OK; I'm dating myself a bit here but back when OS/2 was more than a distant memory, IBM included a feature called WinOS2 that would allow you to run native Windows apps in OS/2. The intent was to lure developers to OS/2; it did exactly the opposite. It worked well enough that developers switched to Windows, knowing that using WinOS2 their products would also work under OS/2.
This could have the same effect. The unintended message could be "do all your development under iOS, then do a quick port to WP7 to capture both markets." Only problem is, the 'ported' apps tend to look like exactly what they are...
Not taking any sides here one way or the other, but back during the Industrial Revolution (no; I'm not THAT old...) businesses would hire young people with aptitude, common sense, and a degree of reliability. They would teach them a craft in exchange for some committed time as an indentured apprentice, after which they could (if they chose) ply their trades elsewhere. Are we returning to something like this? Does a person need a undergrad class in Literature to be a good coder or a complete person?
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I agree with the concept of taxing all forms of 'property'. Businesses are very careful to divest themselves of physical property which is not earning more than it costs to own it; 'intellectual' property should be treated the same; if you want to own it, you have to pay taxes on it.
A serious problem with the whole concept of 'intellectual property' is that it currently costs nothing to own it.
I've used Applix, WordPerfect and StarOffice to some extent for some time now.
Applix has been my favorite for interoperability with M$ stuff so far. I often hack on a document in Word by day at a customer site, then refine it under Applix at home. Despite multiple editing sessions in this 'ping pong' mode, I've never had one get flaked out. I'm using an older version of Applix (4.4.1), so I can only assume it's better in the latest version.
I'm also using WP8 which came with Corel Linux (Hey; it's not THAT bad...) WP looks and feels like a Windows app, so that might be and advantage if user training is a major issue. Interoperability with M$ has been less than perfect; I've had a few documents go weird in the process. I haven't tried WP2000 yet, but I presume this has been refined. (I understand that WP2000 is actually the Windows code base running under WINE. Whatever you may think of that maneuver, I'm sure that it aids consistency with their Windows product.)
I have tried StarOffice a few times but found that it loaded the slowest of the three and seemed a bit more sluggish. Interoperability with M$ was always excellent and has only improved over time.
For my own use, I seem to gravitate back to Applix despite using the other two from time to time.
It all comes down to requirements. If they will be exchanging documents with other systems (M$, WP on Windows, etc.), this should be a major consideration. If resource utilization is a major consideration, I've personally found Applix to be the 'lightest'. If Cost is a major issue, you clearly can't beat StarOffice. I would suggest trying them out on one of your target workstations and getting a feel for how they perform in that environment. It also wouldn't hurt to get a handful of users involved in such an evaluation; no matter how good the product, if they don't like it, it won't fly.
Free advice, all my own (possibly jaded) opinions, and worth slightly less than what you paid for it =:o)
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OK; I'm dating myself a bit here but back when OS/2 was more than a distant memory, IBM included a feature called WinOS2 that would allow you to run native Windows apps in OS/2. The intent was to lure developers to OS/2; it did exactly the opposite. It worked well enough that developers switched to Windows, knowing that using WinOS2 their products would also work under OS/2.
This could have the same effect. The unintended message could be "do all your development under iOS, then do a quick port to WP7 to capture both markets." Only problem is, the 'ported' apps tend to look like exactly what they are...
Not taking any sides here one way or the other, but back during the Industrial Revolution (no; I'm not THAT old...) businesses would hire young people with aptitude, common sense, and a degree of reliability. They would teach them a craft in exchange for some committed time as an indentured apprentice, after which they could (if they chose) ply their trades elsewhere. Are we returning to something like this? Does a person need a undergrad class in Literature to be a good coder or a complete person?
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I agree with the concept of taxing all forms of 'property'. Businesses are very careful to divest themselves of physical property which is not earning more than it costs to own it; 'intellectual' property should be treated the same; if you want to own it, you have to pay taxes on it.
A serious problem with the whole concept of 'intellectual property' is that it currently costs nothing to own it.
I've used Applix, WordPerfect and StarOffice to some extent for some time now.
Applix has been my favorite for interoperability with M$ stuff so far. I often hack on a document in Word by day at a customer site, then refine it under Applix at home. Despite multiple editing sessions in this 'ping pong' mode, I've never had one get flaked out. I'm using an older version of Applix (4.4.1), so I can only assume it's better in the latest version.
I'm also using WP8 which came with Corel Linux (Hey; it's not THAT bad...) WP looks and feels like a Windows app, so that might be and advantage if user training is a major issue. Interoperability with M$ has been less than perfect; I've had a few documents go weird in the process. I haven't tried WP2000 yet, but I presume this has been refined. (I understand that WP2000 is actually the Windows code base running under WINE. Whatever you may think of that maneuver, I'm sure that it aids consistency with their Windows product.)
I have tried StarOffice a few times but found that it loaded the slowest of the three and seemed a bit more sluggish. Interoperability with M$ was always excellent and has only improved over time.
For my own use, I seem to gravitate back to Applix despite using the other two from time to time.
It all comes down to requirements. If they will be exchanging documents with other systems (M$, WP on Windows, etc.), this should be a major consideration. If resource utilization is a major consideration, I've personally found Applix to be the 'lightest'. If Cost is a major issue, you clearly can't beat StarOffice. I would suggest trying them out on one of your target workstations and getting a feel for how they perform in that environment. It also wouldn't hurt to get a handful of users involved in such an evaluation; no matter how good the product, if they don't like it, it won't fly.
Free advice, all my own (possibly jaded) opinions, and worth slightly less than what you paid for it =:o)