____/ High Plains Thumper on Wednesday 19 December 2007 20:09 : \____
> Linonut wrote:
>> Here's a weird one, kind of the reverse of what you'd expect.
>>
>> I'm in Win 2000, editing a tech document, and a colleague
>> sends a roughed-out configuration procedure with diagrams.
>>
>> I open the document in Word XP (2002), and... where's the
>> diagrams? WTF?
>>
>> So I open the document in OpenOffice Writer, and there they
>> are.
>>
>> Obviously, there's something wrong with my Windows setup. Old
>> DLL? New DLL from a faulty MS update? The colleague's using
>> Word 2003, maybe that caused the problem. Some combo of the
>> above?
>>
>> So I paste the pictures from Writer to Draw, then export the
>> Draw document to BMP format. Then I could insert them into
>> the Word documet using Word XP.
>>
>> Strange!
>
> Office 2003 occasionally has hiccups. Recently I could not use
> the Average function with external cell references in Excel. It
> gave no errors, only the first value in the set. Work around was
> to sum the external cells and divide by number of cells. This
> occurred even with the external spreadsheet open.
>
> I would hate to think of a poor employee getting fired over an
> error on a million quid account caused by a spreadsheet error.
Office 2007 has its share of issues as well. To give just a few among many
examples I've come across (OOXML, by the way, is one /major/ bug):
Microsoft Excel fails math test
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp.'s Excel 2007 spreadsheet program is going to have to relearn
| part of its multiplication table.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_hi_te/microsoft_excel_bug
Microsoft: Excel Bug Doesn't Add Up
,----[ Quote ]
| If you've been depending on your Microsoft Excel software to do your number
| crunching for you, you might want to grab a calculator and review your
| spreadsheets before you send the document out the door. That's because the
| latest version of Excel is housing bugs that are dead set on ruining your
| reports.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20070927/tc_nf/55613
[OOXML] Mathematically Incorrect
,----[ Quote ]
| So when it comes to comparing MSOOXML and ODF v1.0 on the basis of the
| inclusion of "Formula Definitions", it becomes clear that the anti-ODF folk
| have not much to shout about. In fact MSOOXML's "Formula Definition" is
| deficient and inaccurate.
`----
http://www.openmalaysiablog.com/2007/07/mathematically-.html
OOXML: The Formula for Failure
,----[ Quote ]
| As I've shown, in the rush to write a 6,000 page standard in less than a
| year, Ecma dropped the ball. OOXML's spreadsheet formula is worse than
| missing. It has incorrect formulas that, if implemented according to the
| standard may cause loss of life, property and capital. This standard is
| seriously messed up. And shame on all those who praised and continue to
| praise the OOXML formula specification without actually reading it.
`----
http://www.robweir.com/blog/2007/07/formula-for-failure.html
Microsoft: Word 2007 crashes are a feature, not bug
,----[ Quote ]
| Crashes in Microsoft Word 2007 are designed to improve security,
| says Microsoft
`----
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;377659799
Office 2007, much like Vista, is semi-cooked. The marketing department at
Microsoft is trying hard to hide this fact. Not to mention the annoyance of
the UI, whose only purpose was to give the use the feeling that something was
earned (changed) by paying for an upgrade, an in "getting one's money's
worth".
Partners Fix Up Office 2007 and Windows Vista
,----[ Quote ]
| On Friday, Addintools, based in Hai-nan, China released Classic Menu for
| Office 2007, after more than six months of beta testing. The user interface
| enhancement does what Office 2007 can't: Revert to the Office 2003 look and
| feel.
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/channel/partners_fix_up_office_2007_and_windows_vista.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
Why Microsoft's ribbon sucks
,----[ Quote ]
| Bottom line, I have a lot of respect for Microsoft and many of the
| outstanding people that work there (e.g. Bill Buxton).
|
| But the new ribbon sucks.
|
| I've been using it daily for months (Word, Powerpoint, Excel), and I
| consistently stumble on the same functions over and over again. I doubt I
| will ever master it. And I'm an interface designer!
`----
http://www.dexodesign.com/2007/08/why-microsofts-ribbon-sucks.html
July 1: No more Office 2003 for OEMs
,----[ Quote ]
| It’s only been six months since Microsoft launched Office 2007 at retail. But
| as of July 1, 2007, Microsoft won’t be making the OEM version of Office 2003
| to its PC partners, a k a “OEMs.”
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft has told OEMs that they must stop selling Windows XP preloaded on
| machines as of January 29, 2008. Retailers also are required to stop selling
| XP on that date.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=519
Poor Design by Microsoft - "Save As" Button in 2007 Excel has been located!
,----[ Quote ]
| In an experiment 4 out of 5 users took longer than 2 minutes to find
| the SAVE AS button. And 3 of those users needed to use the PAPER CLIP
| (CLIPPY). This is clearly poor design upon Microsoft. They never think
| about the end user. The menu structure is horrific and it has been
| proven inefficient!
`----
http://www.fumbled.org/2007/04/20/poor-design-by-microsoft-save-as-button-in-2007-excel-has-been-located/
Bold Redesign Improves Office 2007 But Learning Curve May Be Too Steep for
Some Users
,----[ Quote ]
| "it requires a steep learning curve that many people might rather avoid.
| In my own tests, I was cursing the program for weeks"
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116786111022966326-T8UUTIl2b10DaW11usf4NasZTYI_20080103.html
Office 2007 may be Microsoft's Titanic: former Government IT boss
,----[ Quote ]
| Bill Gates has been talking up Office 2007 ahead of its business launch
| on November 30. However, the recently departed deputy CIO of one of
| Australia's biggest government Microsoft sites believes introducing
| the new version of Microsoft Office may be the company's biggest
| ever disaster.
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/7234/53/
Question: why do I need to upgrade to Office 2007?
,----[ Quote ]
| Much has been said and written about Microsoft's "bold", "gutsy",
| and "innovative" initiative of releasing Office 2007, an office
| productivity suite with a totally new user interface. However, the
| question that is bound to be on the lips of every user will be: "why
| do I need to upgrade?" Microsoft doesn't really have a good answer.
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft, however, claims to have come up with something better
| and more intuitive - the Ribbon. Such a claim begs the question:
| "If the new user interface of Office 2007 is so intuitive, why does
| it have a learning curve?" And it does have a learning curve - a
| very steep learning curve.
`----
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/8561/1023/
Office 2007 Review: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back - Part 1
,----[ Quote ]
| I've been using Office 2007 for a couple of weeks and I'm convinced
| that Microsoft missed an opportunity to change the way we relate to
| software by taking one step toward radical change, but ultimately
| failing when it came to implementation.
`----
http://byronmiller.typepad.com/byronmiller/2007/04/office_2007_one.html
Vole redesigns our Office space
,----[ Quote ]
| It's hard to define, but the new office suite feels good and is
| comfortable to use. That said if your requirements don't stretch
| beyond the normal usage of the odd letter, a spreadsheet to
| balance your budget and some email then there isn't a lot to
| recommend forking over cash for Office 2007, when there are
| several free options out there are increasingly attractive
| and compatible with Office documents.
|
| The Good
| Ribbon interface quite intuitive
| Interface is attractive and easy to use
|
| The Bad
| Quite expensive
| Free applications available that can perform the same tasks
| No major improvements over previous versions
|
| The Ugly
| Too many components seem solely designed to leverage synergies or something
| No option to revert to old interface
`----
http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=37376
Remember that Microsoft added Clippy as though it's some kind of a reason
to 'upgrade', only to drop this little 'feature' later on. What's up for
Office 2009 (public test builds around the corner)? Will they add tabs and
call /that/ a feature? Maybe integration with Live? Don't worry, they'll
figure something out and then use their army of shills to rave about it (the
new flavour of Cola).
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | chmod a-r *.mbox
http://Schestowitz.com | Free as in Free Beer | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Cpu(s): 25.7%us, 4.4%sy, 1.0%ni, 65.0%id, 3.5%wa, 0.3%hi, 0.1%si, 0.0%st
http://iuron.com - semantic engine to gather information
|
|
