Why Does Software Go Backwards?
My ten-year-old Hewlett-Packard laptop is at death’s door, so I’ve had to switch to a much newer Sony. I bought the Sony, because i found the keyboard easy with my gammy left hand, which means I have difficulty with the shift key. Most capital letters are done by spanning my right hand.
Why is the version of Windows and Office 2010 so inferior to Windows Vista and Office 2007?
I would love to go out and buy a new laptop pre-loaded with Vista and Office 2007! And if it cost me more than it was worth, I wouldn’t mind.
Let’s face it, the hardware and software are the canvas on which a writer of software or all sorts of documents weave their fantasies.
So why should computer companies tell me what I can buy? If I wanted a part for most ten-year-old cars, it’s usually an easy purchase.
And then when you buy a new standalone product, like my Samsung mobile phone, it’s got more bugs than the insect house at the London Zoo. They may be clever and get a lot of sales, but the designers don’t think like users, which is the key to writing good software.
The Anonymous Widower 
Personally I prefer Office 2010 as it doesn’t use Microsoft proprietary data formats (XML). Also it has some good features and is the most reliable version. Unfortunately it is quite different from the previous version and takes some getting used to. There is now the latest version of Office available that offers both locally stored application software and web based versions. Office365 can be purchased on a monthly subscription basis that includes all automatic upgrades. I used the web based version of Office365, and have the rights to download the rest of the Office product. I am not going to do it on my current laptop, as I plan to buy a smaller, lighter one without a mechanical disk drive. I want a solid state disk drive and a touch screen as well as a keyboard and mouse (touchpad). If you want an old style version of Office, then Libre Office is free and works well. It can be loaded on a number of different operating systems including Windows. I run it on the house server, that runs Ubuntu Linux. Libre Office works with all the Microsoft file formats as well as some others. I have loaded complex spreadsheets into Libre Office, with a lot of embedded VBA, and they work fine. As it is free it can be deleted without worrying about the wasted cost if it doesn’t fit the bill. Libre Office is open sourced and has the same root as Open Office. I think Libre Office is better. The house server provides file storage on a RAID array, file serving, printer serving, music (via DLNA and Sonos), video, and pictures. I recently had a disk drive failure with no loss of data or service.
Comment by John Wright | February 7, 2014 |
thanks for all that.
Cost to me isn’t an issue and I’m thinking of going to something that means i don’t need a specific computer at all. I think 365 might be the way to go. The trouble is that so many of the passwords I use for e-mail are only stored on this computer. I also have the issue that some things i do like WordPress onloy work in Chrome and others like some section of The Times work much beter in IE. But then you have to two browsers on a computer anyway.
come and have a meal and help me get it all working.
Comment by AnonW | February 7, 2014 |