> > > I already have the most recent MS Office, so I'm good for now. Every > > agency or publication I've ever worked for uses MS Office, and i > > want my home system to b fully compatible with that of any employer > > or client. I don't believe in swimming against the tide:-). > > Paul > > Which is precisely what the Microsoft business model counts on, and > why they teeter on the brink of being a monopoly every single day. > (Actually they are, but they have the best 350 corporate lawyers on > the payroll to steamroller any legal complaints) > > So few want to swim against the tide. > > Sad. >
Why? The fact is that much of MS's Office software is superb as far as functionality and ease of use are concerned. Outlook is really well integrated and versatile and deserves to be where it is. My entire office existence is based around the Outlook calendar and task list and they work brilliantly for what they are supposed to do. Having a copy of Office at home, with a Mobile PC phone, really pulls everything together for me. Just because MS is a monopoly doesn't seem like an argument for me to use someone else's software that makes my life harder. Swimming against the tide is by definition difficult, and Office etc is just work shit. Who needs to make their life difficult over work shit just to get at Microsoft? Word and Excel, ok, they're bloated and overblown, not particularly easy to use, and should be a lot better. If they were simpler, particularly Word, it would make it easier for people to learn how to exploit them properly instead of either using them just as electronic typewriters, churning out garish crap with the design sense of a 3-year-old. I've noticed that a lot of people try to fight the software (not just MS software but almost anything) instead of spending a couple of hours understanding a) what mental model underlies it and b) their own process and mental models so that they can use the software to support that - or use it as a sound basis for rejecting the software. This is one of the areas where Lightroom really scores big in my opinion. By spending so much time and effort with real photographers during the design and development process they have captured very well what works for at least 80% of us. Then by making the model so explicit in the user interface it becomes really simple to learn and use. It's probably the best example of an 'intuitive' interface that I've ever used. Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
