satkinsn;621029 Wrote:
> Not necessarily. I have extensively tested spreadsheets and can find
> subtle but real differences.
>
> Of course, you have to have a system capable of resolving those
> differences in the first place - you're simply not going to see the
> difference in two Excel spreadsheets if you're comparing them on, say,
> an Asus Eee and a Dell netbook. Neither machine is capable of bringing
> out the best in a spreadsheet, so it stands to reason that neither
> machine will show differences.
>
> At least, my testing has failed to show any.
>
> Second, you have to compare 'apples' to 'apples.' It proves nothing if
> you're comparing the payroll records of a small start up to the sick
> time of a large corporation. They're too different to make any
> meaningful judgement.
>
> In order to adequately test spreadsheets, I've found it's important to
> precisely match formulae and records length. But even after you have
> 'level matched' you have a number of further steps - the most obvious
> being in the areas of power supply and cabling. I disconnect the stock
> power supplies on the units I test, and use a purpose built linear
> power supply with balanced XLR outputs.
>
> Cabling adjustments include an oxygenated mouse cable - I don't claim
> to understand why this makes a difference, but it is clear across a
> variety of spreadsheets and texts. Since I apply it equally to all
> tested documents, I figure it can't hurt.
>
> With all the above done - and remember, the point here is not 'tweak'
> endlessly; it's simply to get the best spreadsheet results I can - I
> have found network issues can make a huge difference.
>
> For instance, I have stored a favorite spreadsheet of mine ('small
> tools & misc. supplies, March '010') on both a Win 2003 box with a
> stock power cable and a much larger Linux server (RHOS '09 with the
> Friedlander extensions). To me, the differences couldn't be larger.
>
> Off the Win server, 'small tools' is very good. The overall inventory
> levels and controls are exactly where they should be - there is the
> transparency to the records you'd expect, and a 'rounded quality' that
> allows one to get a strong sense of the story the spreadsheet tells. In
> particular, I delight in the way 'drill bits, metric' moves within a
> defined but expansive range between the 13th and 29th.
>
> The Linux server with Shinyota power cable is something else again; all
> the above is true, but a sense of *detail* joins the fray. It's as if I
> could drill down through endless layers of detail and there would
> always be more to find. Yet I don't feel as if any information is being
> kept from me; if anything, it's as if a veil has been lifted.
>
> Could I prove this with an ABX test? Doubtful, but as others have noted
> I think that says more about such tests than about what I perceive.
>
> Scott A.
You made my day.
--
garym
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