2010/2/5 Pierre <[email protected]> > M Henri Day wrote: > >> 2010/2/5 Pierre <[email protected]> >> versions of Windows products. MS Office 2007 is installed on all of them, >> as >> is OOo, but I only use the latter (save when I'm helping people with >> difficulties in using the former over the telephone). As many computers >> are >> purchased with MS Office installed, but presumably all instances of OOo >> have >> been installed by users, it might just possibly be the case that, on the >> contrary, the proportion of OOo installations that actually are used is >> higher than that for MS Office. None of us know, of course, but in any >> event, the method employed in this study does provide a reliable way of >> measuring whatever it is it measures, and will therefore be useful for >> detecting trends. Let us hope that in the fullness of time, the other >> users >> in your office come around and increase the proportion of OOo users !... >> >> > Henri, > > I get so frustrated by not being able put up a persuasive argument to > persuade our staff to change to FLOSS or OSS. > > [CARE- RANT FOLLOWS] > > However, I learnt a lesson last week when two new desktops were installed > in our office. We do a fair bit of minor photo editing, usually no more than > lifting a section of photo image of its background and pasting it onto a > different background. We may also do some basic photo enhancing. The file is > then saved as a tiff and emailed to a manufacturer for some processing. > > We'd been using Paintshop Pro to do this. > > I persuaded the two workers who do this to try "The Gimp". > > Within minutes there was a snag and near mutiny. It wasn't so much the Gimp > itself that was the problem; it was the fact that there was no context > sensitive help to guide users on how to cut the section of image. It took me > the best part of twenty minutes to track down the relevant documentation. By > that time my colleagues had thrown their hands up in despair and insisted > Paintshop Pro be installed. > > More to the point, if it took me some considerable time to identify how to > perform a fairly common and basic task in the Gimp, what chance the user. > > I have to conclude that therein is FLOSS's main handicap; the lack of > meaningful help files & system. > > Arguably OOo is better served in this area, but it has failings as well. > For example. After years of using OOo, to this day I cannot get outline > numbering to work. The instructions in the help system just do not work for > me. So, whenever I need to use outline and paragraph numbering I'm back in > MS-Word. It is just so much easier and more intuitive. Click Outline View > and there it is and it works. OOo just doesn't do that in my experience. > > [END OF RANT] and thanks for listening. I feel much better now. :D > > > > -- > > > > Pierre > Worrigee, NSW, > ,-._|\ > / Oz \ > \_,--._/ > v > > "The boys dressed themselves, hid their accoutrements, and went off > grieving that there were no outlaws any more, and wondering what modern > civilization could claim to have done to compensate for their loss. They > said they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than President > of the United States forever." Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer >
Pierre, I agree with you - unnecessarily complicated user infaces and help files that are not always up to snuff are two of the major problems with open source products. User fora like this list can do much to help, but simplifying things that don't have to be complicated should be priority number one. One of the things that I personally would like to see is a GUI in Writer that allowed users to switch languages in the simple manner (selection from a drop-down menu) this can be done in Word 1997-2003 ; it's been requested, but so far without results. But who know - perhaps it will come before I've toddled off to a better world !... In any event, glad that ranting relieved the pressure !... Henri PS : Love your signature ! You know, no doubt, that Mark Twain was a prominent member of the American Anti-Imperialist League....
