[Wolves] Linux in schools

[Kevanf1]

On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 09:11:18 +0000, Mark Ellse <me at chaseacademy.com> wrote:

> I agree, a lot of the problems are perception. MSOffice suites have
> their quirks, but staff will tolerate them.

That's possibly down to the hype from Microsoft.  We are expensive but
we are the best.  People just seem to accept it.

 I have to say that Excel is
> the best product of the MS stable. I have experienced very few problems
> with it. 

I made it crash spectacularly yesterday.  Damn rubbish, give me OOo or
Lotus 123 on the M$ platform anyday.
 
But MSWord crashes with complicated arrangements

it's too unwieldy anyway

 (I think that
> it is a deliberate ploy to make you buy Publisher), Publisher does
> strange things losing resolution on images, and Access is totally
> unfathomable.

Publisher is just horrible, I think it only keeps going because of the
paper airplane templates ;-)))  As for Access, totally agree.  I took
a course at Wolves Uni - staff training - on Access and I still
couldn't work it out.  Yet I set up quite complex queries and searches
using dBase IV back in the early 90's.
 
> When staff find that MS products fail them, they think that the fault
> must be their own as users. If there is a problem with OpenOffice, they
> think that it's a consequence of using 'free software'.

Yes, I keep coming across that in my capacity as Chairman of the
Cheslyn Hay Village Appraisal Committee.  I think I am managing to
turn a couple of the other members to OOo.
 


-- 
Take care.
Kevan Farmer

34 Hill Street
Cheslyn Hay
Staffordshire
WS6 7HR