[muglo] Re: PowerPoint

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 12:27:20 -0500 (EST), Garth Phillips wrote:

> 1. Firefox  taking the web by storm? What's it's
> useage penetration (and do not confuse Download stats
> with useage... I've downloaded Firefox and deleted it
> a couple of times already (as the "world" heralds its
> impovements and it does nothing better for me)?

Yes, the Mac version is sub-standard. The Windows and Linux versions
are hands down superior browsers. "Taking by storm" is relative -- IE
still ranks well above the 90% mark, and will likely remain there for
a *long* time. However, the point is that where Mozilla and Netscape
fail to capture the public's imagination, FireFox succeeds. Whilst the
Mac browser world is alive and well, the Windows browser world is
rather stagnant -- IE is the overwhelming favourite and/or default
browser. It *is* a good browser. There's no doubt about it so there's
less incentive or need for alternate projects. Mac has no such
dominant browser which means we're treated to the likes of Camino,
Safari, OmniWeb, Mozilla/Netscape and a few others.

FireFox is a single-purpose app that does its job extremely well
(Macintosh version excepted) whereas its progenitors, Mozilla and
Netscape, merely do an adequate job because of the added bloat
(composer and e-mailer components).

Gecko's future belongs to FireFox, not Mozilla! Mozilla will remain
the technology showcase, but FireFox will (increasingly) be its
implementation.

> 2. Using a sample of one, namely your experience
> (usually more like an ill-formed opinion) is rsiky
> research protocol. simply because you do not require
> (or simply do not know how to use them to their full
> strengths) does not mean that stands for the rest of
> the entire user community.

You're not making a whole lot of sense here other than trying to pay
me an underhanded insult?

> I for one love the MS
> Office integrated suite:  for me, it's best feature is
> the "smart" clipboard function that allows me to
> cut-and paste data into any of the applications
> without having to touch or jiggle it arround. One of
> my clients loves to use voice annotations on work I
> send so that he doesn't have to learn anything and can
> simply dictate his ammendments. And there are of
> coursxe many more features that intregrated
> appplications bring to the business enivronment.

That's how integration *ought* to work, but I would prefer to use the
term, interoperability, which is why MS Office is a popular suite. To
me integration is the "all-in-one" philosophy that drove AppleWorks,
MS Works, OO.org etc., where you had *one* app that tries to do
everything.

As for such things as "smart clipboard" (a Windows term, sounds like
;-) are not unique to MS Office -- they are how *Macintosh* was
designed to work (I don't know how long you've been a Mac user, but
the earliest incarnation of Mac OS was built around interoperability
and "back in the day" (1984 ;) allowed you to copy-and-paste between
apps.

> Your "argument" has just been proven not to hold
> water, simply because I for one disagree with it!

I suggest you just stated exactly why I use and like Mac -- you and I
like Office for the same reason.

Back to philosophy:

My disdain for poorly conceived all-in-one (AIO) solutions is the same
whether it is hardware or software, and is rooted in two decades of
computer experience (before I even knew how to do fractions I knew how
to use MacWrite ;). There seems to be an unwritten law of the universe
that states that AIO solutions *must* be inferior to individual but
well designed solutions.

IMNSHO there has never been an AIO computer that was superior to
separate components (within the same hardware category). The "pro"
(non-AIO) Mac desktop ALWAYS is and has been more desirable than and
superior to the AIO desktop. 520 vs. IIfx (or were the Quadras already
on the scene?); x200 vs. x100; 6400 vs x600; AIO G3 vs. non-AIO Beige
G3, iMac/233 vs. PowerMac G3/233 (iMac/233, /266 might have been the
one exception since the Beige G3 series was probably the low-point for
"pro" Mac hardware when compared to the contemporary "consumer"
desktops). The laptops are slightly different since a laptop *is* an
AIO machine, regardless of "pro" vs "consumer" quality, but arguabaly
the "pro" machines were "less" AIO since they usually allow far more
expansion.

IMO The same dichotomy applies to AIO software vs. individual
components. Office is a loose collection of individual components
which is where it gets its edge. For some people, I'm sure they like
having their spread sheet in the same app as their word processer --
that's not how I work. I've tried AIO solutions in the past, and
routinely sample them nowadays but still they don't capture my
imagination (rarely has a piece of software grown on me -- it's
usually a love-hate relationship from the start. I know immediately
whether I like something or not... professional apps (vs.
office/so-called productivity apps) are the only exception to that
rule (e.g. SigmaStat, JMP, MapInfo)).

Of course, what this also demonstrates is that there are cost savings
to be had with AIO vs. component solutions. It's a trade-off of cost
vs. quality. The same happens in software, and IMNSHO, quality is more
important than cost if you are using something as a tool -- I can take
an Excel spread sheet created on a Mac with Visual BASIC macros and
have it run, unmodified on a Windows Excel, and soon in OpenOffice.org
(I seem to recall something about building in VB support)). And, I can
do the same thing in reverse. I can't take an Excel spread sheet and
run it in AppleWorks (unless Apple quitely added VB support ;).

Anyway, I'm not going to devote more brain cells to this -- off to
enjoy the freshly falling snow... I should be able to go down some
nice hills with my x-country skis before the tobogganers get to them
:) :) :)

Eric.
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