Geeks' opinions
The last three posts I think really highlight that the fact that a lot of the 'forget about Microsoft' crowd comprises IT geeks... It does not mean I approve of the new licensing system - I don't, but other points have been made here, too.
1. Creature of habit. Yes, humans are creatures of habit, but that does not mean things have to stay the same, which could mean stagnation. This leads to ...
2. The ribbon is not bad at all. I was used to the traditional drop-down menu system in all apps, including WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 (besides MS Office). I prefer the ribbon. I could not understand the negative reaction it elicited. In fact I like it when other apps follow suit, e.g. Nitro Reader 3. It makes finding things so much easier. And I can always dismiss it if I wish, which I don't.
Because MS's file formats (.doc specially) were inefficient they had to so something, yet not lose all the people committed the old formats, so they came up with docx and a compatibility pack. To truly innovate they should start from scratch, but they allow for the 'creatures of habit' (back to point 1).
3. Linux is not the answer. Its ecosystem is not as easy to handle as Windows, as I understand it, in the real, general-user world.
4. Open/LibreOffice is not the answer either. MS created a de facto world standard and I can be guaranteed the compatibility of my file with just about anybody else's system in the world, and I like that even though I think that in word processing WordPerfect is far superior. (I don't have a similar ideological position in spreadsheets and am happy to use Excel.) From what I read, file conversion between MS and Open/LibreOffice is not great, with loss of format and layout and maybe unconvertible spreadsheet formulae. I certainly see in in Google Docs (though I realise O/LO is better than GDocs).
5. I don't wish to fiddle about with a minority system that few non-techies understand.
I admit I was beginning to think about OO because I wanted to try something more modern than MS Office 2000 and did not want to spend the large sum required for Office (incl Access) as a private user, but then my son's school rode to the rescue... selling low cost 3-pack family licences for MS Office 2010...
MS will continue on the desktop in the business world for a long time...especially if it reviews its licensing and pricing policy in case of adverse market reaction. (Their market share is certainly theirs to lose...)
