Comments on: Trying to be anti-Mircosoft

By: Mark S.

Mark S. — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 18:20:01 +0000

Personally I think it's a bit silly to be "anti-microsoft". If you have problems with their "evil business practices", then there's a metric ton of other companies you should avoid as well. They're hardly offenders in the grand scheme of things. But I think avoiding their software intentionally is just as silly as always using a microsoft app. The best tool for the job, yadda yadda. The days of Microsoft software being buggy, and non-user friendly are pretty much over. The only people who still have complaints are generally people who still want to partake in some archaic OS-war that doesn't need to exist. The only microsoft app I go out of my way to not use is IE, for obvious reasons.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 19:20:06 +0000

Huh. Interesting. I agree - too many people just might not get it. I'm going to have to look into those two things a little bit more. I'm not saying I'll replace my desktop version of Office 2003 (or 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh for that matter), but my interest is piqued.

By: mizidymizark

mizidymizark — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:24:25 +0000

How I have been using both Writely and Spreadsheets is saving an attachment I get locally, then both of the programs allow you to import from .doc or .xls, saving a copy online. I then do my edits and everything is saved online for me. I can then export from the web to .doc or .xls if I need to share it with others. Both actually support online collaboration as well, however I think I would scare too many people if I sent them a link to Writely instead of attaching a Word document.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:37:58 +0000

Duuuhhh...I spell good. "Conceed" should really be "concede." Ugh.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:35:15 +0000

I will conceed a few points to you, the first being that it would be nice to have access to this stuff anywhere. I can definitely see the use of Google Notebook in that regard. I guess I'll have to check out Writely and Spreadsheets. Do they allow you to save stuff online for access anywhere? Because that would be ultra handy.

The second is that Entourage is a huge steaming pile of dung. Although I've not used Mail extensively, I would tend to agree that it is better than Entourage from the little that I have used it. Ironically, my most used mail program on the Mac currently is Eudora (which I also hate with a white hot hate).

Third, and final, I agree that Mac Office 2004 seems kind thrown together awkwardly. However, I use excel and word just about every day, and not having them run locally on my computer could potentially end up driving me mad.

By: mizidymizark

mizidymizark — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:05:53 +0000

One thing I will say in my defense is that I really don't like Office for the Mac. It isn't a Universal Binary and doesn't fit with the Mac OS X. Apple Mail is actually a superior mail client to Entourage. Writely and Google Spreadsheets have been getting the job done for me, at least as well as Word and Excel would, and since I don't use them often, it is working fine. This actually is also opening my eyes to some other Google products, such as Google Notebook for taking meeting notes on my laptop.

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 01:16:41 +0000

If price was your beef with Microsoft products, then I would validate your seeming resistance to use any of their software and apparent attempt to go out of your way to not use it. However, since I know you get a license free through work, I know that isn't the issue. That said, I wish you luck and will keep my eyes peeled for honest updates as to your progress.