Every time I've bought an HP product I've regreted it. I even got one of their dvd burners for a mere $99 year before last (when they were ~$300 normally) and then when it broke only 3 weeks after I bought it they said it wasn't covered under warrenty. They claimed that it was covered for 1 year or until they decide the product is obsolete and no longer will be supported. Even though i'd just bought it they had decided it was too long to support any longer dispite the fact that it was still on store shelves.
I don't know if it's just me... but if the store did this to you, then it's probably the store that screwing you over, not HP. A store should normally give you a 1 year warranty on most products. The only reason why they wouldn't is because they've had the product in stock for a long time. This way, if you want to return it, they won't accept it since they also won't be able to get their warranty from their distributors.
That's strange. I just installed Firefox 0.9 and it asked, on first run, to import data from either old version of Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Netscape. It did that, and I started up with all my settings, bookmarks, etc intact. In fact, it created the new Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox directory, and also retained the old Application Data\Phoenix directory.
The installation did not seem cruel to me. This worked for 2 User accounts on my Windows machine. Can't wait for Firefox 0.9 from fedora.us for FC2!
I just bought a Zire 72 and actually use it for some useful tasks.
#1 - SMS. I hate having to enter data using keys. I'd rather write. Plus I can copy/paste data from my memos to my messages. Easier than having to enter everything by keypad. #2 - I use the camera to capture and show clients our products. I also use the camera to capture potential offices, to show to my partners. It's a 1.2 megapixel camera so it's better than my SE T610's camera. #3 - I use Plucker and downloaded the Webster dictionary at www.pluckerbooks.com. Dictionaries are always handy. I also download the plucker format of howtos from www.tldp.org. Linux references are always useful. #4 - While my mobile is useful for listing contacts... it doesn't list all contact info (address, bdays, IM nickname, etc). I'm sure mobiles will reach that level of contact information (or have they already). But until then, my PDA is more useful for automatic reminders of my clients' birthdays. #5 - I have a program called Holidays that I've setup with holiday schedules. So I have holidays listed automatically in my Calendar, no manual entry. #6 - Password database. I'm sure this is considered bad practice... but I do store my passwords and other important info in a program called Keyring (it's in sourceforge, if you're interested). It's encrypted and open source, so it's secure enough for me. #7 - My laptop boots in about 1min. My PDA turns on in about... now. So if I need to call someone and don't have them on my mobile, it's faster to look it up in my PDA than it is on my laptop. Besides I only list mobile numbers on my T610. It costs more to dial landline numbers for me. #8 - I have Documents-To-Go (free with my Zire 72). If I'm out and need to type some document or spreadsheet, I can do it immediately. Save it on my SD Card as a.doc or.xls. Go home and transfer to my laptop. Open it with OpenOffice.org and continue. It's for those times I have to work without a laptop. Of course I still use a pen and paper. But for those spreadsheet formulas you just have to see the results immediately, rather than writing down =IF(blahblah;blahblah;IF(blahblah;blahblah)).
I'm sure I'll find some other useful stuff for my "toy". Oh, plus... I don't have to subscribe to some mobile phone company to actually use my PDA. I hear that the SE P800 doesn't work withouy a SIM card. That's just lame.
But I remembered reading once about the RIAA or some recording studio not liking the idea of cellphone ringtones of popular music. This resulted in cellphone companies having to pay royalties for every ringtone that they sell. Imagine... ringtones (the old ones anyway) are just beeps in different notes! It seems that, technically, you're also not allowed to whistle anymore.
Over the years I've seen dozens of examples where all of the Kings Techo-Geeks and all the Kings Men standing around a windows box with bad behaviour finally decide to backup what they can and re-install the damned thing because *nobody* can come up with a plausible explaination for what the heck is happening.
This sounds like my old job. There's a Windows 2k Advanced Server machine which multiple developers use for SMS projects. Sometimes the SMS queue won't send the messages, and just get stuck. The solution: reboot. Me, being the type that likes to know what is going on, ask "why not find out what's wrong?". The answer, "we don't know, but a reboot works". And so we reboot. I don't complain as I was almost resigning anyway. Plus the machine takes 30-45 minutes to reboot, and sometimes double that when a service fails and won't allow logins. We eat during these times.
I fuck with shit all day at work (as a net/sys admin drone) and when I come home, I certainly don't want to fuck with more stuff.
ewww... i don't really want to know what that "more stuff" is you fuck when you get home.
A few comments/questions/arguements:...but my two issues are. 1. Redhat takes free software and makes it easy to install, and work with and then charges close to what Microsoft does. I am sorry but how many developers does Redhat have on staff?
I believe Redhat is also a big contributor to several Free Software projects. They release their improvements under the GPL whenever they can.
2. They want you to basically lease the software from them. That sucks. One good thing with Microsoft windows versions less than XP was that if your company hit hard times you could wait a year or two before an upgrade. Now you will have a fixed cost to Redhat every month.
I believe that Microsoft also wanted to lease software. That was the idea with Office at one point or another. They wanted everything to be Web Applications you can rent. No more boxed software. I don't understand your other point. If you are lacking funds, then don't upgrade your RH desktops. Simple. You lose out on updates, fine. But it's not like you're getting too many updates from Microsoft for Win98. Most updates for Win98 are actually for IE6. And if you really hate RH, then switch to SuSE or Slackware or something.
It appears to me that the bean counters are in charge at RedHat, and they are totally focused on what will make them the most amount of money. Not that this is all bad, but they appear to be doing this at the "cost" of their customers. They kinda seem like another software company I know of.
That's the nature of business.
Redhat, this is what I want. 1. A downloadable ISO version of your enterprise server software, that I can work with but get no support on. I should be able to load this on as many machines as I want to. If I EVER need support on these systems OR want to use up2date on them, then I should have to pay.
I'd demand this from Microsoft as well. I want downloadable ISO version of Windows 2000 Advanced Server. I don't need support. If I ever decide to use Windows Update, then I'll pay.
2. A desktop version of your software, that is also a free download or a boxed set. Not Fedora!!! This should also have the ability to load on as many computers as I would want to. Again this version would have no support or up2date functionality unless I pay you. This version, unlike Fedora would actually have vendor support from companies like Oracle, Borland, IBM, etc.
What's up with the free stuff? You want free, download Debian and use that. It's pretty stable for enterprise use.
The weird part is that I would have little to no problem paying you $100 for your "desktop" system, and I wouldn't mind paying for support afterward. Say $50 a year for up2date services, and support calls at $75 for workstation calls and $300 for server calls.
And yet you complain about the $5/month fee. I'm confused.
Either way, Redhat's actions has caused me to start using SuSe, and I suppose in a weird way, I owe you some thanks. I would have NEVER done that before you "tweaked" your licencing.
At least you have an alternative. What if you were fed up with Microsoft... you could probably turn to... Microsoft! Oh wow.
i have an issue with this... ease of use is very subjective. any admin that has learned enough about a system (be it windows or linux) will find it very easy to use. i find it easy to setup an internal dns server, others might not. does that make setting up a linux dns server difficult? of course not. it's just a matter of learning.
besides, most people clamoring for linux ease-of-use are aiming for the desktop. the server is already easy for admins that actually know how to read howtos and manuals and documentation and know how to ask questions in mailing-lists.
And when you actually call your PC manufacturer for a Windows support issue, they say that they only support the hardware, and not the software. It's an infinite loop. This isn't a first-hand experience. It's the experience of my business partner who used to work as a support manager for a big US computer manufacturer that isn't IBM. You can guess who.
Am I the only one who finds it annoying, scary, and difficult to use the middle mouse button for anything? Remember that most mice these days have the middle button as a scroll wheel. So clicking or double-clicking on the middle scroll wheel makes me go crazy because: a. When I press, it turns a little. 2. When I press, it feels like it's gonna come off. d. When I press, it turns a little. These opinions are with respect to the "annoying, scary, and difficult" statement above.
Note this is on a Logitech Optical Mouse. Imagine using a cheap A4Tech scroll mouse's middle scroll wheel. One press will probably make the mouse explode.
I wonder how hardware manufacturers would feel that their stuff will be worth less than Windows. Imagine buying a Dell computer for $10, plus the cost of Windows for $200. I doubt that many hardware manufacturers will go R&D and manufacture for hardly any profit.
If anything, cheap Free Software people would benefit. I can see it now. Pentium 5 10.8 Ghz, with 4GB of RAM, 5 500GB HDD, a DVD Burner, 21" LCD Screen, a floppy drive, and Linux. All for $10. It is a cheapskate's dream come true.
it may just be me. but the only technology i'd probably ever consider wearing is a watch.
i don't always want to be contacted, so no phones. i don't always want to know what i have to do, so no pdas. i don't always want to be a geek, so no computers.
just a watch. so i know when it's time to contact people on my cellphone regarding our latest appointment and todos listed on my pda, then meet up with them and bring my laptop for presentations and jotting down notes.
i can only agree somewhat. while i doubt linux will have 20% of corporate desktops by 2005 or 2006, i agree that it does offer flexibility.
here's our situation... build as much business apps required to be web-based. then simply install desktops with linux, mozilla and openoffice.org. this way, employees still get a chance to create documents and spreadsheets on their desktops, but all the critical apps (ie invoicing, receivables reports, etc.) is on the server. i'm sure you can do this in windows as well... but then at least we've been able to limit what the employee can do on the desktop (no running a bunch of flash games, no running exe's sent to them) at minimal cost. training isn't even an issue, as the mozilla and openoffice icons are loaded on the desktop by default. basic training will include going through the web apps, and teaching them how and where to save and how to print.
this should be doable for a lot of business who have their apps already web-based, whether it is on an ms server or a linux server.
And most importantly how do you handle authority (tardiness, work ethic, and workplace codes) with a girlfriend?
this is proof you don't really have a girlfriend. you've obviously never had to wait a few hours for her to finish taking a shower. you've obviously never had to wait for her to finish up in the washroom in a mall. and you've certainly never had to wait for her try shoes on. how do you handle it? as you would in normal life... you don't have a choice. bring your girlfriend into the company, and expect her to not only run you, but your company as well.
What I would like to know is... if this average joe would also complain about difficulty in burning an audio CD with Nero. Maybe the only CD burning software he's tried is Windows Media Player or Roxio Easy CD Creator or something. Or maybe he just uses Nero Express (the easy to use front end of Nero).
What I would like to really know is what his reason for difficulty is. Maybe he just wants a simple "wizard" like application that asks him questions.
Disclaimer: I've never used K3b, but I hear it's as easy as breathing.
Maybe because it's a little island that they can easily contain the signal in as a trial run. Vancouver is too big. Imagine many people complaining about poor service because of erratic wireless signals.
Anyway, I'm just proud that Richmond has been mentioned. It's the first time I've seen my old city mentioned on the Internet, ever!
it won't work. knowing SCO, both sides will have proof that they are infringing on Linux code. both won't want to show their proof. they'll keep on delaying the proof-showing, even if a judge has required it in 1 month. since both SCO and SCO believes they are correct, why settle for a measly sum when you can get that infinite amount of money the first SCO is suing for.
I'm sorry but this sounds too condescending. Why should Chinese programmers make lots of free, useless little utilities, when they can make perfectly good, if not better, software?
If there's one thing I understand, it's that Chinese people have a lot of discipline and pride in themselves. If given the chance, they will produce the best software.
This seems to me simply an incentive for Chinese software to catch up. Whether it is right or wrong, that is not my argument. My argument is simply that Chinese can produce good software. The question is... given a few years, will they need foreign software as much as they do now?
You're situation seems completely reverse of mine. While I've also found that Office 97 and 2000 is "good enough", I've also found that OpenOffice.org is also "good enough". I've helped my friend with his thesis. He claimed that whenever he reached page 298, Word would just crash. I opened it in OpenOffice.org, scrolled to page 298, and braced for a crash. All I saw were a couple of strange boxes that show up for unknown characters. I removed those and saved in.doc. He opened it in Word, scrolled through it, and found nothing has changed, except for the crashing part.
Most of my work, as well, is done in OpenOffice.org. And while I don't do the hundred-plus page documents you do, I've not run into any problems with it. Me being financial officer, and systems administrator, my document and spreadsheet creation are pretty varied. I say, if it works for me, it must be "good enough". And if it can save a 300+ page thesis, my friend probably also thinks its "good enough". But then that is quite subjective. I say, if you've got the bandwidth, download and try it out.
Oh, the only thing I wish for is an OOo reader that can read those.sxw, etc. that I create. It would save some people the pain of having to download the entire OOo suite.
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Every time I've bought an HP product I've regreted it. I even got one of their dvd burners for a mere $99 year before last (when they were ~$300 normally) and then when it broke only 3 weeks after I bought it they said it wasn't covered under warrenty. They claimed that it was covered for 1 year or until they decide the product is obsolete and no longer will be supported. Even though i'd just bought it they had decided it was too long to support any longer dispite the fact that it was still on store shelves.
I don't know if it's just me... but if the store did this to you, then it's probably the store that screwing you over, not HP. A store should normally give you a 1 year warranty on most products. The only reason why they wouldn't is because they've had the product in stock for a long time. This way, if you want to return it, they won't accept it since they also won't be able to get their warranty from their distributors.
of course I may be wrong.
Of course not silly. It's not like IE is integrated into Longhorn... wait a minute...
That's strange. I just installed Firefox 0.9 and it asked, on first run, to import data from either old version of Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Netscape. It did that, and I started up with all my settings, bookmarks, etc intact. In fact, it created the new Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox directory, and also retained the old Application Data\Phoenix directory.
The installation did not seem cruel to me. This worked for 2 User accounts on my Windows machine. Can't wait for Firefox 0.9 from fedora.us for FC2!
I just bought a Zire 72 and actually use it for some useful tasks.
.doc or .xls. Go home and transfer to my laptop. Open it with OpenOffice.org and continue. It's for those times I have to work without a laptop. Of course I still use a pen and paper. But for those spreadsheet formulas you just have to see the results immediately, rather than writing down =IF(blahblah;blahblah;IF(blahblah;blahblah)).
#1 - SMS. I hate having to enter data using keys. I'd rather write. Plus I can copy/paste data from my memos to my messages. Easier than having to enter everything by keypad.
#2 - I use the camera to capture and show clients our products. I also use the camera to capture potential offices, to show to my partners. It's a 1.2 megapixel camera so it's better than my SE T610's camera.
#3 - I use Plucker and downloaded the Webster dictionary at www.pluckerbooks.com. Dictionaries are always handy. I also download the plucker format of howtos from www.tldp.org. Linux references are always useful.
#4 - While my mobile is useful for listing contacts... it doesn't list all contact info (address, bdays, IM nickname, etc). I'm sure mobiles will reach that level of contact information (or have they already). But until then, my PDA is more useful for automatic reminders of my clients' birthdays.
#5 - I have a program called Holidays that I've setup with holiday schedules. So I have holidays listed automatically in my Calendar, no manual entry.
#6 - Password database. I'm sure this is considered bad practice... but I do store my passwords and other important info in a program called Keyring (it's in sourceforge, if you're interested). It's encrypted and open source, so it's secure enough for me.
#7 - My laptop boots in about 1min. My PDA turns on in about... now. So if I need to call someone and don't have them on my mobile, it's faster to look it up in my PDA than it is on my laptop. Besides I only list mobile numbers on my T610. It costs more to dial landline numbers for me.
#8 - I have Documents-To-Go (free with my Zire 72). If I'm out and need to type some document or spreadsheet, I can do it immediately. Save it on my SD Card as a
I'm sure I'll find some other useful stuff for my "toy". Oh, plus... I don't have to subscribe to some mobile phone company to actually use my PDA. I hear that the SE P800 doesn't work withouy a SIM card. That's just lame.
My post won't really be very helpful...
But I remembered reading once about the RIAA or some recording studio not liking the idea of cellphone ringtones of popular music. This resulted in cellphone companies having to pay royalties for every ringtone that they sell. Imagine... ringtones (the old ones anyway) are just beeps in different notes! It seems that, technically, you're also not allowed to whistle anymore.
Just some lame and useless info for everyone.
Does anyone need 2GB of memory for their PDA?
I can imagine it already... handheld porn. Wherever I go and need it, I have porn. Handy porn.
Over the years I've seen dozens of examples where all of the Kings Techo-Geeks and all the Kings Men standing around a windows box with bad behaviour finally decide to backup what they can and re-install the damned thing because *nobody* can come up with a plausible explaination for what the heck is happening.
This sounds like my old job. There's a Windows 2k Advanced Server machine which multiple developers use for SMS projects. Sometimes the SMS queue won't send the messages, and just get stuck. The solution: reboot. Me, being the type that likes to know what is going on, ask "why not find out what's wrong?". The answer, "we don't know, but a reboot works". And so we reboot. I don't complain as I was almost resigning anyway. Plus the machine takes 30-45 minutes to reboot, and sometimes double that when a service fails and won't allow logins. We eat during these times.
I fuck with shit all day at work (as a net/sys admin drone) and when I come home, I certainly don't want to fuck with more stuff. ewww... i don't really want to know what that "more stuff" is you fuck when you get home.
A few comments/questions/arguements: ...but my two issues are.
1. Redhat takes free software and makes it easy to install, and work with and then charges close to what Microsoft does. I am sorry but how many developers does Redhat have on staff?
I believe Redhat is also a big contributor to several Free Software projects. They release their improvements under the GPL whenever they can.
2. They want you to basically lease the software from them. That sucks. One good thing with Microsoft windows versions less than XP was that if your company hit hard times you could wait a year or two before an upgrade. Now you will have a fixed cost to Redhat every month.
I believe that Microsoft also wanted to lease software. That was the idea with Office at one point or another. They wanted everything to be Web Applications you can rent. No more boxed software. I don't understand your other point. If you are lacking funds, then don't upgrade your RH desktops. Simple. You lose out on updates, fine. But it's not like you're getting too many updates from Microsoft for Win98. Most updates for Win98 are actually for IE6. And if you really hate RH, then switch to SuSE or Slackware or something.
It appears to me that the bean counters are in charge at RedHat, and they are totally focused on what will make them the most amount of money. Not that this is all bad, but they appear to be doing this at the "cost" of their customers. They kinda seem like another software company I know of.
That's the nature of business.
Redhat, this is what I want.
1. A downloadable ISO version of your enterprise server software, that I can work with but get no support on. I should be able to load this on as many machines as I want to. If I EVER need support on these systems OR want to use up2date on them, then I should have to pay.
I'd demand this from Microsoft as well. I want downloadable ISO version of Windows 2000 Advanced Server. I don't need support. If I ever decide to use Windows Update, then I'll pay.
2. A desktop version of your software, that is also a free download or a boxed set. Not Fedora!!! This should also have the ability to load on as many computers as I would want to. Again this version would have no support or up2date functionality unless I pay you. This version, unlike Fedora would actually have vendor support from companies like Oracle, Borland, IBM, etc.
What's up with the free stuff? You want free, download Debian and use that. It's pretty stable for enterprise use.
The weird part is that I would have little to no problem paying you $100 for your "desktop" system, and I wouldn't mind paying for support afterward. Say $50 a year for up2date services, and support calls at $75 for workstation calls and $300 for server calls.
And yet you complain about the $5/month fee. I'm confused.
Either way, Redhat's actions has caused me to start using SuSe, and I suppose in a weird way, I owe you some thanks. I would have NEVER done that before you "tweaked" your licencing.
At least you have an alternative. What if you were fed up with Microsoft... you could probably turn to... Microsoft! Oh wow.
i have an issue with this... ease of use is very subjective. any admin that has learned enough about a system (be it windows or linux) will find it very easy to use. i find it easy to setup an internal dns server, others might not. does that make setting up a linux dns server difficult? of course not. it's just a matter of learning. besides, most people clamoring for linux ease-of-use are aiming for the desktop. the server is already easy for admins that actually know how to read howtos and manuals and documentation and know how to ask questions in mailing-lists.
And when you actually call your PC manufacturer for a Windows support issue, they say that they only support the hardware, and not the software. It's an infinite loop. This isn't a first-hand experience. It's the experience of my business partner who used to work as a support manager for a big US computer manufacturer that isn't IBM. You can guess who.
> - that's why we're here, right?
hmmm... this seems to be an attempt to to slashdot slashdot through a link on slashdot pointing to slashdot.
May the source be with you.
Use the source, Linus.
Am I the only one who finds it annoying, scary, and difficult to use the middle mouse button for anything? Remember that most mice these days have the middle button as a scroll wheel. So clicking or double-clicking on the middle scroll wheel makes me go crazy because:
a. When I press, it turns a little.
2. When I press, it feels like it's gonna come off.
d. When I press, it turns a little.
These opinions are with respect to the "annoying, scary, and difficult" statement above.
Note this is on a Logitech Optical Mouse. Imagine using a cheap A4Tech scroll mouse's middle scroll wheel. One press will probably make the mouse explode.
I wonder how hardware manufacturers would feel that their stuff will be worth less than Windows. Imagine buying a Dell computer for $10, plus the cost of Windows for $200. I doubt that many hardware manufacturers will go R&D and manufacture for hardly any profit.
If anything, cheap Free Software people would benefit. I can see it now. Pentium 5 10.8 Ghz, with 4GB of RAM, 5 500GB HDD, a DVD Burner, 21" LCD Screen, a floppy drive, and Linux. All for $10. It is a cheapskate's dream come true.
it may just be me. but the only technology i'd probably ever consider wearing is a watch.
i don't always want to be contacted, so no phones.
i don't always want to know what i have to do, so no pdas.
i don't always want to be a geek, so no computers.
just a watch. so i know when it's time to contact people on my cellphone regarding our latest appointment and todos listed on my pda, then meet up with them and bring my laptop for presentations and jotting down notes.
just a watch. thank you.
That's interesting... as it says in the Press Release that SuSE 9.1 will be available in May...
i can only agree somewhat. while i doubt linux will have 20% of corporate desktops by 2005 or 2006, i agree that it does offer flexibility.
here's our situation... build as much business apps required to be web-based. then simply install desktops with linux, mozilla and openoffice.org. this way, employees still get a chance to create documents and spreadsheets on their desktops, but all the critical apps (ie invoicing, receivables reports, etc.) is on the server. i'm sure you can do this in windows as well... but then at least we've been able to limit what the employee can do on the desktop (no running a bunch of flash games, no running exe's sent to them) at minimal cost. training isn't even an issue, as the mozilla and openoffice icons are loaded on the desktop by default. basic training will include going through the web apps, and teaching them how and where to save and how to print.
this should be doable for a lot of business who have their apps already web-based, whether it is on an ms server or a linux server.
And most importantly how do you handle authority (tardiness, work ethic, and workplace codes) with a girlfriend?
this is proof you don't really have a girlfriend. you've obviously never had to wait a few hours for her to finish taking a shower. you've obviously never had to wait for her to finish up in the washroom in a mall. and you've certainly never had to wait for her try shoes on. how do you handle it? as you would in normal life... you don't have a choice. bring your girlfriend into the company, and expect her to not only run you, but your company as well.
ok it's a usb-irda device. cool. i thought it was just some high-tech blender (the stir 4200!), which will have an embedded linux kernel.
What I would like to know is... if this average joe would also complain about difficulty in burning an audio CD with Nero. Maybe the only CD burning software he's tried is Windows Media Player or Roxio Easy CD Creator or something. Or maybe he just uses Nero Express (the easy to use front end of Nero). What I would like to really know is what his reason for difficulty is. Maybe he just wants a simple "wizard" like application that asks him questions. Disclaimer: I've never used K3b, but I hear it's as easy as breathing.
Maybe because it's a little island that they can easily contain the signal in as a trial run. Vancouver is too big. Imagine many people complaining about poor service because of erratic wireless signals.
Anyway, I'm just proud that Richmond has been mentioned. It's the first time I've seen my old city mentioned on the Internet, ever!
it won't work. knowing SCO, both sides will have proof that they are infringing on Linux code. both won't want to show their proof. they'll keep on delaying the proof-showing, even if a judge has required it in 1 month. since both SCO and SCO believes they are correct, why settle for a measly sum when you can get that infinite amount of money the first SCO is suing for.
I'm sorry but this sounds too condescending. Why should Chinese programmers make lots of free, useless little utilities, when they can make perfectly good, if not better, software?
If there's one thing I understand, it's that Chinese people have a lot of discipline and pride in themselves. If given the chance, they will produce the best software.
This seems to me simply an incentive for Chinese software to catch up. Whether it is right or wrong, that is not my argument. My argument is simply that Chinese can produce good software. The question is... given a few years, will they need foreign software as much as they do now?
You're situation seems completely reverse of mine. While I've also found that Office 97 and 2000 is "good enough", I've also found that OpenOffice.org is also "good enough". I've helped my friend with his thesis. He claimed that whenever he reached page 298, Word would just crash. I opened it in OpenOffice.org, scrolled to page 298, and braced for a crash. All I saw were a couple of strange boxes that show up for unknown characters. I removed those and saved in .doc. He opened it in Word, scrolled through it, and found nothing has changed, except for the crashing part.
.sxw, etc. that I create. It would save some people the pain of having to download the entire OOo suite.
Most of my work, as well, is done in OpenOffice.org. And while I don't do the hundred-plus page documents you do, I've not run into any problems with it. Me being financial officer, and systems administrator, my document and spreadsheet creation are pretty varied. I say, if it works for me, it must be "good enough". And if it can save a 300+ page thesis, my friend probably also thinks its "good enough". But then that is quite subjective. I say, if you've got the bandwidth, download and try it out.
Oh, the only thing I wish for is an OOo reader that can read those