Re: [libreoffice-users] Default file formats

Hi :)

The point i was making was that most people that can't open odt files are using 
old versions of MS Word.  


We have an opportunity to help them upgrade to LibreOffice rather than following 
their default upgrade route to MS Office 2010.  The ribbon-bar counts in our 
favour because our menu system is more intuitive and familiar to users of MS 
Word 2003 and earlier.  Even 2007 users are likely to appreciate the "step 
backwards".

Often, company websites have documents in pdf and then have some system to help 
people install or upgrade Adobe Acrobat Reader.  Something similar has often 
been done in emails.  We could encourage people to do that with odt.

A company that helped it's customers, clients, vendors (and such-like) become 
more competitive (by avoiding the licensing fees of our main competitors) might 
build-up more "goodwill" on it's balance sheet and that might well translate 
directly into repeat sales.

Regards from
Tom :)






________________________________
From: MR ZenWiz <mrzenwiz@gmail.com>
To: users@libreoffice.org
Sent: Sat, 19 February, 2011 0:45:34
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Default file formats

On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 2:10 PM, Tom Davies <tomdavies04@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
:
> I find the ribbon bar much easier to use than the old menus and they look
> prettier.  People mostly just don't like them because they are unfamiliar and 
> we
> all like to stay in our comfort zones.  LibreOffice is better despite having
> "old-style" menus, not because of it imo.  Many disagree about that and that
> gives another reason why we have opportunity now.

I don't like the ribbon primarily because it takes up a huge amount of
vertical screen space that is mostly just a waste.  When I write a
document, or even an email, I want as much vertical space as possible
so I can see as much of messages/documents in one shot as possible.

I also don't much care for the way MS decided for us what we do and
don't need to see up front.  I *do* like the tabs of the ribbon - once
I get used to them (however long that takes :-), I think they'll be
somewhat helpful and easier to use than the older menu format.  In
fact, it would have been a much better marketing approach just to turn
the File Edit View menu bar into a tab bar first, then (maybe) a few
years after this caught on, go the next step and limit the tabs as
they are already in O10.

However, a whole world change like this not only makes MS Office
ergonomically incompatible with every other similar app in the world
(probably on purpose), it requires a massive retraining effort for
users.  In any other business, this would be economic suicide.  (Yes,
I keep praying....)

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