Lars D. Noodén wrote on 03.04.2007 16:25:
The usability reviews of MSO 2007 place it well below OpenOffice.org,
though that does not mean there isn't room for improvement. The price
point for MS Office 2007 isn't so good either. It comes with more
baggage than MS Office 2003, and that has seen record low uptake.
Some of the main disadvantages of MSO 2007 include limited choice of
platforms,
That's true for (almost) every previous version of MS Office too. So what!
ties to MS Sharepoint,
Likely not a mandatory tie.
lack of OpenDocument (ISO/IEC 23600) support,
That's true for (almost) every previous version of MS Office too.
and affliction with DOCX.
Isn't it able to save to DOC for the rare cases when that's needed?
The limited choice of platforms speaks for itself: it only runs on
outdated architectures (x86) on systems unsuited for operation in a
networked environment. Nuff sed there.
Well, most businesses use the "outdated" x86 architecture. And they are
all networked, and quite satisfied. Also, are you saying that Office
2007 doesn't run on or use the 64-bit architecture and/or dual-core
processors. Please provide proof.
MS Sharepoint introduces single point of failure several times over
(e.g. network and server), plus there is the DRM problem.
Problem for me and you. Perhaps not a problem for corporate clients.
OpenDocument aka ISO/IEC 23600 is already supported by close to three
dozen
...irrelevant...
applications and is a must-have for interoperability.
Interoperability can also be achieved via monopoly. See MS Office's success.
But I agree with you on ethical principal.
Many
governments mandate open formats.
Not even nearly *most*.
Half-baked specs like DOCX [...] are a
liability. It's not fully documented, not implemented by any other
vendors, hard to parse, and of unclear licensing-- especially in the US
where software patents create a minefield for users and developers alike.
That hasn't bothered the 99% of corporate clients in the past.
Back to the usability, OpenOffice.org is definitely heading in the right
direction. However, the logical next step IMHO would be to pare down
the size.
IMO it would be to dramatically improve the usability:
Zoom should align to center, not left (*not* fixed, IMO)
http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=1761
Need "Paste Without Formatting" in Context Menu and as Shortcut
(Ctrl+Shift+V) (it was a *huge mistake* to WONTFIX this one)
http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=50140
Make ZOOM Button a Dropdown for Selecting the Zoom Levels (no-brainer)
http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=50134
Optimize the Customize Toolbars Dialog
http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=50138
I won't even start on how overloaded and confusing the dialogs are, and
how the context menus are so oversimplified as to be useless to advanced
users (who are 90% of the context menu users).
--
Regards,
Peter Reaper
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