TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
RE: Spinoff: Using Linux for work? was RE: Why Tech-Writers Should Know About Open Source Technologies
Subject:RE: Spinoff: Using Linux for work? was RE: Why Tech-Writers Should Know About Open Source Technologies From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axion -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 15 Sep 2005 13:06:11 -0700
On Thu, 2005-09-15 at 12:40 -0700, John Posada wrote:
> I believe the reason is, because commercial software companies aren't
> going to sit on their butts waiting to be made obsolete. As OS
> evolves, so will they to keep ahead.
Proprietary companies aren't ahead in many areas now. They're the ones
who are playing catch-up in some areas. Why do you think MS Word, for
example, now has a floating window for styles and formatting? Because it
got the idea from OpenOffice.org.
More importantly, as applications mature, there's less and less you can
add. How much real functionality, for example, has been added since Word
97? Microsoft has added a few reference tools, and is trying to push
groupware tools, but none of these seem to be widely used or wanted,
from what I can tell.
At any rate, what can a company do against a product that its most
commonly used features and is available for free, or the cost of the CD?
Not very much, in the long run.
So far, the strategies that proprietary companies have used is to lower
their prices and extend their market. Microsoft wasn't interested in
versions of MS Office for Swahili and Welsh, for example, until
OpenOffice.org provided them. Same for Hebrew.
Admittedly, though, companies may not have been responding
intelligently.
"When a person has a poor ear for music he will flat and sharp
right along without knowing it. He keeps near the tune, but is
not the tune. When a person has a poor ear for words, the result
is a literary flatting and sharping; you perceive what he is intending
to say, but you also perceive that he does not say it.'
- Mark Twain
Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Doc-To-Help 2005 converts RoboHelp files with one click. Author with Word or any HTML editor. Visit our site to see a conversion demo movie and learn more. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
