Michael Adams wrote:
On Monday 18 October 2010 01:43, Wm Stewart wrote:
The common concern that MS will just change their file formats again is
overblown, and not as important as it seems. Consider:
o They don't change often. And the frustration of users with the
change to docx a few years ago will slow down any future changes even more.
They change every time a new version of Microsoft Office is released. Given to
support this is the version list for Rich Text Format which was open for
years, though still under a single owners, Microsoft's, direct control:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924944
http://diaryproducts.net/for/geek/microsoft_rtf_specification_nightmare
o The main issue is compatibility with the existing formats. Solve
this, and you have solved the key problem.
OO would become the standard
office suite very quickly, as the number one barrier would be solved, and
the number one request of existing OO users would be met.
It is not about becoming *the* standard - it never was. The standard *is* the
document save format itself. This is established. It is all about choice,
allowing the customer to choose which program s/he wishes to author any
document on. Wanting to surpass Microsoft Office as the program of choice in
the world is Megalomaniacal. OO.o and it's main backers then become the "Evil
Empire" to be taken down.
It should merely be about making the best possible program with the resources
available. Right now we have a slightly buggy product which sometimes
requires a little massaging to provide the desired output (i regularly fight
with Draw). I don't want to output a Microsoft document - i want to output a
good document, based on a solid well adopted standard.
I have been using OOo since it was first released to the public, and
still the only part of OOo that I have used with any regularity is
Writer, although recently I have begun to use the database module.
there are three things I would like to see improved, first of all, I
would like to see OOo become like a lot of commercial programs, where
when you upgrade it, you only download the code that has been changed
since the version you are using, and all your settings, personal
dictionaries etc. remain unchanged. (Yes I know a lot of commercial
software like Itunes lacks this) Second I love word completion, but I
would like to see it improved more than it has been, by giving the user
the option of creating a perminant dictionary for it and turning off the
gather new words function without disabling the feature altogether,
which is pretty much the way it works now. Third, strangely enough I
would like to be able to turn off Styles completely at times disabling
ALL the automation that goes with it and doing the formatting as we used
to with a TYPEWRITER! Yes I know that sounds kind of retro, but
sometimes all that automation just gets in the way. Also I have
noticed that once you really get used to Writer any time you have to use
Word, you really hate it!
