Comments on: Microsoft Missing The Point

By: No Runny Eggs » Blog Archive » The Morni…er, Afternoon Scramble - 7/7/2008

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:34:59 +0000

[...] Gaius has this week’s dose of Microsoft FAIL – their plan to have people rent Office. [...]

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:09:19 +0000

Unfortunately, as an editor, I have to run the programs that my clients use, like PowerPoint and :::cringe::: Word. So far I’ve been able to avoid Vista.
I’m with ThomasD. I adore my old hammer.
Gaius, nice scenery change!

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:09:18 +0000

By: crosspatch

crosspatch — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:50:48 +0000

ThomasD, the thing is, nail manufacturers don’t change their product every year so that you are required to buy a new hammer. Microsoft does things such as changing file formats between versions causing people grief if everyone involved in sharing data aren’t using the same (i.e. latest) version of the product. In business, to go and ask a customer to downgrade the file format to an older version is something of a faux pax. Microsoft knows that and uses that as a "lever" to get everyone to upgrade to newer versions.I don’t like Microsoft very much.

By: ThomasD

ThomasD — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:34:31 +0000

What puts me off is the notion that I continually want or need upgrades. I bought what I wanted, and I still like what I bought. My Ace claw hammer works just as well as the day I brought it home from the hardware store. So long as I do not misuse I expect it to provide many, many years of service with little additional care or maintenance. Likewise, the idea that I would ever ‘license’ a hammer is just as plain foolish as licensing something like Word.
I am a purchasor, not a guaranteed revenue stream.

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:07:12 +0000

There are so many alternatives for consumers that don’t need the heavy duty applications that businesses do. Free programs, internet versions, and so on. I predict that Office will eventually be a business only product. For instance, Many of the analysis programs I use at work interface with Excel, so I use it all day long. But at home, I very rarely have a need to use Excel.

By: Anthony (Los Angeles)

Anthony (Los Angeles) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:31:46 +0000

I never switched from Office 97, but lately there’s been a need for updated software. I’ve hated my experience of Office 2007 at work (the genius who came up with "ribbons" should be shot), so, at home, I’m gradually switching to Open Office, which strongly resembles Office 2003. So far, so good, and Mickeysoft has lost another customer.