Errr, I shipped a major Web development using.Net at my previous employer. It's used by a large number of end users and is classified as an unqualified success.
Not to say it couldn't have been done with Java, Tomcat etc.
If you're referring to the lack of rich client deployed apps then you may have a point.
Point taken. Visicalc I think was the original but that's well before my time.
When I started with Windows PCs we had the choice between Smart Suite and Office, though there were others none were quite so well packaged it seems. Technically Smart Suite was well ahead of Office and, IMHO, in some areas - the use of style sheets in Ami/Word Pro for example - Office is still behind.
Well then you clearly don't remember that before Excel became dominant, Lotus 123 was the spreadsheet of choice for the discerning user. Far better than Excel.
The reason Excel became the dominant spreadsheet was because Lotus sunk all of their development resource into Improv which then died on it's arse leaving them nowhere to go with SmartSuite.
I think the hint was the "As is..." bit.
The bit that really put me off OpenOffice was the lack of ability to select a section of text and get the word count for that section. Word does this, OpenOffice doesn't.
OpenOffice's equation editor is perfectly serviceable but without the word count it's a bit of a moot point.
Clear enough?
No worries. That's in a document at work where I'm paid to put up with that annoyance so apart from it being annoying... Well you get my drift.
The study stuff is different and I've installed a Tex implementation since this thread started. Problem is I can't find anything that tells me the available fonts. So while the power may be all I need when I get to do some real formulae, the stuff I'm doing at the moment works fine in the Word formula editor.
To be honest, if it gets that hairy for my assessments I'll use word for the text and write the formulae by hand. A lot simpler than either Latex or Word.
Word count's still bloody useful though.
It's dumb things like entering typing "1. this is a bullet" which normally gets you a numbered list when you hit enter after bullet but sometimes you end up with the 1. bullet item and a level 1 header 2.0.
Where you've changed your Normal style to use Arial but Word insists on changing back to it's beloved Times New Roman for no discernible reason. Where Bulletted lists end up with random indentations and tabs that don't align anywhere.
I could go on forever. I used to us DEC Runoff to format documents, before Word even existed, and had none of these problems.
Fortunately the maths is still simple enough that the equation editor for Word is good enough.
However, I've been getting frustrated with the word processing capabilities and some of the quirks of Word 2000 - some of the random style changes it seems to favour piss me of large - so unless 2003 is better I may end up switching anyway.
Thanks for the link.
That's good stuff. Unfortunately I've already shelled out the £120 for three copies of Office 2003 so won't be switching.
I'll have a look when the formula stuff get's put in.
One thing that stopped me going to OpenOffice was the poor word count capabilities, i.e. only for the wholw document and not sections. As a mature student this is kind of a deal-breaker for me.
As is a formula editor. As a mature student studying sciences, a formula editor is pretty much mandatory.
That would be Channel 4 as opposed to BBC 4.
The BBC do not broadcast Big Brother, in spite of what your short visit may make you think to the contrary.
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Errr, I shipped a major Web development using .Net at my previous employer. It's used by a large number of end users and is classified as an unqualified success.
Not to say it couldn't have been done with Java, Tomcat etc.
If you're referring to the lack of rich client deployed apps then you may have a point.
When I started with Windows PCs we had the choice between Smart Suite and Office, though there were others none were quite so well packaged it seems. Technically Smart Suite was well ahead of Office and, IMHO, in some areas - the use of style sheets in Ami/Word Pro for example - Office is still behind.
Well then you clearly don't remember that before Excel became dominant, Lotus 123 was the spreadsheet of choice for the discerning user. Far better than Excel.
The reason Excel became the dominant spreadsheet was because Lotus sunk all of their development resource into Improv which then died on it's arse leaving them nowhere to go with SmartSuite.
A summary of the history appears here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Improv/
I think the hint was the "As is..." bit. The bit that really put me off OpenOffice was the lack of ability to select a section of text and get the word count for that section. Word does this, OpenOffice doesn't. OpenOffice's equation editor is perfectly serviceable but without the word count it's a bit of a moot point. Clear enough?
No worries. That's in a document at work where I'm paid to put up with that annoyance so apart from it being annoying... Well you get my drift. The study stuff is different and I've installed a Tex implementation since this thread started. Problem is I can't find anything that tells me the available fonts. So while the power may be all I need when I get to do some real formulae, the stuff I'm doing at the moment works fine in the Word formula editor. To be honest, if it gets that hairy for my assessments I'll use word for the text and write the formulae by hand. A lot simpler than either Latex or Word. Word count's still bloody useful though.
It's dumb things like entering typing "1. this is a bullet" which normally gets you a numbered list when you hit enter after bullet but sometimes you end up with the 1. bullet item and a level 1 header 2.0. Where you've changed your Normal style to use Arial but Word insists on changing back to it's beloved Times New Roman for no discernible reason. Where Bulletted lists end up with random indentations and tabs that don't align anywhere. I could go on forever. I used to us DEC Runoff to format documents, before Word even existed, and had none of these problems.
Fortunately the maths is still simple enough that the equation editor for Word is good enough. However, I've been getting frustrated with the word processing capabilities and some of the quirks of Word 2000 - some of the random style changes it seems to favour piss me of large - so unless 2003 is better I may end up switching anyway. Thanks for the link.
That's good stuff. Unfortunately I've already shelled out the £120 for three copies of Office 2003 so won't be switching. I'll have a look when the formula stuff get's put in.
One thing that stopped me going to OpenOffice was the poor word count capabilities, i.e. only for the wholw document and not sections. As a mature student this is kind of a deal-breaker for me.
As is a formula editor. As a mature student studying sciences, a formula editor is pretty much mandatory.
Gah! The milk in my coffee just curdled. Can I sue?
Having read the two links, that's a definition of Funky I've not come across before.
That would be Channel 4 as opposed to BBC 4. The BBC do not broadcast Big Brother, in spite of what your short visit may make you think to the contrary.
King Solomon's Treasure - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076270