Quite the reverse here .. a teacher came in 2 hours ago and asked to get rid of that thing that had apparently possessed her laptop .. took me quite a while to figure out it was Office2007. Steam generation was still evident when I reached for Office2003 so I gave that a miss. Once the atmosphere cleared I quietly installed OpenOffice. When it fired up I heard a polite thank for fixing the interface. <br>
Lesson one, floaty toolbars are for ubergeeks and users dont like to be messed about .. they just click and type. When nothing happens, it is broken. <br><br>Seems that everybody her paperwork was sent via recruitment online couldnt open and read her work. When I quietly suggested and tried to explain the docx doc odt war, I was fixed to the spot by a frozen glare that reached the way to the stock exchange. <br>
Lesson two, avoid the format war discussions and debriefings directly after the battle.<br><br>Later we had a good chat about the differences between Office2007 and different standards. She wanted to know how much it would cost. I indicated it was free, drop dead easy to use and tossed the growing smile a free cdrom as I went to make a cup of tea. <br>
Lesson three, deep down .. users crave freedom but only when their basic needs are first satisfied.<br><br>Regards Roland<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">2008/12/3 Cameron Bell <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:bell.cameron.p@edumail.vic.gov.au">bell.cameron.p@edumail.vic.gov.au</a>></span><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Bugger 24 hours too late.<br>
I was having a "robust discussion" ;) in the staff room yesterday and was told by those "in the know" that big business still use MS Office and *always will*.<br>
It all stemmed from a remark by a teacher who was sick of not being able to open docx, etc files that students were now submitting. I mentioned that about 2 years ago I told the staff that this was going to happen and that we could avoid a lot of hassles by moving to, and recommend using OO. I am loathe to mandate software usage,( I don't believe I can tell people to use "package X" if I expect the freedom to be able to use whatever I am most comfortable with), and merely suggested that it would be a wise move. Well now I am being criticized for not telling people they must use Open Office!<br>
I am also copping grief from people for "not recommending strongly enough" that they should have chosen Macbooks over the Lenovo's with Vista, sheeesh.<br>
I think I am going to put in place a policy of "I don't care what Application you use, as long as the files it produces are: odt, pdf, jpg, <insert lots of open file formats>"<br>
Specifying acceptable file types rather than acceptable Applications may be a better way to go. People can choose the app they are most comfortable with, although some apps are better than others for certain file types. ;)<br>
Cheers<br>
Cameron<div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"><br>
<br>
<br>
On 03/12/2008, at 9:22 AM, Donna Benjamin wrote:<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Hi guys,<br>
<br>
For those of you finding ways to justify looking at open source - this<br>
article might be of interest.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2008/tc20081130_069698.htm" target="_blank">http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2008/tc20081130_069698.htm</a><br>
<br>
Cost-Conscious Companies Turn to Open-Source Software<br>
As the recession puts pressure on tech spending, many companies are<br>
turning to open-source software to handle more IT tasks.<br>
<br>
cheers<br>
Donna<br>
<br>
-- <br>
Donna Benjamin - Executive Director<br>
Creative Contingencies - <a href="http://cc.com.au" target="_blank">http://cc.com.au</a><br>
ph +61 3 9326 9985 - mob +61 418 310 414<br>
open source - facilitation - web services<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College<br><a href="http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au">http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au</a><br><br>"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead<br>