algeriatul team mailing list archive

[Tom <1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi :)

The problem with the MS Office formats us that they are not consistent
across different versions of MS Office itself.  The version they have
managed to get registered as an ISO standard is different again.  Even
worse is that MS's installer claims there will be inconsistences between
even the same version of MSO on their different OSes.  So a document
written in MSO 2010 on Win7 may well have problems when opened in MSO
2010 on Win Xp.


The places the blame on any user that doesn't upgrade to the latest version of their OS at the time when everyone else does and their latest version of MS Office when everyone else does.  When only a minority upgrade those people get a little flack from people for causing problems but their counter argument is that everyone else is being cheap and risking security problems.  Once critical mass is achieved everyone else is seen as being guilty if they haven't already upgraded and feels guilty themselves.  


So, when it's an MS program that fails to read an older version of the current MS format then it's the author that gets blamed.  When it's a non-MS program then it's IT Support or the program that gets blamed.  


The newest version of MS Office (called 365 this time) claims to have
proper support for OpenDocument Format 1.2.  MSO 2010 and 2007 only
supported ODF 1.0 which was quite a long way behind what all the other
Office Suites were using at the time.  So MS were able to claim they
supported ODF and try to blame all the other Suites for any problems.


The question is why don't people realise what is right in front of their eyes.  Why aren't they worried about what is going to happen to their old documents.  They seem to just accept and be happy with the fact that any documents they might need to access in a few years time, say around 5years, needs to be printed out because it wont be readable otherwise.  How is it that people are ok with that??  


Of course some organisations (such as the US Senate allegedly) decide to settle on a format based on MS's promises that they will always be able to read it and then find that MS has already started withdrawing support for it.  Again that somehow leads to non-MS programs being treated with suspicion.  


Regards from
Tom :)

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu 4
dz, which is subscribed to the bug report.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1

Title:
  Microsoft has a majority market share

Status in Club Distro:
  Confirmed
Status in Computer Science Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in LibreOffice Productivity Suite:
  New
Status in dylan.NET.Reflection:
  Invalid
Status in dylan.NET:
  Invalid
Status in EasyPeasy Overview:
  Invalid
Status in Ichthux - Linux for Christians:
  Invalid
Status in JAK LINUX:
  Invalid
Status in LibreOffice:
  In Progress
Status in The Linux Kernel:
  New
Status in The Linux Mint Distribution:
  In Progress
Status in The Linux OS Project:
  In Progress
Status in The Metacity Window Manager:
  In Progress
Status in The OpenOffice.org Suite:
  In Progress
Status in Tabuntu:
  Invalid
Status in A simple player to online TV streaming:
  Invalid
Status in Tv-Player:
  Invalid
Status in Ubuntu Malaysia LoCo Team Meta Project:
  In Progress
Status in Ubuntu:
  In Progress
Status in Arch Linux:
  Confirmed
Status in Baltix GNU/Linux:
  Invalid
Status in “linux” package in Debian:
  In Progress
Status in Fluxbuntu: The Lightweight, Productive, Agile OS:
  Confirmed
Status in openSUSE:
  In Progress
Status in Tilix Linux:
  New

Bug description:
  Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC
  marketplace. This is a bug which Ubuntu and other projects are meant
  to fix. As the philosophy of the Ubuntu Project states, "Our work is
  driven by a belief that software should be free and accessible to
  all."

  "Ubuntu software is free. Always was, always will be. Free software gives everyone the freedom to use it however they want and share with whoever they like. This freedom has huge benefits. At one end of the spectrum it enables the Ubuntu community to grow and share its collective experience and expertise to continually improve all things Ubuntu. At the other, we are able to give access to essential software for those who couldn’t otherwise afford it – an advantage that’s keenly felt by individuals and organisations all over the world."
       * http://www.ubuntu.com/project/about-ubuntu/our-philosophy

  Non-free software leaves users at the mercy of the software owner and
  concentrates control over the technology which powers our society into
  the hands of a few. Additionally, proprietary software stifles
  innovation, maintains artificial scarcities, and enables malicious
  anti-features such as DRM, surveillance, and other monopolistic
  practices.

  This bug is widely evident in the PC industry.

  Steps to repeat:

      1. Visit a local PC store.
      2. Attempt to buy a machine without any proprietary software.

  What happens:

  Almost always, a majority of PCs for sale have Microsoft Windows pre-
  installed. In the rare cases that they come with a GNU/Linux operating
  system or no operating system at all, the drivers and BIOS may be
  proprietary.

  What should happen:

  A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software.

       * http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
       * http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines
       * http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd

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