[Opensource] FOSS - different arguments

[Roland Gesthuizen]

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.
  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.

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.
  Lesson two, avoid the format war discussions and debriefings directly
after the battle.

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.
  Lesson three, deep down .. users crave freedom but only when their basic
needs are first satisfied.

Regards Roland

2008/12/3 Cameron Bell <bell.cameron.p at edumail.vic.gov.au>

> Bugger 24 hours too late.
> 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*.
> 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!
> 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.
> 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>"
> 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. ;)
> Cheers
> Cameron
>
>
>
> On 03/12/2008, at 9:22 AM, Donna Benjamin wrote:
>
>  Hi guys,
>>
>> For those of you finding ways to justify looking at open source - this
>> article might be of interest.
>>
>>
>> http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2008/tc20081130_069698.htm
>>
>> Cost-Conscious Companies Turn to Open-Source Software
>> As the recession puts pressure on tech spending, many companies are
>> turning to open-source software to handle more IT tasks.
>>
>> cheers
>> Donna
>>
>> --
>> Donna Benjamin - Executive Director
>> Creative Contingencies - http://cc.com.au
>> ph +61 3 9326 9985 - mob +61 418 310 414
>> open source - facilitation - web services
>>
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-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"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
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