If you mean MS-Office is more compatible with MS-Office documents (glitch-for-glitch), well, that should be obvious.
That's only true in general within the same release of MS-Office. If you include legacy documents, LibreOffice will open more of them, and more formats overall.
Interesting study, but it begs the question of what happened to bookstores? Most communities have seen a huge contraction in brick and mortar bookstores.
The most common explanation is that many people buy from Amazon rather than go to a bookstore.
So the general conclusion may be that physical books are far from dead, but physical bookstores could be another matter.
Here on O`ahu, we're down to one Barnes and Noble and one independent bookseller, plus a few of those "Book-off" mini-stores that have some used books.
I run Android, and I try to be honest. But being humble isn't resulting in any progress or ability to gain recognition for your work.
I realize this is a side discussion but you are right. The idea that good or even great work will automatically come to the fore and garner recognition is naïve at best. Someone who is louder and better at self-marketing will get ahead a lot faster.
The meek do indeed inherit the earth --- by having their faces ground into it.
It's as if they have no idea where they are headed or who their customers are.
I understand your point, but I think MS does know where they're headed and who their customers are, but they don't care very much about them, if at all. That's a different kind of problem, much worse than just lack of direction.
My surmise is that MS knows their direction: getting everyone, eventually, onto a subscription model. Corporate customers are to a greater or lesser extent there already, but now MS has to round up those pesky consumers who haven't been anything like fully milked for revenue. What money does MS get from them now? For the most part a few dollars when they buy a computer with Windows preinstalled, and maybe some money for Office. Relatively slim pickings.
You have better tools to do more things but those tools came from skilled developers.
Absolutely. But once the tool is written, it can be widely used without the need for a skilled developer at each user's location.
Entirely correct, and that's the purpose of well-crafted tools. The tool user, however, must understand the purpose and limitations of said tool.
Even the most well-crafted tools are subject to abuse by unskilled users. I don't mean someone who uses a spreadsheet to add up columns of numbers or balance a few accounts. I do mean users who (as one example) don't understand databases and so use their spreadsheet as the basis for some thrown-together, integrity-free, error-filled system. These are the users for whom their tool is a hammer and everything else is a nail.
You have better tools to do more things but those tools came from skilled developers.
In the "apps" world what I see is indeed more and more apps, about 95% or more of them crappy. Unskilled developers produce bad apps. Yes, that seems to be the trend.
I suspect therefore one of two things, either it is as I say and one broken major software release on a device or set of devices can greatly sway the stats in a quarter due to their broad definition of "fault" or they're just making these numbers up as a clickbait to try and get you to sign up to build up their userbase for monetisation purposes through ad revenue or similar.
I'm swaying towards the second, not that I'm a cynic or anything:)
I've got to second your cynicism. The stats are worthless for just about any practical use.
The stats are dopey. 58% fail rate in what period of time? Did 58% fail in Q2 or whatever? Do 58% fail in the first two years? I can't make any sense of these stats and TFA is no help. What am I missing here?
And they also made it so you cannot get rid of Cortana
More and more reasons all the time to not use Microsoft products. Really. I know I'm a Linux fan-boy but I was initially willing to give Windows 10 a chance. I'm very glad now that I didn't.
Windows 10 gets a lot of criticism around here, but I suspect most of the criticism comes from people who haven't actually use it. If you do use it the reality is far worse.
This is a good point. Having read all the horror stories and comments, I don't want to risk using Windows 10. So, yes, at least implicitly I'm criticizing it without having used it. I'll stick with Linux Mint and very occasional use of a Windows 8.1 partition (which I really don't need except for seldom played games).
Or even make a decision without having to have 18 meetings with people who don't give a rip and don't know anything.
When I becane an IT manager, I instituted a "two meeting" rule. The first meeting to broach and issue and discuss it, and the second meeting to complete the discussion and make a decision.
This enraged people, who wanted multiple meetings spread out over weeks. Great way to avoid accountability but I wouldn't allow it. So people then started coming to me individually, post-decision, trying to get me to reconsider or have another meeting.
Sorry. I would rather have risked a sub-optimal decision than have no decision at all---- and the additional dozen meetings very likely would have resulted in something worse, not better.
I only lasted a few years in that job. Too counter-culture. (I also --- gasp --- got rid of subordinate managers who weren't getting the job done.)
While I'm no Microsoft fan, and the Excel default behavior could certainly be better, I can't see my way to making Microsoft take the hit for this. (LibreOffice can be similarly abused, for that matter.)
The issue is multifold:
1) Using a tool not intended for the purpose; spreadsheets may be easy and convenient but everything is not a nail for the spreadsheet hammer.
2) Lack of understanding about how the chosen tool works.
3) Failure to do simple proofing and verification.
This one is down to the researchers, not the software maker.
I need to run video games and they just don't work right under wine. Quibble is an understatement. The need is bigger than you think. For now, I'll take your suggestion to continue running Windows, thanks.
You don't need to run video games, you want to run video games, and this is true unless your livelihood or something serious depends on those games. So you want to run Windows. And that's just fine. You have freedom of choice, which is as it should be. As I said far above in my original post, I'm not here to try to get people to switch away from something they want, like, or need.
Let's see, ad injection, changing stuff back to default after you've changed it to something else, etc., etc..... sounds like Windows 10 is already on there.
I'm a web developer and designer, and I NEED windows. If Adobe would produce a Linux version of Photoshop and Illustrator, I could switch, but they won't because they already have all the customers. I suspect there are a LOT of people in a similar situation. One single vendor holding us back from switching.
In my original post, I mentioned mission-critical irreplaceable applications leaving someone with truly no choice. For most graphics people, GIMP, Inkscape, etc., will do the job (many of the assertions to the contrary stem more from lack of familiarity than actual limitations). But I do understand that at the professional high end, there may be features that can't be duplicated or a workflow that can't be changed.
But unfortunately thats not a solution for everybody.
I've been a Linux user for over 20 years and have watched it grow into something that could be a solution for a lot of people.
You're right, not everybody; I've often said in these forums that if you need or want to run Windows, go run Windows. I'm not here to try to make you change.
But the need to run Windows is, I think, often quite overstated. It's certainly the case when you have some mission-critical software that simply can't be replaced. It's true if you want to do certain classes of gaming. And sometimes it's true when you need 100% document compatibility with entities that insist on Microsoft Office.
My quibble is that there are many who want to run Windows but say they need to run Windows, when they very likely don't. If it's a want rather than a need, fine, go for it, but don't claim that your choice is truly based on Linux's inability to perform.
Everyone else cares about applications to do their work.
I shouldn't reply to a trolling AC, but I want to state that I run Linux precisely because I care about having the applications and tools I need to do my work, and on Linux I have everything I need, while retaining full control over my environment. I'm less vulnerable to exploits, I don't have telemetry sending back my every move, I install updates when I wish and not when they are forced on me, and I don't have to deal with or get rid of crappy "apps" and crappier live tiles.
I don't get excited over the kernel or the toolkits any further than their being open-source, free, of good quality, and all in all enablers of doing my work freely and on my own terms.
When you say that "everyone" cares about applications to do their work, you push aside one of the biggest objections I hear about Linux, which comes from the gaming community who can't run their favorite new games on Linux. To me that says Windows is as much about games as it is about doing work. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's contrary to your statement.
Another reason why Windows is not ready for the desktop.
Grandma runs desktop Linux just fine.
This is rather insightful. I may be a Linux fan but there was a time when I would have readily admitted Grandma would have an easier time with Windows than with Linux (assuming someone competently preinstalled one or the other for her use). This surely started to change with the unusability of Windows 8 and now, with all the Windows 10 issues, I would not like to be on the receiving end of Grandma's support calls.
My wife (who is a grandma, by the way) uses a Linux distro that I installed and maintain for her (maintenance means installing updates once in a while). She neither knows nor cares that it's Linux and not Windows. It "just works" for her rather basic needs, and if she some day requires more advanced features, they're all available.
It used to be that I would have to keep a Windows partition to use some hardware devices. Today, there is very, very little that doesn't run in Linux, mostly without the need to look for a manufacturer's driver as is the case on Windows. Of course, there are exceptions[1] and YMMV, but by and large I do better with Linux these days than with Windows, in terms of hardware compatibility and ease of use. And although updates may at times create backward incompatibility (not often), I have a choice about when and if to install an update.
[1] In my installations, Nvidia graphics cards do require a special manufacturer's driver to work at their best (just like in Windows), I needed to install some software to run my scanner (just like in Windows), and I have one old USB wifi adapter that won't work at all. Everything else that I have (printers, webcams, etc.) requires zero extra effort.
Slashdot Mirror
If you don't like it, don't fly. The sense of entitlement among Slashdot users is ridiculous. Take an Amtrak, a bus, or drive.
Yeah, next time I go from here in Honolulu to the mainland I'll take Amtrak. Brilliant concept.
Look for essential LO dependencies on systemd coming soon, and gradual death of LO on Windows.
I can completely understand these fears, but do they have a basis? What makes you think -- especially -- that LO will drop Windows?
If you mean MS-Office is more compatible with MS-Office documents (glitch-for-glitch), well, that should be obvious.
That's only true in general within the same release of MS-Office. If you include legacy documents, LibreOffice will open more of them, and more formats overall.
Interesting study, but it begs the question of what happened to bookstores? Most communities have seen a huge contraction in brick and mortar bookstores.
The most common explanation is that many people buy from Amazon rather than go to a bookstore.
So the general conclusion may be that physical books are far from dead, but physical bookstores could be another matter.
Here on O`ahu, we're down to one Barnes and Noble and one independent bookseller, plus a few of those "Book-off" mini-stores that have some used books.
I run Android, and I try to be honest. But being humble isn't resulting in any progress or ability to gain recognition for your work.
I realize this is a side discussion but you are right. The idea that good or even great work will automatically come to the fore and garner recognition is naïve at best. Someone who is louder and better at self-marketing will get ahead a lot faster.
The meek do indeed inherit the earth --- by having their faces ground into it.
It's as if they have no idea where they are headed or who their customers are.
I understand your point, but I think MS does know where they're headed and who their customers are, but they don't care very much about them, if at all. That's a different kind of problem, much worse than just lack of direction.
My surmise is that MS knows their direction: getting everyone, eventually, onto a subscription model. Corporate customers are to a greater or lesser extent there already, but now MS has to round up those pesky consumers who haven't been anything like fully milked for revenue. What money does MS get from them now? For the most part a few dollars when they buy a computer with Windows preinstalled, and maybe some money for Office. Relatively slim pickings.
If you don't like it, don't use it.
All this complaining about Windows 10 is getting really old and tired.
Well, thank you, I don't use it and won't use it.
So, what you're saying is: app appers only app apps? Not Luddite software?
As someone who "back in the day" coded extensively in assembler language, I've always been partial to Luddite software. Let's hear it for Fortran II !
You have better tools to do more things but those tools came from skilled developers.
Absolutely. But once the tool is written, it can be widely used without the need for a skilled developer at each user's location.
Entirely correct, and that's the purpose of well-crafted tools. The tool user, however, must understand the purpose and limitations of said tool.
Even the most well-crafted tools are subject to abuse by unskilled users. I don't mean someone who uses a spreadsheet to add up columns of numbers or balance a few accounts. I do mean users who (as one example) don't understand databases and so use their spreadsheet as the basis for some thrown-together, integrity-free, error-filled system. These are the users for whom their tool is a hammer and everything else is a nail.
You have better tools to do more things but those tools came from skilled developers.
In the "apps" world what I see is indeed more and more apps, about 95% or more of them crappy. Unskilled developers produce bad apps. Yes, that seems to be the trend.
I suspect therefore one of two things, either it is as I say and one broken major software release on a device or set of devices can greatly sway the stats in a quarter due to their broad definition of "fault" or they're just making these numbers up as a clickbait to try and get you to sign up to build up their userbase for monetisation purposes through ad revenue or similar.
I'm swaying towards the second, not that I'm a cynic or anything :)
I've got to second your cynicism. The stats are worthless for just about any practical use.
The stats are dopey. 58% fail rate in what period of time? Did 58% fail in Q2 or whatever? Do 58% fail in the first two years? I can't make any sense of these stats and TFA is no help. What am I missing here?
And they also made it so you cannot get rid of Cortana
More and more reasons all the time to not use Microsoft products. Really. I know I'm a Linux fan-boy but I was initially willing to give Windows 10 a chance. I'm very glad now that I didn't.
Windows 10 gets a lot of criticism around here, but I suspect most of the criticism comes from people who haven't actually use it. If you do use it the reality is far worse.
This is a good point. Having read all the horror stories and comments, I don't want to risk using Windows 10. So, yes, at least implicitly I'm criticizing it without having used it. I'll stick with Linux Mint and very occasional use of a Windows 8.1 partition (which I really don't need except for seldom played games).
Or even make a decision without having to have 18 meetings with people who don't give a rip and don't know anything.
When I becane an IT manager, I instituted a "two meeting" rule. The first meeting to broach and issue and discuss it, and the second meeting to complete the discussion and make a decision.
This enraged people, who wanted multiple meetings spread out over weeks. Great way to avoid accountability but I wouldn't allow it. So people then started coming to me individually, post-decision, trying to get me to reconsider or have another meeting.
Sorry. I would rather have risked a sub-optimal decision than have no decision at all---- and the additional dozen meetings very likely would have resulted in something worse, not better.
I only lasted a few years in that job. Too counter-culture. (I also --- gasp --- got rid of subordinate managers who weren't getting the job done.)
While I'm no Microsoft fan, and the Excel default behavior could certainly be better, I can't see my way to making Microsoft take the hit for this. (LibreOffice can be similarly abused, for that matter.)
The issue is multifold:
1) Using a tool not intended for the purpose; spreadsheets may be easy and convenient but everything is not a nail for the spreadsheet hammer.
2) Lack of understanding about how the chosen tool works.
3) Failure to do simple proofing and verification.
This one is down to the researchers, not the software maker.
I need to run video games and they just don't work right under wine. Quibble is an understatement. The need is bigger than you think. For now, I'll take your suggestion to continue running Windows, thanks.
You don't need to run video games, you want to run video games, and this is true unless your livelihood or something serious depends on those games. So you want to run Windows. And that's just fine. You have freedom of choice, which is as it should be. As I said far above in my original post, I'm not here to try to get people to switch away from something they want, like, or need.
Let's see, ad injection, changing stuff back to default after you've changed it to something else, etc., etc. .... sounds like Windows 10 is already on there.
I'm a web developer and designer, and I NEED windows. If Adobe would produce a Linux version of Photoshop and Illustrator, I could switch, but they won't because they already have all the customers. I suspect there are a LOT of people in a similar situation. One single vendor holding us back from switching.
In my original post, I mentioned mission-critical irreplaceable applications leaving someone with truly no choice. For most graphics people, GIMP, Inkscape, etc., will do the job (many of the assertions to the contrary stem more from lack of familiarity than actual limitations). But I do understand that at the professional high end, there may be features that can't be duplicated or a workflow that can't be changed.
++
Linux user since more than 5 years.
But unfortunately thats not a solution for everybody.
I've been a Linux user for over 20 years and have watched it grow into something that could be a solution for a lot of people.
You're right, not everybody; I've often said in these forums that if you need or want to run Windows, go run Windows. I'm not here to try to make you change.
But the need to run Windows is, I think, often quite overstated. It's certainly the case when you have some mission-critical software that simply can't be replaced. It's true if you want to do certain classes of gaming. And sometimes it's true when you need 100% document compatibility with entities that insist on Microsoft Office.
My quibble is that there are many who want to run Windows but say they need to run Windows, when they very likely don't. If it's a want rather than a need, fine, go for it, but don't claim that your choice is truly based on Linux's inability to perform.
You need to check out the various emacs related mailing lists, which are very active with a lot of people involved.
Emacs is still around, and more useful than ever.
Everyone else cares about applications to do their work.
I shouldn't reply to a trolling AC, but I want to state that I run Linux precisely because I care about having the applications and tools I need to do my work, and on Linux I have everything I need, while retaining full control over my environment. I'm less vulnerable to exploits, I don't have telemetry sending back my every move, I install updates when I wish and not when they are forced on me, and I don't have to deal with or get rid of crappy "apps" and crappier live tiles.
I don't get excited over the kernel or the toolkits any further than their being open-source, free, of good quality, and all in all enablers of doing my work freely and on my own terms.
When you say that "everyone" cares about applications to do their work, you push aside one of the biggest objections I hear about Linux, which comes from the gaming community who can't run their favorite new games on Linux. To me that says Windows is as much about games as it is about doing work. Not that that's a bad thing, but it's contrary to your statement.
Another reason why Windows is not ready for the desktop.
Grandma runs desktop Linux just fine.
This is rather insightful. I may be a Linux fan but there was a time when I would have readily admitted Grandma would have an easier time with Windows than with Linux (assuming someone competently preinstalled one or the other for her use). This surely started to change with the unusability of Windows 8 and now, with all the Windows 10 issues, I would not like to be on the receiving end of Grandma's support calls.
My wife (who is a grandma, by the way) uses a Linux distro that I installed and maintain for her (maintenance means installing updates once in a while). She neither knows nor cares that it's Linux and not Windows. It "just works" for her rather basic needs, and if she some day requires more advanced features, they're all available.
It used to be that I would have to keep a Windows partition to use some hardware devices. Today, there is very, very little that doesn't run in Linux, mostly without the need to look for a manufacturer's driver as is the case on Windows. Of course, there are exceptions[1] and YMMV, but by and large I do better with Linux these days than with Windows, in terms of hardware compatibility and ease of use. And although updates may at times create backward incompatibility (not often), I have a choice about when and if to install an update.
[1] In my installations, Nvidia graphics cards do require a special manufacturer's driver to work at their best (just like in Windows), I needed to install some software to run my scanner (just like in Windows), and I have one old USB wifi adapter that won't work at all. Everything else that I have (printers, webcams, etc.) requires zero extra effort.
None of this ever had anything to do with the consumer, other than the billing and collecting part.