Re: Affecting Institutional Change (Yeah Right)
On Tuesday 08 May 2007 14:49, Amy Templeton wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> Can anybody recommend a *really, really convincing* source of
> information I can give people/my college that will aid in deterring
> them from trying to force people to use MS-Office files (by sending
> them via email and posting them on official college sites)? The
> ones I've been using
> (http://goldmark.org/netrants/no-word/attach.html and
> http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html) just aren't
> cutting it, even when coupled with personal explanations (usually
> individuals will make a normal, guaranteed-universally-openable,
> non-evil file available, but the college is really horrid and I
> usually end up getting people to convert them for me or go to the
> library and struggle with the confusing interfaces there (the
> library computers are completely useless unless you just love using
> a mouse and struggling through menus...no Emacs or terminal or
> keyboard-control option in sight...grrr...)). And no, installing
> OpenOffice or Abiword is not a solution, and antiword isn't a
> *lasting* solution, just a one-time quick fix that does nothing to
> fix future problems.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Amy
>
> --
> You'll never see all the places, or read all the books, but
> fortunately, they're not all recommended.
I read this thread with interest since I have encountered a similar issue in
my work place. It seems that your real issue is that you do not care for the
G.U.I. / Point-N-Click systems that most of the world is trained to
use..including me. It simply is not going to happen that we all will abandon
our favorite systems, since we chose them because of personal preference. You
chose a minimalist approach for the same reason. Open Office is very nearly a
drop in replacement for MS Office & I think the the only way you will have
some degree of success is the pocket book approach. Most Linux software is
very capable & free. So get to the folks that pay the bills for all the
software licenses. At least that way they will have the ability to do open
doc output. As far as arguments about feasibility..a big part of the rest of
the worlds schools, universities, and several governments have already
converted to some Linux variant. Given sufficient time they will come around.
I recall that when I discovered Linus new operating system there were less
that 900 people trying it out. Now there are MILLIONS!!! In my family there
was me first, then my wife, though she is completely unaware, my daughter,
now my grandkids, all happily using Linux. The little ones do not even know
what MS products are because they do not need them.
Best wishes!!
--
John W. Foster
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