Not to be an MS fanboy, I use whatever works, but I do not see what all the ruckus is about. First of, since Open Office is so much better, why does this even apply to people posting comments? It baffles me how many people waste so much time and energy posting anti-MS comments and filling up the front page with Anti-MS rhetoric. If you don't like the company don't but their products and STFU! I hate IE, so I use Firefox. End of story. This doesn't mean I'm not on some crusade to force Firefox on everyone else, and submit anti IE stories on news sites. I'm not going to post the same old tired comments over and over and over again.
About the article, if you are using such old versions of documents, install an older version of Office, problem solved. If you want to use newer versions of office, convert those very old documents to a newer version. Any company with a decent IT department can get their people to script the whole deal and have the documents converted in a days time. Think that solution is garbage? Install Open Office! No nevermind, lets just all post "fight The Man" comments on slashdot.
As a geek, I agree with what you are saying, but from a cold hard business standpoint for the average user:
* increased support for DRM which inherently decreases my freedom, especially when applied to broadly Average users dont understand "DRM" and will continue getting plain old MP3s from shitware (limewire, etc)
* continuation of Microsoft's dominance which I have found through experience indirectly hinders my ability to choose the software and hardware that I can make use of Maybe for YOU, but Windows has the largest software and hardware library out there compared to any OS. This doesn't make sense. Maybe you are talking strictly Vista 64?
* the artificially high cost attributed to this operating system Average users get their OS when they buy their PC and never upgrade it. The cost is transparent to them
* the continuation of apparent willful vendor independent standards Average user doesn't care
* the continued use as leveraging tool to push Microsoft specific, and often closed psuedo-standards see above
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Not to be an MS fanboy, I use whatever works, but I do not see what all the ruckus is about. First of, since Open Office is so much better, why does this even apply to people posting comments? It baffles me how many people waste so much time and energy posting anti-MS comments and filling up the front page with Anti-MS rhetoric. If you don't like the company don't but their products and STFU! I hate IE, so I use Firefox. End of story. This doesn't mean I'm not on some crusade to force Firefox on everyone else, and submit anti IE stories on news sites. I'm not going to post the same old tired comments over and over and over again. About the article, if you are using such old versions of documents, install an older version of Office, problem solved. If you want to use newer versions of office, convert those very old documents to a newer version. Any company with a decent IT department can get their people to script the whole deal and have the documents converted in a days time. Think that solution is garbage? Install Open Office! No nevermind, lets just all post "fight The Man" comments on slashdot.
As a geek, I agree with what you are saying, but from a cold hard business standpoint for the average user:
* increased support for DRM which inherently decreases my freedom, especially when applied to broadly
Average users dont understand "DRM" and will continue getting plain old MP3s from shitware (limewire, etc)
* continuation of Microsoft's dominance which I have found through experience indirectly hinders my ability to choose the software and hardware that I can make use of
Maybe for YOU, but Windows has the largest software and hardware library out there compared to any OS. This doesn't make sense. Maybe you are talking strictly Vista 64?
* the artificially high cost attributed to this operating system
Average users get their OS when they buy their PC and never upgrade it. The cost is transparent to them
* the continuation of apparent willful vendor independent standards
Average user doesn't care
* the continued use as leveraging tool to push Microsoft specific, and often closed psuedo-standards
see above