If you are not an acclimated native, a trip in the Mexico City Metro and a few tacos in certain street stands would probably guarantee that you become infected with something
This was the path that WordPerfect chose. (see "Reveal Codes"). While this survived the transition to the mac, it did not survive (in terms of market share) the transition from DOS to Windows.
I really can't see MS going down this road -- which they explicitly rejected 15-20 years ago, but I'd be delighted to be wrong.
Everything old is new again, after all.
I would be delighted to see a TeX editor that did this... Do most of the work in wysisyg and then dig into the code to "prettify" it
Part of the reason is that Latex is not just about formulas. It's also about styles, lists, bibliography, cross referencing within your doc, etc, which WYSIWYG has not been able to get right so far, and for the needs of power-users, I suspect it never will. I use both, and I still struggle to get Word lists to do what I want
Yes, but remember that Microsoft has gained dominance in many areas just by providing "good enough" software with the MS name.
Lots of people considered Lotus 123 superior to MS Excel. Lots of people considered WordPerfect superior to MS Word... What happened to those markets?
Now that I've spent time on the Tex learning curve, and I can typically get it to do what I want, why would I want to get on another learning curve?
Now, think of the guy who just gets into college in 2011 and has the option of learning LaTeX or continue using MS Word, which he has already used for years to do High School papers and other stuff... Will he want to get on another (much steeper!) learning curve, or will he just figure out the "advanced typesetting" menus of Word 2010?
I'm not sure how it is in other industries, but many IEEE conferences and journals accept LaTeX, pdf, or a doc file (they provide a template).
As a result, nobody in my school department ever tried to figure out how to use LaTeX (well, I did, but that's because I'm already a geek who has no problem with the learning curve and would rather just have a better tool). I'm not saying this is the norm even in other EE departments, and I know LaTeX is by far the default in academia. However, I'm pointing out that the switch has begun before microsoft even bothered offering those features.
This. People don't want to learn to use new software. As stated above, if Word becomes "good enough" for scientific publishing, it will become the defacto standard in a jiffy, just because "everybody" uses Word
Word is not a text editor Word is not a desktop publishing software Word is not a email client...and yet a lot of people still use it that way!
(and don't get me started on what some people use Excel for!)
Why? Because they don't want to buy/download/get the correct tool for the job. And even if the correct tool for the job is easily available, they don't want to learn how to use it!
The sad reality is that, if Word starts offering decent academic publishing features, it will overtake LaTeX in a blink... Even worse, clueless professors will start demanding that documents be submitted in.docx format!
I encountered this with my wife... Her argument was "I believe you when you tell me Linux is more powerful, but I am not interested in learning how to use it"
Finally she accepted an "interim program" of me making a userspace for her in my netbook, while the main desktop in the house remains in a dual-boot mode.
Curiously enough, she was turned off by the Ubuntu Netbook Remix interface (which I love), so I changed her desktop to a basic default with only one bar (on the bottom) configured to resemble Windows XP's interface
Now she doesn't complain about Linux itself, and instead claims that it is the small-but-infuriating differences between OpenOffice and MS Office 2003 that slow her down. However, she is willing to admit now that Linux is "pretty good", particularly when she realizes that certain OS features are more reliable in Linux than on XP (wifi, suspend-wakeup, printing)
Next step of the program will be changing the family desktop to Ubuntu Jaunty and running Windows XP in VirtualBox for my wife to use MS Office
At the latest when my GF wanted to burn a simple mp3 file and Brasero mumbled something about an "missing gstreamer plugin" she said, that (Ubuntu) Linux is still too complicated for normal users. I couldn't really argue with her, just explain the Why's and How's of proprietary stuff and the legal issues of their use. Installed the restricted stuff (which she'd have had no idea to even look for!) and she was set and likes it.
Which proves that Linux is not user-unfriendly when it comes correctly preinstalled....and by "correctly preinstalled" I mean make sure that every reasonable functionality is turned on (which includes MP3, DVD, etc)
There are Winprinters that work fine in Linux. My cheap HP 1018 Laserjet is as dumb as a brick, yet works perfectly in Ubuntu
You have a point about Lexmarks, which is why all of us computer-literate people must do everything in our power to steer people away from Lexmark, whenever they use Windows, Mac or Linux
Acer reported a high number of returns of its AspireOne netbook with Linux preinstalled and the newest model that came out this year is only available with XP
Slashdot Mirror
Futbol
True, the first few episodes sufferred a bit from the "monster of the week" disease, but it quickly gets better...
And the time travel stuff allowed them to ignore the awful third movie
If you are not an acclimated native, a trip in the Mexico City Metro and a few tacos in certain street stands would probably guarantee that you become infected with something
...and would like to inform Slashdotters that absolutely no influenza cases has been registered in a touristic area.
So, go and book that vacation today... Some sun and exercise will do you wonders!
Good point
Yes, the guys who need this stuff TODAY already know how to use TeX.
The kid who will be entering college in 2011 will probably not want to learn TeX if Word can produce acceptable results
This was the path that WordPerfect chose. (see "Reveal Codes"). While this survived the transition to the mac, it did not survive (in terms of market share) the transition from DOS to Windows.
I really can't see MS going down this road -- which they explicitly rejected 15-20 years ago, but I'd be delighted to be wrong.
Everything old is new again, after all.
I would be delighted to see a TeX editor that did this... Do most of the work in wysisyg and then dig into the code to "prettify" it
Part of the reason is that Latex is not just about formulas. It's also about styles, lists, bibliography, cross referencing within your doc, etc, which WYSIWYG has not been able to get right so far, and for the needs of power-users, I suspect it never will. I use both, and I still struggle to get Word lists to do what I want
Yes, but remember that Microsoft has gained dominance in many areas just by providing "good enough" software with the MS name.
Lots of people considered Lotus 123 superior to MS Excel. Lots of people considered WordPerfect superior to MS Word... What happened to those markets?
Now that I've spent time on the Tex learning curve, and I can typically get it to do what I want, why would I want to get on another learning curve?
Now, think of the guy who just gets into college in 2011 and has the option of learning LaTeX or continue using MS Word, which he has already used for years to do High School papers and other stuff...
Will he want to get on another (much steeper!) learning curve, or will he just figure out the "advanced typesetting" menus of Word 2010?
I'm not sure how it is in other industries, but many IEEE conferences and journals accept LaTeX, pdf, or a doc file (they provide a template).
As a result, nobody in my school department ever tried to figure out how to use LaTeX (well, I did, but that's because I'm already a geek who has no problem with the learning curve and would rather just have a better tool). I'm not saying this is the norm even in other EE departments, and I know LaTeX is by far the default in academia. However, I'm pointing out that the switch has begun before microsoft even bothered offering those features.
This. People don't want to learn to use new software. As stated above, if Word becomes "good enough" for scientific publishing, it will become the defacto standard in a jiffy, just because "everybody" uses Word
You are right,
Word is not a text editor ...and yet a lot of people still use it that way!
Word is not a desktop publishing software
Word is not a email client
(and don't get me started on what some people use Excel for!)
Why? Because they don't want to buy/download/get the correct tool for the job. And even if the correct tool for the job is easily available, they don't want to learn how to use it!
The sad reality is that, if Word starts offering decent academic publishing features, it will overtake LaTeX in a blink... Even worse, clueless professors will start demanding that documents be submitted in .docx format!
Oh, good to know... So why do the OEM's still act as if this was still true?
Sorry, no... Toshiba already invested in the R&D and Memorex has been ripping them off
Memorex needs to pay (hopefully reasonable) licensing costs like all the other DVD-R manufacturers
Nah, remember that Microsoft gets paid for the number of computers sold, not for the number of Windows licenses sold.
Therefore, even if you want an Ubuntu install, Dell would not give you a discount
Well yes, of course
Ubuntu 8.10, you can get it here:
http://klingbuntu.wizage.net/
[facepalm]
The term trailer trash comes to mind.
[voice=Homer]
Mhmm... trailer trash
[/voice]
I encountered this with my wife... Her argument was "I believe you when you tell me Linux is more powerful, but I am not interested in learning how to use it"
Finally she accepted an "interim program" of me making a userspace for her in my netbook, while the main desktop in the house remains in a dual-boot mode.
Curiously enough, she was turned off by the Ubuntu Netbook Remix interface (which I love), so I changed her desktop to a basic default with only one bar (on the bottom) configured to resemble Windows XP's interface
Now she doesn't complain about Linux itself, and instead claims that it is the small-but-infuriating differences between OpenOffice and MS Office 2003 that slow her down. However, she is willing to admit now that Linux is "pretty good", particularly when she realizes that certain OS features are more reliable in Linux than on XP (wifi, suspend-wakeup, printing)
Next step of the program will be changing the family desktop to Ubuntu Jaunty and running Windows XP in VirtualBox for my wife to use MS Office
Mhmm I don't think you can get a gaming computer (meaning a computer able to run 2008-2009 games) for "four or five hundred bucks"}
At the latest when my GF wanted to burn a simple mp3 file and Brasero mumbled something about an "missing gstreamer plugin" she said, that (Ubuntu) Linux is still too complicated for normal users. I couldn't really argue with her, just explain the Why's and How's of proprietary stuff and the legal issues of their use. Installed the restricted stuff (which she'd have had no idea to even look for!) and she was set and likes it.
Which proves that Linux is not user-unfriendly when it comes correctly preinstalled. ...and by "correctly preinstalled" I mean make sure that every reasonable functionality is turned on (which includes MP3, DVD, etc)
Next you'll probably want an IBM model M keyboard emulation mode that plays a springy sound every time a key is hit.
You mean like ICQ had over a decade ago?
There are Winprinters that work fine in Linux. My cheap HP 1018 Laserjet is as dumb as a brick, yet works perfectly in Ubuntu
You have a point about Lexmarks, which is why all of us computer-literate people must do everything in our power to steer people away from Lexmark, whenever they use Windows, Mac or Linux
...and their dog!
Screw the naysayers, congratulations to everybody working in OpenOffice.org
I can run Ubuntu Jaunty in 10 year old hardware reasonably well
Next question?
To be fair, the medical computing industry is one of the most notable examples of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy
A lot of hospital equipment still runs in Windows NT, without any plans to change it
I'll play Devil's Advocate on this one:
Acer reported a high number of returns of its AspireOne netbook with Linux preinstalled and the newest model that came out this year is only available with XP