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0 pointsAoyagi12y ago0 comments

I'm sorry, but I've just noticed that "If you don't like [Microsoft product], don't use it" is an awfully frequent argument of pro-MS people. An awfully weak argument, too. (Edit: because, you know, sometimes there just isn't a way to avoid using an MS product).

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dragontamer12y ago· 2 in thread

Sure there is. Just don't use it if you don't want to.

Again, use Tex, use LaTex. Google Docs (although I really dislike the cloud). Make .rtf files in WordPerfect if you really want to avoid Word.

I guarantee you, building RTF files is just about the most cross-platform thing you can do. Its supported by damn near everyone, Word, WordPerfect, OpenOffice, Abiword.

I mean, have you even tried not using a Microsoft Product? Its a hell of a lot easier than you're making it out to be.

AoyagiOP12y ago

How exactly is any of what you mentioned going to help me when I'm being sent an OOXML file (because I work in a business where sharing documents among companies is common)? It won't or it will be partially broken. Yes, I have tried. (and that's just office, don't even try to suggest that avoiding using Windows is easy)

dragontamer12y ago

My 9-to-5 work computer is actually a Red Hat machine. So I think I know what I'm talking about. I release .rtf files when I can so that it can be friendly on most platforms.

As for document writing... I've mentions practical alternatives already. WHY are they sending you an OOXML file? Is it for collaboration? In which point, a Wiki is more than suitable as a replacement. Are they sending it for final consumption? A PDF file is good for documents where the layout must be faithfully preserved.

If you're documenting code and leaving the documentation in an SVN server, .doc documents are treated as binary and don't really get revision editing you'd like. Its better to document using Doxygen (which is much akin to HTML) than .doc in many cases.

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