On 3/7/06, Howard Coles Jr. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Fact 1: you WILL spend the same amount in "lost productivity" because of > "training" if you are upgrading to a new version of MS Office, especially > if > they have changed enough around to confuse folks. While the amount may be > some bit smaller, you still have an amount, and it needs to be factored > in. > I think what you'll find is that training someone to use OOo doesn't cost > all > that much more than training them to use MSO 12.
There will be some training either way (either organized training, or trial and error training) of course - but the MS argument is that it is less when going from MSO n to MSO n+1 than going from MSO n to OOo x. Fact 2: This message demonstrates (by way of example, not that the post is > suffering from this) the complete lack of long term thinking that screws > up > major businesses today. <snip> Most people (myself included) are guilty of sacrificing the longterm on the alters of the immediate. In fact, I have a saying that guides my life - money now is always worth more than money later. That's why I pay Uncle Sam every year instead of having him pay me. I want my money as I earn it - not held up for me until next year. The point is, many firms operate under the same kind of thought process - yes, I could spend $5 today to possibly save me $100 next year, but I need the $5 now more than the 100 later. Another problem with your thinking is that you assume there will be an upgrade for OpenOffice.org. Seriously, who is to say there will be? It's all done by volunteers (in theory, I know most coding is done by Sun employees). What if nobody decides to keep working on it? Can you guarentee me that there will be an OpenOffice.org 3.0? How about 5.0? I have Billions of reasons to believe that there will be a Microsoft Office 13 and even a 15. Businesses understand businesses. And even with all the backstabbing that goes on, businesses trust businesses. Because businesses understand what drives other businesses - and that is Money. OOo isn't driven by money, so how can a business trust it when it doesn't understand its motivation? So there is a "big picture" long-term thinking at work here - just not the kind you are thinking of. Another problem is a lack of support. What 800 number do you call at 2 am on Saturday night to get tech support for your 500 seats of OpenOffice.org? I know the one to call if it's a problem with MSO. Granted it will cost me $35 a hour (or more) to call them - but it's there. It's not as simple as it looks. -- - Chad Smith http://www.gimpshop.net/ http://www.whatisopenoffice.org/ Because everyone loves free software!
