Anyone Else an ELSA Guinea-pig?

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

The thing to which I object is the way in which the march of progress is used as a disguise for selling a new product.

Win XP worked quite well for me, but eventually not for the speed obsessed business world, or Microsoft; so reluctantly I moved to Win 7.

Thankfully, not Vista, since apparently it had its own problems, and according to friends, I may be better off without Win 10.

O K, so am a Luddite, who can't see the point of paying a lot of money for features that will never be used. (Publisher, Power Point , Games etc for instance. ) Word, Excel, Google and E mail more than suffice for my needs.

So, I am being as selfish as the geeks who invent these gadgets, but in the opposite direction.

SWMBO has just bought her first smart phone, only 'cos her 12 y o simple phone died. And struggles with it, as yet. being a technophobe, most certainly will not use many of the capabilities..

How many of us would be happy to be coerced into buying a Supercar, when unlikely to drive more than 50 miles?

How many of us would enjoy being pressurised into buying a 4 axis CNC machine for our hobby?

This is the parallel with assuming that EVERYONE has a cutting edge Computing facilkity and the latest smart phone.

A lot of us haven't and don't need.

There is a danger that those capable of using such machinery to its limit think that everyone, needs and wanted such sophistication and complexity.

Enzo Ferrari believed that the ideal racing car was powered by a single cylinder engine and failed as it took the chequered flag!

Much as it is nice to have invented a new bell or whistle, and faced with finding a use for it. we should not try to force it onto everyone that we meet..

Has the world in general never learned the radio amateur's KISS outook?

Puts away soapbox

Howard

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

If I might make a point about Microsoft files. And others.

As I've said before, I use Linux. I also use Libre Office which is available in both Microsoft and Linux versions. Now, I must admit that I haven't much experience of Microsoft files, but I understand that the Microsoft formats are proprietary versions, hence are not necessarily readable by other programs. I understand that being proprietary, they are not necessarily an official standard – although Microsoft would have you believe otherwise. Of course, Microsoft will set their software to default to their own proprietary versions, and people in general are too lazy to look for other options. Anyway, FWIW, Libre Office has what are supposedly options for reading Microsoft's formats, although I do belive that there may not be 100% compatible.

Anyway, with Libre Office being available in both versions, it is quite feasible to discard Microsoft Office in favour of Libre Office and then at some point make the change to Linux.

In respect of TurboCad, a program which I tried once, and that was once too much(!), I use a program known as Wine. Effectively an intermediary program which allows the use of Win 32 bit programs to run under Linux. I use an old (2007) program named Design Cad 3D Max quite effectively under Linux. Wine is being improved all the time, which shows the level of demand for it.

I have to say that I would love to have to send a written reply to someone in authority using a Libre Office format, and then wait for them to say that they cannot read it, at which point thay would be told to learn how to use Microsoft Office properly! Yes, nasty I know, and at my age the possibility of it happening is disappearing over the horizon faster that Roy Rogers & Trigger. Still, one can dream. But in reality, I wonder what would happen if Microsoft went bust? Or if they jacked their prices up so far as to make their programs uneconomic? How would these poor darlings manage?

Peter G. Shaw

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Howard –

A very good point.

When software was all sold on discs it made some sense for MS to bundle all its programmes into one lump to simplify the manufacture and sales. Even then you could omit some sections you did not want.

If though it is sold on-line it should allow you full control over what you have – priced to match and as straight one-off purchases.

Not long after I bought this WIN-7 PC I am using now, MS badgered me to "up-grade" (a phrase I consider a lie) to W10, free, over the Internet. Eventually I did. Carefully, I used its "Custom" option to omit gimmicks like Cortana and games; and incidentally reduce MS' eavesdropping powers as MS itself admitted. Naturally MS wants "Full Install".

It was a disaster. I reverted the computer to 7 as was offered, and spent 2 or 3 hours repairing the WIN-10 damage.

Looking at the advertising, Office 365, MS' present offering, contains 'Word', an unimproved 'Excel', 'Powerpoint', and some file-manipulating and communications applications including 'Outlook'. (I thought MS was abandoning 'Outlook'?) Office is "subscription" -only, almost £80 a year, and the publicity tells you little of what you are buying.

There would appear growing a division not only between the Haves and Have- Nots; but also one between those Haves stuck with Mr. Gates' stuff and those able to non-MS equipment and software!

'

Peter –

That's all very well but not everyone has high IT skills.

Many, perhaps most, of we "poor darlings" are computer and Internet users-only, first and foremost. Not specialists in manipulating operating-systems.

I doubt Microsoft will go bankrupt in my remaining decades but its products and the computers needed for them may well become too expensive – and difficult to use – for even more people than already.

Also, having accumulated over the decades hundreds of all sorts of files made in MS and MS-compatible programmes, and having installed MS-compatible third-party programmes, we may not wish, or may not be able technically, to risk transferring them to a rival, potentially incompatible, OS.

'

Overall I fear the Internet will only become steadily more enforced, but also more expensive and exclusive.

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

Nigel,

I do not have high IT skills. I am completely self-taught. (as I am in lots of other things – Jack of all trades, master of none). Having said that, I have had an interest dating back about 40 years so maybe that helps.

The whole point of my comment was that it is possible to achieve a transfer to Linux without losing any data simply because it is possible to start using the alternative programs whilst still running Windows. I do agree with you that we are indeed being steadily required more & more to use the internet. My own view is that if it makes my life easier, then fair enough. If it makes life cheaper then fair enough. But if it doesn't, then sod off, I'll stick with the original method, eg on a different thread, I've commented very adversely about the software the doctors use for repeat prescriptions which I will not now use.

Cheers,

Peter G. Shaw

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