tlug: What's wrong with Microsoft?

[Philip Jarvis <jarvis@example.com>]

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tlug note from Philip Jarvis <jarvis@example.com>
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Dear Jim & Everybody:

Jim Schweizer wrote:
> ps Pointcast (and my scanner) are the only things keeping me
> tied to Windoze - I really should work on the scanner... anyone

Are these really the ONLY things keeping you tied to Microsoft?!

Let me begin by saying that I'm a recent Linux convert and wish
it would displace MS in the marketplace.  However, I've yet to
see any evidence that it can do it.  It seems to me
that the biggest things helping Microsoft are its general purpose
applications.

If we're going to proselytize to all the Wintel pagans out there,
we've got to make Linux sound appealing.  Certainly you can't
beat it's price.  But what about usefulness?  When I need to write
a report, I fire up ol' Win95 and use Word.

What ARE people using for a word processor?  For that matter,
what does Linux (or ANY UNIX box for that matter) have that can match
MS Word.  LaTex?  Spare me.  The only serious contender I've come
across is a UNIX version of WordPerfect. But that carried a pretty
steep price tag and its functionality didn't justify the premium.

How about a spreadsheet?  Anything to compare with Excel?  Is there
ANYTHING that can compete with Microsoft applications?

I'm asking these questions in all seriousness.  Microsoft's strength
lies in more than just its marketing department.  If there were
some reasonably priced, supported, AND easy-to-use applications 
that could run under Linux, I'd be happy to wipe that DOS
partition off my hard drive and would try to get my officemates
to switch.  I'm not holding my breath though.

Yoroshiku,
Phil

-- 
Philip Jarvis
Japan Marine Science & Technology Center
2-15 Natsushima
Yokosuka 237 JAPAN

jarvis@example.com
phone: 81-468-67-5564 
fax: 81-468-66-5541
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