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I like Open Office but needed .doc file to send science fiction to magazines, so I needed Word; I wasn't sure Oo would write the files properly and it turned out it can't export to anything except PDF, so I installed Libre Office. It will write the files, but MS Write can't read them.
I had an idea for an article about playing cards, so googled for open source playing card images. There should be plenty since playing cards have been around for hundreds of years. However, finding them was really difficult. I managed to find an .eps vector graphics file that Windows didn't know what it was, so more googling.
The internet said GIMP would open it, but it couldn't; it repeatedly crashed trying to open it. I tried importing it into Open Office, and got a blank screen. The internet said you could import it with Word, so I opened Word... or tried to. It wouldn't open and that I should try again or go to Control Panel to "repair" it. Tried reopening Word, same thing. Booted the computer and tried again, same thing. So I go into control panel and tried to repair, and that stupid fucking thing said I needed an internet connection. IT'S ON THE INTERNET, DAMN IT!!!
I don't know where Microsoft finds its programmers, skid row? Homeless shelters? Crack houses?
It's done this before. I had to reinstall the God damned OS to fix that stupid, stupid, program.
They've always been terrible at networking. DOS and Windows 95 had no native networking at all. When I first got on the internet in 1997 I had to buy a floppy with a network stack and that primitive browser that the U of I came up with. They STILL can't do networking well. I assigned this computer's "documents" folder as the A: drive on the HP. Whenever I try to access it, it says the Acer isn't running, but if I go through "network" it works.
Look, you idiots running Microsoft, here's a suggestion: the next time you roll out a new OS, how about making sure it actually WORKS?
I'm in a really bad mood right now.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday June 21 2016, @06:42PM
When my wife asked me for one way linux was more secure than windows, my answer was networking by design:
Unix was built with networking in mind; linux was built the same way.
Dos and early windows (are ANY windows REALLY built with networking by design from the beginning???) were built as single desktop/single user design.
Early networking was 'put it on a floppy and i'll get a copy'. Later networking was just an add-on because of business complaints, but with no security in mind, just ease of use.
Security was NOT in mind with early MS OS's. With linux, it was.
As per YOUR problem, hmmm. All i can say is try sending your editors an open source copy as well, just so they get used to seeing it: maybe they'll get there some day? :(
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday June 22 2016, @04:07PM
Yes, that history is accurate; my first OS besides BASIC was DOS 3.1. I have heard that Windows 2000 was rebuilt from the ground up with networking in mind, but it isn't like I'm in the know. Like the 1930s humorist Will Rogers said, "all I know is what I read in the papers".
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 23 2016, @12:00AM
Don't forget that Windows was completely redesigned by the VMS guys [wikipedia.org] at the time of NT.
Your argument holds for DOS, but not for NT/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10.
(Score: 2, Touché) by tractatus_techno_philosophicus on Tuesday June 21 2016, @09:38PM
Just think about kittens; they're fluffy, adorable and you don't have to network them together or reboot them.
They're perfect little entities in and of themselves.
Pet the kittens in your mind... Doesn't that feel good?
Pet, pet, pet the kittens...
No moral system can rest solely on authority. ~A.J. Ayer
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 21 2016, @10:13PM
needed .doc file [compatibility] to send science fiction to magazines, so I needed [M$]Word
Don't be so hasty, now.
It hasn't made it to the front page yet but one guy whose opinions I trust found something that works 100 percent for him on *.DOCs.
Finally, There's a Gratis Drop-In Replacement for MS Office [soylentnews.org]
[OOo]
While we're damning megacorporations, let's throw in Adobe for good measure.
[Windoze said] I should try again or go to Control Panel to "repair" [M$Word]
[...]
I had to reinstall the God damned OS to fix that stupid, stupid program
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you and hoping Softmaker's gratis offering finally allows you to totally escape The Borg.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday June 22 2016, @04:11PM
I missed that, thanks for the link. I'll cross my fingers and try it.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 2) by Subsentient on Wednesday June 22 2016, @01:46AM
The only dealings I tend to have with Windows are when I fix broken Windows boxes and clean viruses. I hate it. Otherwise, Linux.
I keep a SubLinux thumbdrive on my keychain I boot into to do clamav scans, MBR repairs and stuff like that. Comes in handy constantly.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Wednesday June 22 2016, @05:09AM
Wikimedia has images of playing cards.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Playing_cards [wikimedia.org]
I hadn't heard Microsoft Write mentioned in many years. Wikipedia says it was last included with Windows NT 3.5. I strongly doubt your publisher uses it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Write [wikipedia.org]
It sounds like you are using a very old version of Windows. That may be the reason why your programs are all crashing. I suggest getting yourself a copy of Windows 7; you'll probably need another computer to run it but one from the thrift store might do.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday June 22 2016, @03:59PM
Thanks for the link. It isn't Write they demand, it's Word. Both my laptops have Win 7 (one of them dual-boot with Linux, the computer I use most). I have an old XP tower and only use it to digitize my cassettes and LPs. Of course it's never on my network.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 2) by number6 on Wednesday June 22 2016, @03:24PM
Irfan View is one of those Windows programs that have been around forever and never say die.
It will open just about every graphics document in existence. I just opened an '.EPS' file on my computer with it right now before posting this; a piece of cake!
As far as I'm concerned, Irfan View is an essential program which should be included with all new Windows installations; even if you use it only once
in a blue moon, it is GOLD when days like this come around.
Irfan View - Homepage [irfanview.com]
(P.S. - make sure you also download the additional Plugins pack and install that too.)
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If you want to search the internet for high-resolution images (uncensored and unfiltered) Google Images is no longer the king for such things.
The best image selection is found using Yandex - Russian search engine.
Click on this link and have a look for yourself: https://yandex.ru/images/search?text=playing%20cards [yandex.ru]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 22 2016, @06:13PM
mcgrew has been trying to dump Windoze and the (obvious) associated headaches.
Now, in that regard, the news about IrfanView isn't all bad.
Can I use IrfanView on Linux? [irfanview.com]
[Yup. It's WINE-compatible.]
The usual FOSS replacement mentioned for that "Windoze-only" app is ImageMagick.
mcgrew likes KDE/Qt, so that app would be a good choice for him (no additional GNOME/GTK+ dependencies, as is the case with e.g. gThumb, which is also highly rated).
Here's what ImageMagick has to say about *.eps: [imagemagick.org]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]