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Linux and OpenOffice save Microsoft Presentation

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the now-thats-just-silly dept.

EvilGrinUK writes "A presentation about Shared Source (SSI) by the head of Microsoft Ukraine was almost ruined when the Windows machine (a Tablet PC) linked to the projector developed problems. The solution was to adopt OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 and ALT Linux Compact 2.3, which was already running on the presenter's laptop (an IBM Thinkpad). Here's a picture."

10 of 447 comments (clear)

  1. How funny.. Cache slower than original... by OlivierB · · Score: 5, Informative

    The original link is fster than the cache

    http://paq.osdn.org.ua/~mike/img/MS-uses-OOo/hpim2 544.sized.jpg

    --
    Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity
  2. Pardon? by ogleslurp · · Score: 3, Informative

    This story seems a little skinny on details. Does anyone have any more information?

  3. Embarassing... by bobbis.u · · Score: 4, Informative

    That's almost on an par with the infamous Windows 98 crash video!

  4. Better Photograph by CypherXero · · Score: 3, Informative

    I cleaned the photograph up in Photoshop, and I made it MUCH better looking, so you can actually SEE what's going on in the image.

    http://www.collegechixors.com/images/hpim2544.size d.jpg

  5. Re:haha by Rei · · Score: 5, Informative

    Microsoft's public failures are always amusing.

    --
    I believe Bird-Person can arrange that.
  6. old story, but still by lheal · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... it's clearly an operating system problem on the tablet, not a hardware problem. Linux to the rescue!
    ------------------

    From the README on the site:
    Intro
    [...]
    1. This is old news: the event happened on October 9, 2004.
    2. Microsoft rep in Ukraine had to use free software to get on with a presentation on a free software conference since his munition failed to cooperate with projector.
    3. See below (also posted to the places I could track down).
    [...]
    As for the facts:

    * it was not Master but ALT Linux Compact 2.3 (page|ISO|ML)
    * it was Third Ukrainian Free Software Developers' and Users' Conference
    * it was sponsored by IBM, Novell and EMT (yeah, I work for ...us; another funny thing is that Microsoft proposed to sponsor the conference too but we decided to politely decline the generous offer)
    * it is the head of Microsoft Ukraine, Mr. Valery Lanovenko
    * it is the Tablet PC which failed to feed the projector on the secondary head properly to blame
    * and indeed it's OpenOffice.org on our Linux/ThinkPad running their PowerPoint presentation ;-)
    * IMG_0395 has Mr. Lanovenko's personal comment -- he tries to make an impression that it was PDF (we as the conference staff recommended to keep those at hand) but all of us know OOo doesn't display PDFs ;-)
    [...]
    --
    Michael Shigorin
    mike at osdn dot org dot ua
    EMT.Com.UA * OSDN.Org.UA * Linux.Kiev.UA * ALTLinux.ORG

    --
    Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
  7. Re:Is it true? by Cyberax · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's a true story. There was a message in Russian LUG about that from a conference participant: http://lists.lug.ru/pipermail/oo-discuss/2004-Octo ber/012275.html

    PS: yes, I read Russian.

  8. Re:oh my by Herschel+Cohen · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sorry, I for one do NOT "KNOW" that Impress mangled a powerpoint file. My experience has been, on Linux, that the view has been fine.

  9. kind of more full text (Get The Facts, heh) by gvy · · Score: 4, Informative
    Well there was the bottom part of the message holding the explanation itself:

    Facts (below)

    As for the facts:

    • it was not Master but ALT Linux Compact 2.3 (page|ISO|ML)
    • it was Third Ukrainian Free Software Developers' and Users' Conference
    • it was sponsored by IBM, Novell and EMT (yeah, I work for ...us; another funny thing is that Microsoft proposed to sponsor the conference too but we decided to politely decline the generous offer)
    • it is the head of Microsoft Ukraine, Mr. Valery Lanovenko
    • it is the Tablet PC which failed to feed the projector on the secondary head properly to blame
    • and indeed it's OpenOffice.org on our Linux/ThinkPad running their PowerPoint presentation ;-)
    • IMG_0395 has Mr. Lanovenko's personal comment -- he tries to make an impression that it was PDF (we as the conference staff recommended to keep those at hand) but all of us know OOo doesn't display PDFs ;-)

    You bet there was some debate afterwards but no tomatoes flying (which was quite the fear of Mr. Lanovenko's coworkers) :-) Shameless plugs

    BTW, there's going to be 4th such conference this autumn (first weekend of October), you're welcome! (details at the conference site, see above)

    --
    Michael Shigorin EMT.Com.UA * OSDN.Org.UA * Linux.Kiev.UA * ALTLinux.ORG
  10. Re:Is it true? by DavidD_CA · · Score: 4, Informative

    Many times, you can retrieve corrupted Excel documents by using a little Excel trick.

    Open a brand new spreadsheet and link cell A1 to the A1 in your corrupted sheet (you'll have to type the formula in manually). Then drag that A1 to all corners of the spreadsheet, and more often than not you'll get your data back -- sans formatting.

    --
    -David