RE: (OT) gnash vs. flash (was Re: Why does installing gnome ...)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andrei Popescu [mailto:andreimpopescu@gmail.com]
> Sent: Thursday, 18 March, 2010 00:42
> To: debian-user@lists.debian.org
> Subject: Re: (OT) gnash vs. flash (was Re: Why does
> installing gnome ...)
>
> On Thu,18.Mar.10, 03:28:40, Ron Johnson wrote:
>
> > The main problem is all the 3rd party applications written
> > specifically for Word and Excel which have no analog in the OOo
> > world.
>
> Interesting, I didn't come across such things in my company
<soapbox>
Sometimes it is the little things.
The ability to have auto-complete turned on, *AND* having a working tab key is found in Excel, but not Calc.
The workarounds (using the arrow keys, turning autocomplete off, etc.) impact production for people who use spreadsheets quite often -- i.e. you have to take your hands off of the home row when you're doing a lot of data entry, and when you're reaching for the right arrow key with your little finger it is easy to accidentally hit the up arrow or overshoot and hit the 0 key on the keypad. Or you can take your eyes off of the screen or your source document, forcing the user to reaquire their place after changing the cell. Similarly turning autocomplete off to get the tab key back means extra keystrokes to fill in cells.
The OpenOffice.org devs apparently have dug in their heels on this issue, deciding that "we won't be like Excel" is the correct answer. It is their software, and I'm not a programmer so I can't complain too much. But it does mean that I will have a very difficult time convincing a serious Excel user that Calc is a good substitute -- even if they don't use a lot of VBA Macros, etc.
I will work in free (as in speech) software whenever I can at work. Sometimes that's an adventure as we're really a Windows shop. But really the user comes first and the sort of workflow detail like requiring users to take their hands off of the home keys can be a real deal killer for deployments.
</soapbox>
Of course my opinion, not my employer's, and of course I have a lot of respect for the OpenOffice.org team and their work. It is an amazing product and I use OpenOffice.org at home and quite often at work. (Where I turn off auto complete)
James
Reply to: