I think your question of "will Linux make it on the desktop without office" is the
most critical. I personally think the answer is a resounding no. It's almost like
why the Dvork (ok, I can't spell it) keyboard didn't make it over qwerty. Office is
just too far integrated into the general office/business environment to be displaced
anytime soon. People who use this product are, by and large, non-technical with no
interest in learning anything new. I'm technical, and I have no interest in learning
something new in that space. Office is what I use to do the more mundane part of my
job, reports, presentations, spreadsheets, etc. If I'm going to learn something on
company time, it won't be something to accomplish those tasks.
Putting Office on Linux is exactly what is needed to get it on the desktop. Quicken
too. Not to mention a decent browser.
I've never really understood the free software thing anyway. Sooner or later somebody
has to pay don't they? That was a real question, not rhetorical. I mean is any really
big, established business going to run on free software? I don't think so, it's
unamerican;+} Really, the mindset is "you get what you pay for", right or wrong, that
is the culture. If it doesn't sell, mark it up and people will assume it's better.
Sincerely,
Jim Ryan
-----Original Message-----
From: Randy Edwards [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 16:51:43 -0400
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: maddog speaks
> Linux Leader Calls Porting Of Office And Quicken Critical
Quicken, no problem, I'd love to see it (along with QuickBooks). But I'm
sort of mixed over the issue of porting Office to GNU/Linux.
On the one hand, porting Office to GNU/Linux would:
* further the MS Office monopoly
* give Microsoft a nice way to subtlely knock GNU/Linux (look at the
outdated and odd versions of Office for the Mac)
* provide some cash and good P.R. to Microsoft
* give GNU/Linux the large bunch of nightmarish problems that plague Office,
resulting in some bad P.R. for GNU/Linux (the "see, it has the same virus
problems as Windows" type of P.R. that ignorant people would inevitably say)
* and most of all, squelch the free software app development going on in
GNU/Linux and be a huge hit (probably death knell) to Applix, StarOffice,
and WordPerfect
On the other hand, porting Office to GNU/Linux would:
* weaken the Windows platform as a whole
* give GNU/Linux a huge shot in the arm for desktop use
Will GNU/Linux make it on the desktop without Office? Are the tradeoffs
worth it?
To me, the negatives outweigh the positives of porting Office.
--
Regards, | Debian GNU/ __ o http://www.debian.org
. | / / _ _ _ _ _ __ __
Randy | / /__ / / / \// //_// \ \/ /
([EMAIL PROTECTED]) | /____/ /_/ /_/\/ /___/ /_/\_\
http://www.golgotha.net | because lockups should only be for convicts.
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