I beta tested 2007 last year? Are you saying I'm a geek because I have the latest versions of all the office suites I can find? ;) I agree status symbolism isn't the most driving of reasons to upgrade your office suite. However, Microsoft already tried that with their "evolve" campaign. I really can't see the vast majority of people rushing to upgrade. Even
those that can upgrade for free because they are on a subscription have to think about the time and effort to install etc. Same is true of Vista except that in buying a new computer you will eventually have to have it and then that puts pressure on other computers on the same network to get upgraded. Its still likely to be years before a majority of computers on the planet are running Vista. It might never achieve that as emphasis shifts away from the desktop.
This is exactly why "price" isn't that great of a selling point for OpenOffice.org (or Linux for that matter). The TCO is not zero. It may not be anywhere near to that of Microsoft - but it's higher than $0. There are much better reasons to use OOo than just price (built-in PDF export, cross-platformness, no licensing issues, unified interface, built-in Flash export, Draw, share-ability, etc.) -- - Chad Smith http://www.chadwsmith.com/
