Don't be daft. It's just a nice way to start a discussion. I'm really getting sick of this type of answer. I could post such a reply to almost EVERY 'Ask Slashdot'.
Typically, I can start a DOS session, cd, run or copy the file, and exit out of the session int he time it takes just to start Windows Explorer
Well, for me DOS is just too clunky. For me, it takes longer than using the Explorer. When I use Linux (which is the main OS for me), I always have a shell open because it's so darn quick. But DOS just doesn't have the userfriendlyness of the bash shell.
I don't care for Windows, but it is the most advanced mouseless UI there is
Mod parent higher, because he's SO RIGHT. The other day I wanted to check whether you could call up a context (rightclick) menu in nautilus with the keyboard. And it's just not possible!!
And so far, I haven't found a decent file manager which clones Windows Explorer. All they do is add more and more useless features. (But that's personal taste).
Well, by coincidence I'm working on a pretty powerful box right now... Office runs OK too. But you're right, normally it's so slow it's almost unworkable. And the fact that the max resolution is 800x600x16 is a pain, too.
Just a tip for people; I run Kazaa on my Linux box:
I installed win95 with Kazaa in the Bochs virtual machine.
I'm pretty sure it can't come out of the box:)
I don't mean to be the wisecrack, but what I did was install 1.1beta anyway but not actually use it for stuff where I can't afford a bug (i.e. customer-related). But when I receive a complicated.DOC file, I load it in OOo's Writer and compare it to Word, just to see whether some bug occurred. Then I do a quick search on IssueZilla (OOo's bugzilla) to see whether it's reported. It takes some time, of course, but it gives that warm fuzzy community-feeling:)
Open anything reasonably complicated (things embedded, complicated formatting, etc) and OO pukes.
Have you tried OOo 1.1beta? I use OOo 1.0.2 and when I looked at 1.1beta, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of bugs which have been solved. Just look at the buglist of the 'writer' part, those guys are productive. I'm telling you, it's actually quite usable concerning MS Word in/exports nowadays.
One really cool use would be a web-server based file translator from Microsoft Word format to other formats (say,.rtf)
That's a good idea, except when converting to RTF, you loose stuff. Ideally, you'd want no loss whatsoever. I don't know any current format which would work with this idea.
I also don't really understand why people seem to think that Linux native software is better than Windows software under emulation. If the integration is there, who cares what APIs it uses?
Because they're more stable? My experience with WINE (limited to running Office 97) is that it's not very stable.
You're pretty much going to lose that with Blackdown versions of MSO anyway.
I'm assuming here that Blackdown is some codename for Office 11? Well, I've seen some word2000 bugs in the im/export of word97 docs, but still I'd rather put my bets on MS Office its own import than OOo's.
And it's probably gonna take a while before it's flawless, since some problems (like table cells spread over more than one page) are only scheduled for the next major version, 2.0. And MS is not helping either.
As well as one MS-Word version to another, yes, and sometimes better.
Well, my experience with the Word filters in OOo 1.0.2 is that there was always one or another bug harassing me, to the point that I didn't dare to edit/start a document in a project on my work.
Funny enough people seem to be a lot more forgiving when it's (a version of) Word's fault rather than OOo's fault. Lots of snide remarks from customers and colleagues like "Gee man, stop wasting time. Just run Windows and Word blahblahblah"
It's true that the latest OOo, 1.1beta, is looking pretty good. Yesterday I've been looking at it, opening some documents on projects I've worked on. Lots of bugs have been solved.
(...) Expect that decision to be reversed
It's interesting to talk about how the future might look like, but when I'm working, I only care about what's working right now. OOo still has to prove itself. Flawless word im/export is what I need.
(Note that other people might need other features, I'm not saying that my feature-needs are the only needs.)
No windows == No MS Office.
If you have no MS Office, where's that productivity you're talking about? You're not gonna tell me about how the Wordfilters in Open/StarOffice work just fine, are you?
The one steady complaint I hear is "doesn't do a perfect job of opening Microsoft Office formats". THat complaint is, even if true, ridiculous.
That complaint is very, very relevant. I'm a developer. Yesterday I was plowing through a Word-document with the customer's requirements. They were autonumbered in a certain way, but OO's Writer fucks it up.
My colleague asks me 'which number has requirement so-and-so?'. I can't tell and he's irritated, because just like the customer and rest of the team, he uses Win2k+Word2k. I hate Win/word, but I just don't have a choice here.
(OK I could use Wine, VMWare, bochs, or any other, but they have their disadvantages).
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Don't be daft. It's just a nice way to start a discussion. I'm really getting sick of this type of answer. I could post such a reply to almost EVERY 'Ask Slashdot'.
And so far, I haven't found a decent file manager which clones Windows Explorer. All they do is add more and more useless features. (But that's personal taste).
I'm using the testversion and I gotta say it works like a charm with Office 2000. It's quick, stable and guarantees interoperability.
And with the new licensing policy, it doesn't seem to be a problem anymore when your company has licenses.
Well, by coincidence I'm working on a pretty powerful box right now... Office runs OK too. But you're right, normally it's so slow it's almost unworkable. And the fact that the max resolution is 800x600x16 is a pain, too.
Just a tip for people; I run Kazaa on my Linux box: I installed win95 with Kazaa in the Bochs virtual machine. I'm pretty sure it can't come out of the box :)
Hehheh greek/latin spelling, who cares!
I have a cerberusss for you. Triple s. Is that good enough? :)
And it's probably gonna take a while before it's flawless, since some problems (like table cells spread over more than one page) are only scheduled for the next major version, 2.0. And MS is not helping either.
Funny enough people seem to be a lot more forgiving when it's (a version of) Word's fault rather than OOo's fault. Lots of snide remarks from customers and colleagues like "Gee man, stop wasting time. Just run Windows and Word blahblahblah"
It's true that the latest OOo, 1.1beta, is looking pretty good. Yesterday I've been looking at it, opening some documents on projects I've worked on. Lots of bugs have been solved.
It's interesting to talk about how the future might look like, but when I'm working, I only care about what's working right now. OOo still has to prove itself. Flawless word im/export is what I need.
(Note that other people might need other features, I'm not saying that my feature-needs are the only needs.)
No Windows, no bluescreens, yes productivity.
No windows == No MS Office.
If you have no MS Office, where's that productivity you're talking about? You're not gonna tell me about how the Wordfilters in Open/StarOffice work just fine, are you?
The one steady complaint I hear is "doesn't do a perfect job of opening Microsoft Office formats". THat complaint is, even if true, ridiculous.
That complaint is very, very relevant. I'm a developer. Yesterday I was plowing through a Word-document with the customer's requirements. They were autonumbered in a certain way, but OO's Writer fucks it up.
My colleague asks me 'which number has requirement so-and-so?'. I can't tell and he's irritated, because just like the customer and rest of the team, he uses Win2k+Word2k. I hate Win/word, but I just don't have a choice here.
(OK I could use Wine, VMWare, bochs, or any other, but they have their disadvantages).
Now tell me again why the complaint isn't true.