Re: Moving from Windows

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

Yes, I agree MS versions are very good programs. However, many users
use only a small percentage of the functions of Word and Excel. I say
this because I have been the internal trainer for office apps for one
of the national restaurant chains based here in Dallas.

And for those people who need the basics I steer them to the
alternatives. I do that because I believe MS needs to realize there is
SOME competition out there. I have used Word since DOS version 5.5. I
do not see a product that has matured. I see a program that is bloated
with code that may or may not work always. I once asked a coworker
[during Multimate's heyday] how she could type so fast and get the
volume of work out that she did. It was intimating to sit in the cube
next to her. She said I just type, spell check fixes my typos.

Fast forward to when MS has their own integrated Spell Checker. I sent
an employee to the community college for a short course on the MS
Office apps. For her final assignment the instructor handed out a page
to be typed. There were deliberate mis-spellings in the page. The
test was to have the same number of errors when they were found by the
spell checker. Then the instructor had everyone mark all the errors
that existed that spell checker didn't catch. She wanted everyone to
know that it was not the most reliable tool, and the personal spelling
skills still counted. She was an employee of Microsoft btw.

How many rules of typing have you found that MS has re-written in the
application? When I took typing back when I was taught to space twice
after the period in a sentence. Even if you do that in Word (which I
do) MS takes 'em out. Yes it is a little thing, and certainly not the
basis for any decisions.



Jim Gordon wrote:
Hi again,

OpenOffice by Sun Microsystems and it's offshoots are capable programs,
and have some compatibility with Microsoft Office, but please don't
oversell them.

[snip]

You get an awful lot from Microsoft for your money, and the free/cheap
OpenOffice stuff has a LONG way to go before it achieves parity with
user interface and compatibility before I would ever seriously suggest
it as an alternative for Microsoft's Office product, even for a basic user.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP


TKnTexas wrote:
Tim,
When get an external harddrive it is formatted as Fat32 so it is
read/write for any OS, i.e. XP, OSX, or Linux. It is a great storage
for you to use. If you are basic user of MS Office, as inexpensive as
the student version is, an very suitable alternative is ThinkFree
Office. You can purchase it for $49. It has all the functions you are
probably using now on the XP version. Since you are crossing over from
XP versions, you will like that the short-cuts in ThinkFree are the
same as the XP version of MS Office. The Mac version of MS Office has
different shortcuts.

You will love how simple a Mac is to use. I flip back and forth
between the two and I am a long term Windows user. I use my Mac iBook
as my tool of choice.

TK


TS Mathews wrote:
"Jim Gordon" <goldkey74@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e7cR6JdoGHA.4040@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TS Mathews wrote:

[snip]
Thanks so much...you have made my decision for me. From your comments about
file compatibility, I'm sure all of mine will easily convert as they're very
simply spreadsheets--I drive a transit bus and scan our shifts so it's
nothing more than shift number, routes, start and end times, work time,
break--if any--and a couple of other minor items. In short, nothing more
than a bunch of letters and numbers with no calculations of any sort. My
Word docs are similar, mainly letters to and from the family.

Thanks again for the info.

Tim


.

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