The European Union's interoperability page reports:
The Dutch city of Arnhem has some civil servants working from home. The city did not properly license the proprietary software those folks were using. After paying a €600k settlement with A_software_vendor_you_all_know, the town has cancelled its plans to convert to Open Source office software.
[...]says the city's CIO, Simon Does
"It makes no sense not to use these licences, so we've stopped looking for alternatives", the CIO told the European Commission's Open Source Observatory and Repository (OSOR). Possible alternatives would have been LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice, two closely related open source office suites.
N.B. Some here will remember that in the year 2000, Ernie Ball, Inc. was dinged for $100k and that that episode was enough to convince CEO Sterling Ball to order that all EULAware used in that operation be replaced with FOSS.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 24 2014, @09:21PM
xlefay can teach him a lesson
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday November 24 2014, @09:24PM
I was going to complain about the snark
But it seems appropriate
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 24 2014, @10:42PM
This isn't Hacker News. We don't constantly bitch about "snark" here. We also don't label everything we dislike as "disingenuous".
If you're going to engage in that sort of idiocy, please head over to Hacker News [ycombinator.com] instead.
(Score: 1) by takyon on Monday November 24 2014, @10:58PM
Ok, anon. Please post some stories from AboveTopSecret too
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Tuesday November 25 2014, @01:33AM
Well allow ME to complain since this wil probably turn into a FOSSie circle jerk, some say I should use "perception bubble" but fuck that PC crap, its a circle jerk.
To the FOSSies that not only are displaying a case of Voldemort [tmrepository.com] like Robert Poggie at LinuxInsider but then are gonna have the brass plated balls to say its some sort of "shakedown"? get ready for a big fist load of truth, they wouldn't have to pay a dime if they WERE NOT STEALING FUCKING SOFTWARE! I know, not being fucking thieves, what a concept! But I dealt with their types a million fucking times when I was working hired gun for corporate IT and its ALWAYS the same, they get some poor schmuck intern to take a trip to TPB and then wadda ya know, why even the fucking janitors have Photoshop and MS Office pro on their systems!
The moral of the story is if you wanna use FOSS because you believe in the movement, or have a programming dept that can fix the bugs, or are just broke as a joke? Fine and dandy but don't act like old Ernie ball and get all butthurt because YOU WERE CAUGHT STEALING and act like it was a great fucking insult to the damned thief! You don't get the kind of fines Ernie and this bunch got for a single program they couldn't find the key to, okay?I bet my last dollar that these bozos had a single Razr1911 copy running on dozens of boxes!
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @02:35AM
Ernie Ball, Inc. handed down machines to the clerical staff as new, more powerful machines were purchased for the engineering staff.
The hand-me-down machines were not re-imaged.
They contained leftover software that was of no use to the new user.
THAT software was what BSA bitched about.
(These points were covered in the final link in the summary.)
Had the company been using only FOSS from the start, the presence of software--used or unused--would not have caused even a ripple.
The moral of the story is to avoid EULAware.
-- gewg_
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @07:07AM
a neo con vs a progressive... this should be funny
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @12:37PM
Outside of the Free Software vs EULAware thing, Hairyfeet and I agree on a great number of things.
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by arashi no garou on Tuesday November 25 2014, @05:30PM
The moral of the story is to avoid EULAware.
The other moral of the story is wipe your drives before offloading them. I can't count the number of computers I've refurbished for charities and non-profits that they had received with corporate or government data still alive and well on the drives. After a while I started running a boot and nuke right off the bat so I wouldn't be liable for anything I might have seen while checking the hardware for faults.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday November 25 2014, @05:30AM
You may lose, so maybe it's wise to keep all your first dollars and bet only the last one.
Not explicitly said as such, but the wording seems to suggest the work-from-home employees were using their own "MS Office Student and Home edition" - with an EULA which allows home use [office.com] but interdicts the use for professional/business purposes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Tuesday November 25 2014, @02:49PM
Well guess what? The student and home edition is so cheap (less than a third the cost of standard and that isn't counting the fact you get 3 installs) because its...wait for it....FOR HOME AND STUDENT USERS! When you buy software you agree to the license, this has been held up by the courts countless times, if you don't like the license? Don't buy the fricking software!
And are they serious? Not only not having legitimately licensed versions but just letting users run whatever they want at home with ZERO intervention or guidance from IT? Really? Then frankly it ain't the license they need to worry about, its how much malware they've picked up from the home boxes!
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday November 25 2014, @03:04PM
because of artificial scarcity. Don't be shy, call it by name.
Yes, I know MS is within its legal rights to license its products as they see fit and I agree that the guys which used the Home edition for job purposes were outside the home edition license.
However, the above is to show how uncommon-sensical for human mind is to have a product which you paid for (lawyer correction: you paid a license to use it, 4 fuck sake, not the product!), perfectly able to do the job, but you aren't allow to do your job because... you see... because the actual owner (yes, you paid but it is not you the owner) say you aren't allowed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by art guerrilla on Tuesday November 25 2014, @03:30PM
yes, the whole fucking world has lost sight that 'legal' DOES NOT = 'moral'...
ON TOP OF WHICH, it is not as if us 99% have virtually ANY INFLUENCE on what is/isn't deemed 'legal'/'illegal' any longer: the korporadoes and authoritarian pigs at the top of the food chain determine those issues for us, aren't they sweet ? ? ? thus, they have made our mere existence fraught with 'illegalities' at EVERY FUCKING TURN...
they are no longer 'our' laws in any meaningful sense of the term, but are intangible cudgels they use to beat us all mercilessly...
(when the hard rain comes -sooner than later- do the 1% think we 99% are going to be polite, reasoned, and restrained ? ? ?
tying their own nooses and digging their own graves, they are...)
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday November 25 2014, @03:06PM
Oh, yes. And this relates to MS squeezing another $600k from them... um... exactly how?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @08:49PM
It keeps sounding like he's saying to wipe all these systems and replace the MICROS~1 stuff with FOSS.
The licensing problem with its BSA-raid possibilities goes away immediately and, simultaneously, the malware threat diminishes many orders of magnitude.
-- gewg_
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @05:34AM
I've just wandered over here from Slashdot to see if life was better this side of the fence.
Sadly, it looks like the same old Microsoft apologists are polluting the discussion here as well. Pity, I'll keep looking for a forum that offers genuine discussion for nerds.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @07:09AM
why not join in the bashing?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @08:13PM
Thanks and sure: FUCK BETA!
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday November 25 2014, @02:42PM
Read the article about the guitar string company. The BSA is every bit as thuggish and amoral as ASCAP.
In Ball's case, ALL OF THE SOFTWARE HAD BEEN PAID FOR. Their "crime" was moving it from machine to machine as they upgraded hardware. They're now 100% Microsoft-free, with only a couple of proprietary packages that there are no open source substitutes for.
Now stop your lying trolls, shill.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 5, Insightful) by turgid on Monday November 24 2014, @09:27PM
"It makes no sense not to use these licences,"
No, that money is gone. It'll keep costing you more in the years to come if you stay on the treadmill, and the more you produce with the proprietary tools, and the more used to them you get, the harder it will get to change in the future.
But, hey, that's 90% of people for you.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by khedoros on Monday November 24 2014, @10:04PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @04:20AM
Unless that was the whole budget for this year... Then the money is spent and nothing can be done.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 24 2014, @09:54PM
damn. i was hoping to read something about M$'s linux patent insurance. you know, the money that M$ extorts from any company that manufactures and sells a device running linux. when android-based tablets and ereaders were first burgeoning in the market, i remember reading that everyone pays this M$...amazon, samsung, etc. Barnes and Noble was the only company to take a stand and say, 'hell no, M$. we aren't paying you to use linux.' lawsuits were files from both sides. unfortunately, B&N hit economic troubles (Amazon whooped their pants off in sales), so B&N needed someone to bail them out of bankruptcy. guess who came to their rescue? that's right, M$.
they will never admit it but i know why they chose to bail B&N out. all it takes is one desperate company with nothing to lose to take M$ to court over that linux patent BS and that whole house of cards will come tumbling down. can't wait to watch it happen.
p.s. i don't really use linux. i mostly use M$ stuff. i just can't stand a bully.
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Tuesday November 25 2014, @12:33AM
Unfortunately MS is smart enough not to sue Google. I was really hoping they'd spine up little and give it a shot. I've seen those patents and they will almost assuredly fall.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @03:55AM
i should have added that MS's strength in these 'negotiations' isn't just the war-chest full of lawyers and expensive lawsuits. their real strength in these dealings arise from their desktop dominance. all of the companies that pay those 'linux patent' royalties to MS were also 'in bed' business-wise with MS in other ways. i'm sure there were threats on that front too. who didn't have any other ties with MS? B&N. until MS bailed them out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @05:33AM
From which I understand that is actually that bully's "horn" stuck up your ass that keeps you standing?
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Wednesday November 26 2014, @06:37PM
That was Android, mostly. Yes, MS scared some money out of Novell once, but with the SCO case pretty much dead and buried, nobody's buying the hype anymore. Linux != Android, although they're closely related.
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 4, Funny) by aristarchus on Monday November 24 2014, @10:04PM
Beatings will continue until morale improves! We already have these cat'o'ninetails lying about, so we might as well use them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 24 2014, @10:12PM
And most likely won't be until a big change comes in the model of how it is developed and sold.
GUI fit and finish matters for desktop users.
I expect that the office suite (rich text word processor, spreadsheet, slide presenter, etc) that eventually succeeds on Linux will not share any application-level code (not talking about platform libraries, etc) with OpenOffice, LibreOffice, or any of the various spinoffs. It might be MS Office, or it could be from somebody else.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Monday November 24 2014, @11:47PM
Anyway you'll never have a truly good word processor, on any platform, because word processor is a flawed concept to begin with. You either settle for that or you learn to use proper document production tools.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Marand on Tuesday November 25 2014, @12:24AM
You either settle for that or you learn to use proper document production tools.
Says the guy that hasn't learned to use proper fonts. You probably format your PDFs with fixed-width fonts, too. :)
This isn't IRC and you're not writing code here, so you should ditch the fixed-width crap and use something more readable.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday November 25 2014, @12:46AM
"This isn't IRC"
Fonts are chosen on client-side in IRC as well, btw.
There should really be a test for basic computer literacy to be able to post here, and you just failed it.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Marand on Tuesday November 25 2014, @01:01AM
This is the web. The fonts are chosen on your end, not mine. If your font is unpleasant then ffs change it!
"This isn't IRC"
Fonts are chosen on client-side in IRC as well, btw.
There should really be a test for basic computer literacy to be able to post here, and you just failed it.
My comment was intended mostly as a joke, but since you feel the need to get defensive and insulting about it, we'll go there.
You're using the tag -- short for teletype -- which is intended to be rendered as fixed-width, because sometimes you do want parts of the page to be fixed width font, such as when showing code or other information that needs precise spacing. Leaving that set to a fixed width font because, sometimes, there's good reason to display fixed-width text in a page, is not computer illiteracy or a mistake of the user.
Are you seriously so arrogant and self-centered that you're suggesting everybody that visits this site should change their font settings away from the intended, reasonable settings, just because you feel some ridiculous desire to have your posts look different? A better solution would be for you to stop misusing fixed-width tags like a newbie. You've surely been around long enough to know that you're not using the tt tag for its intended purpose, so that's the only reasonable conclusion, and jumping right to arrogant comments about other people's computer literacy to mask that is disingenuous.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Tuesday November 25 2014, @01:04AM
Well, that's a fun bug. That first bit should be "You're using the <tt> tag", but after a preview, SN replaces the < and > with the actual characters. Didn't notice the substitution in the text field.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday November 25 2014, @01:34AM
But if you do that you get an endless parade of idiots following you around commenting on your supposed choice of font, which you might find more annoying than the board mangling your text, depending on your personality type.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1) by linuxrocks123 on Tuesday November 25 2014, @01:48AM
I haven't seen someone pwned in a snarkfest as well as you just pwned Marand with this post in a long, long time. *Virtual High-Five*.
I also hate Slashcode mangling ... but put up with it because, well, inertia I guess. To me, "Plain Old Text" should mean "DON'T HTML-FUCK MY POST". But it HTML-fucks you anyway. Whatever.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday November 25 2014, @01:26AM
Read back up - I am not the one who got insulting first (and I do not feel at all defensive either, btw.)
"You're using the tag -- "
I am not tagging. On occasion I do tag a post, for a specific reason, but in the vast majority of my posts and in the posts in this thread so far I have entered 0 tags - none. When I do tag, well, I cannot remember ever manually specifying a font. That's alien to my way of thinking. Font tags do not even belong in HTML.
The <tt> tag, which is the one you were trying and failing to cite, correct? The <tt> tag specifies teletype text. It's not a *bad* tag, I wouldnt mind if you wrapped the whole web in it (I know how to use my browser so it wouldn't change anything on my end) but it's ambiguous, I have no idea what semantics it is supposed to convey. So I don't think I have ever used it either.
What I *do* use is default posting mode of code. So that when I type <tt> you actually see <tt>, instead of the garbage you got.
I don't care about, or set, your font. I do care when I type <tt> and it publishes --, and THAT is why I have chosen this posting mode. And will continue to use it no matter how many technically challenged posters out themselves by yelling at me for my supposed choice of font.
"Leaving that set to a fixed width font because, sometimes, there's good reason to display fixed-width text in a page, is not computer illiteracy or a mistake of the user."
Accusing me of setting your font, when in fact your fonts are under your control, not mine, is however.
You seem really confused here, maybe you don't realize, but there are many fixed-width fonts. If the one that is being selected on your end is an eyesore, then you should change it to one that is not.
But the point here, *again*, is that the setting is on your computer. Not mine.
"Are you seriously so arrogant and self-centered that you're suggesting everybody that visits this site should change their font settings away from the intended, reasonable settings"
I have to *rofl* at that one. Default settings suck donkey tail, how long have you been with AOL?
"just because you feel some ridiculous desire to have your posts look different?"
I *don't* have any such desire, and, in fact, on my screen they don't look any different. For the ??th time, this is YOUR issue, not mine.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by melikamp on Tuesday November 25 2014, @02:17AM
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @02:20AM
(Score: 2) by Marand on Tuesday November 25 2014, @03:16AM
You're right, you aren't explicitly tagging the posts, but you're using a setting that forces the tt tag, which is what I was talking about and you know it. I could change the font my browser uses for that and other tags that are intended to be fixed-width to a normal one instead, but that would have a negative effect on better uses of the tag just because, for some inexplicable reason, you think everything you post should be formatted like code.
Also, yes, I'm aware that you can change to a different fixed font. Fixed fonts aren't as readable, period, versus a decent regular font, so it's not going to fix anything. Setting you to foe so that all your posts are locked at -1 will, though, so I think that's the way I'll go with it. I had considered it before and was reluctant to do it, but we don't usually interact , so it shouldn't affect much.
Anyhow, it's not worth trying to have a discussion about this, considering how defensive and condescending you got over a bit of teasing, so I'm just going to leave it at that. It was supposed to be a joke, not spark a giant off-topic argument.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday November 25 2014, @03:34AM
Excellent, you understand your situation now then.
"I could change the font my browser uses for that and other tags that are intended to be fixed-width to a normal one instead, but that would have a negative effect on better uses of the tag just because, for some inexplicable reason, you think everything you post should be formatted like code"
Err... maybe not.
Look, changing the font your browser uses to render <tt> to something that you do not find an eye-sore is NOT going to 'have a negative effect' by definition it's going to have a positive effect, FFS!
"for some inexplicable reason, you think everything you post should be formatted like code."
Uh, no, for some 'inexplicable' reason I expect each character that I type into the submission box to come through in the post. Even if it involves a < or a > or lord help us both in proximity to each other!
And you are continuing to call this 'inexplicable' *even after* you yourself misposted as a result of not doing what I am doing in this very thread!
I could not make this up, it would not be believable.
"Fixed fonts aren't as readable, period, versus a decent regular font, so it's not going to fix anything. "
So because you (incorrectly, but be that as it may) *think* that fixed fonts are inferior, you refuse to configure your browser to display content tagged as <tt> using a font that is less ugly than the default on your system (most likely the most ugly and nonfunctional font know to man) and prefer to fume and blame me for the poor performance of your computer?
Oy vey.
"Setting you to foe so that all your posts are locked at -1 will, though, so I think that's the way I'll go with it. I had considered it before and was reluctant to do it, but we don't usually interact , so it shouldn't affect much."
Yikes. Seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to to avoid learning how to use a browser, but sure man, whatever floats your boat.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @05:06AM
1- You're an ass. If you didn't know, that's why people don't like you.
2 - I didn't read 90% of what you wrote because it looks awful.
3 - If anyone is illiterate here it is you. Proper HTML is intentionally semantic to allow the user to view content as desired. Using code/mono/tt inappropriately is like typing in all caps - yeah I could replace all fonts with only lower case, but in my heart I'll still know you are a clueless bag of dicks.
I display code in monospace because it needs to be. Grow up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @05:40AM
Your palms will grow hairy if you keep that up.
It's funny, you are the one making the problem yet you keep demanding others change so you can post your code, which you're not doing anyway.
I do much the same thing, but with tools. I drive around town with a hammer looking for anybody with a problem. When they've got a problem, I've got the solution!
You're such a special snowflake.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday November 25 2014, @02:54PM
The AC is right, Open Office has a fine word processor, but its spreadsheet is abysmal. I haven't tried its other tools.
I don't quite understand what you mean by "word processor is a flawed concept to begin with". Flawed how? I write, format, and publish my books using nothing but Writer and GIMP. What would you suggest I use? A typewriter??
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday November 25 2014, @06:44PM
What I mean is that a word processor is a program that handles two entirely different jobs, and does them both badly.
The first job is editing text. A word processor is an abysmally poor substitute for a good text editor.
The second job is publishing layout. And here, your word processor is a poor substitute for a good layout engine as well.
"What would you suggest I use? A typewriter??"
There are dozens of superb text editors to use (any of which is a large improvement over any word processor,) so whichever you are most comfortable with is fine for text editing. For layout? LaTeX is awesome.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @09:15PM
For layout? LaTeX is awesome.
no it's not
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday November 26 2014, @09:03PM
That would depend on what document you were working on. A glossy magazine? Yes, you certainly need a dedicated layout engine, but for laying out a hardcover book or simple office document, using a text editor and layout engine is overkill.
The right tool for the right job.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2) by Marand on Tuesday November 25 2014, @11:28PM
I don't quite understand what you mean by "word processor is a flawed concept to begin with". Flawed how? I write, format, and publish my books using nothing but Writer and GIMP. What would you suggest I use? A typewriter??
What he means by flawed is "not what he uses, therefore objectively incorrect". That it works for you is just a cosmic fluke that doesn't detract from its wrongness and you should be ashamed of yourself. For some reason, it's a mindset that is especially common online. It happens over anything, but is probably most prevalent with video games; people like to announce that you're "doing it wrong" if you don't follow their idea of accepted "correct" play.
If this were still the '90s I'd be inclined to agree with the assessment, though if it works for someone else, so be it. However, it's been largely irrelevant for a very long time thanks to word processors getting formatting styles. It made the same difference that CSS did for HTML: with styles, presentation could be separated from the content. Without styles, you formatted the document as you created it, mixing presentation information with the content itself, and if you later decided to change something (larger font size for headings, say) you had to go through and change each instance manually. I found it messy, frustrating, and preferred tools like LyX for a long time because of it. Being able to just mark things as "this is a header" "new paragraph here" etc. and then adjust the spacing, fonts, and other formatting after the fact saved so much time compared to the pre-styles way.
With styles, though, it's largely irrelevant. You can get the same sort of presentation/content separation in a word processor, HTML+CSS, or TeX, so it's usually more important to use what's comfortable than to worry about if you're "doing it wrong".
I guess one could argue that word processors are still inferior because they allow you to use the quick-and-dirty non-style formatting instead of forcing use of styles, but I'm not a fan of that "my way or the highway" mindset. It's one of the things that pisses me off about Python, too. Overall, I like a lot of things about the language, but it's designed with a general attitude of "if you aren't doing it this way you're doing it wrong" that bugs me. I usually end up writing Perl scripts instead because I prefer the flexibility.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Wednesday November 26 2014, @12:50AM
And we're still left with the problem of text editing.
Look for someone that does relatively small, simple documents occasionally, and already knows how to use a word processor, it's probably reasonable for one to just keep using the method one has - it's good enough and there is little to gain from the effort.
But this guy is doing books. Large amounts of structured text. That guy has a very strong case for finding the very best tools for the job and learning to use them properly, because it's not a one-off or an occasional light job.
And contrary to what you think, it has nothing to do with what I use. I havent done layout on a book in years actually, and when I did I had to use the expensive proprietary DTP software that the customer used. But of course it coöperated nicely with my choice of text editors.
The specific tool is not the point.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday November 26 2014, @03:02AM
I agree, using styles probably isn't the typical case for the average user, but they're awesome if you do use them, and you've still got the occasional one-off formatting you can do if you really need it for some reason. They're basically the only reason I can use a word processor without the entire experience being frustrating.
I'll use word processor styles, HTML+CSS, or LyX (I really liked the program, so I never got around to learning how to format LaTeX manually), it doesn't matter to me, as long as I can split most of the formatting from the content, and have a way to output to something like PDF.
Now there is something that's a pain in the ass about word processor docs: people treating them as the final output format, instead of the file you use to create the final output.
As for him doing books, it might end up being the best option just because someone else in the chain uses that format and it's not worth adding an extra step. As much as I like LyX, if I had to output a .doc, send it to someone, then receive it back as a .doc, I'd probably just fire up [LibreOffice | AbiWord | Calligra Words] and set up some styles rather than deal with the extra crap. I've seen people in the past on Slashdot (comments and articles both) talk about the industry being hostile to non-Word formats, so I wouldn't be surprised.
---
As an off-topic: KDE's Calligra suite seemed pretty nice last I looked, and I'd probably try using it before LO or most alternatives. Too bad it doesn't play well with the testing repository I use for Krita (another Calligra suite program); I didn't get to test it more because I had to uninstall it or revert to the distro's Krita version.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday November 26 2014, @08:36PM
The final versions sent to the printer are PDF, which Open Office outputs easily. So does MS Word, PDF was the final output of documents I wrote at work before my retirement. One would only email a .doc if the other person needed to edit it.
I do agree that sending a document file as a final document is stupid. I saw way too much of it at work.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2) by Marand on Thursday November 27 2014, @02:25AM
I do agree that sending a document file as a final document is stupid. I saw way too much of it at work.
It seems to be extremely common everywhere, and also probably one of the biggest sources of hate for the formats and software, especially if you've ever been given a .doc and then blamed for it rendering differently. It's probably because it's a tool that's useful to practically everyone, regardless of technical competence, so people that know nothing about computers will use it and assume that what they see is what everyone gets.
It's a reasonable enough assumption if you don't know better, so the person thinks it must be the other user's fault somehow. Then the hate grows.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @03:49AM
i run windows but i actually prefer libre office to ms office. the libre office gui is more traditional. i find it easier to use than ms's "ribbon". libre office does do some really quirky stuff though when i'm trying to format stuff. word doesn't.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @07:38AM
you forgot to mention systemd
(Score: 3, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Monday November 24 2014, @10:32PM
After paying a €600k settlement with A_software_vendor_you_all_know
If you know it was Microsoft, say so. If you don't know, don't hint that you do.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 24 2014, @10:48PM
It's a gewg_ submission. Expect silliness like that.
One of his recent submissions is all about feces [soylentnews.org], for crying out loud.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 26 2014, @03:05AM
gewg_ had 6 consecutive submissions in the queue.
All have made the front page (including the biogas item).
Now, point to anything YOU have submitted that has made the front page.
-- gewg_
(Score: 3, Interesting) by zocalo on Monday November 24 2014, @11:12PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday November 24 2014, @11:23PM
But we don't know! It could have been that other dominant monopoly software vendor. If it had been MicR0$erf, I am sure the fines would have been much more than 600 Euro!!
(Score: 2) by ticho on Monday November 24 2014, @11:26PM
It's the same thing as mentioning Slashdot on this site. It's always "the other site", "the green site" or similar nonsense. It's, silly, as if everyone was afraid of Slashdot or something. Slashdot, slashdot, slashdot, we're all adults here, ffs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 24 2014, @11:36PM
These guidelines need to be entered on the Style Guide for Summaries and Posts on Soylentnews.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday November 24 2014, @11:47PM
Employees of a government, working from home, using software not "properly" licensed? Does this mean they were accused of using personal "home" editions of said dominant software for official (enterprise?) tasks? Should not the individual private owners have been fined for the improper use of their limited licenses?
And what happens if I were to, &diety forbid, to use enterprise software for personal tasks, say on a company laptop that happened to follow me home? Does this mean we need two licenses for every stinking piece of software? I knew it! Viral licensing!
Besides, this is the Dutch. (Heading error, the Dutch did not pay Danegeld, for they were Frisians.) And I suspect it is not even real. I mean:
the city's CIO, Simon Does
; are we sure the name is not "Simon Says"?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @12:07AM
the Dutch did not pay Danegeld
My suggested dept. was a lot more generic:
from the doing-it-wrong dept. [soylentnews.org]
-- gewg_
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 25 2014, @12:09AM
"Does" is an old Dutch word for a water channel.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 01 2014, @11:25AM
Since they were working, it probably was still their employer's responsibility to ensure they were using properly licensed software. What probably should have been done would be to set up some remote desktop solution for the remote workers, so the software they ran could be controlled and keep the data they worked on secure, though properly administered work laptops would probably work just as well.
If reasonable steps were taken to ensure the users were using appropriately licensed software and the users were properly educated to not use unlicensed software (basically just told not to install/use software without being authorised to do so) then I can't see the government being on the hook for unlicensed use of software.
Details may be interesting if what I suggest should have been done was and they still got busted anyway, though I doubt that would be the case.
(Score: 2) by Dale on Tuesday November 25 2014, @01:19PM
If some company hit me with a fine that would make me more likely, not less, to switch off their crap. Why wouldn't they accelerate their move to open source after this incident rather than stop?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 01 2014, @11:28AM
The people making the decision were either falling prey to the sunk cost fallacy, or they were paid-off/coerced in some way.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by darkfeline on Tuesday November 25 2014, @03:28PM
I had to reread that four times. You get hit with a fine, so you stop moving to FOSS and continue to use the proprietary software created by abusive corporations? Wait what? Are they secretly masochists or something? Oops, accidentally stuck my hand in the blender. Well, I lost my fingers already, may as well stick the rest of my arm in there too. Maybe press the turbo button so it goes smoother.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 1) by SecurityGuy on Tuesday November 25 2014, @05:16PM
It sounds like a poor summary to me. More like "Since we've been forced to buy licenses, we may as well use them."
Makes sense, actually. Now when those licenses are up, they should still look at using something else.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday November 26 2014, @12:18AM
It sounds like a poor summary to me. More like "Since we've been forced to buy licenses, we may as well use them."
Makes sense, actually. Now when those licenses are up, they should still look at using something else.
Seems like it's still going to be wasting money to me, because they have to halt the migration partway through and then pick it up later. My first thought was to look for a way to transfer/donate the licenses so that they'd still be useful without affecting the migration. Maybe give them to the employees for home-use or something, not sure.
Unless they hadn't started the migration yet, in which case using the licenses and rescheduling the migration makes sense.