[Hidden-tech] Microsoft Office suite vs. other options

[Frank Aronson]

This will quickly be labeled off-topic, but I have to ask, why does every
Mac vs. PC thread always devolve into a Microsoft mugging?  Quite frankly,
it belies a lack of objectivity (would you blame OOo's presentation manager
if that were the predominant presentation tool on the market, for
instance?).  I have seen quite a number of problems with Macs and other
Apple products over the years that seem to be thoroughly ignored.  I am
hardly an apologist for Microsoft, having been a harsh critic for many
years.  But, to borrow from a recent column regarding Windows 7 and Mac OS X
Snow Leopard, I am an OS agnostic.  I believe that both systems (or for that
matter, the many flavors of Linux) have their pluses and minuses and I
happily (and sometimes unhappily - Windows Vista quickly comes to mind) work
in both worlds (not so much Linux.  Sorry Linux guys!).

As for the thumping that PowerPoint is getting in this thread, I believe it
to be a bit disingenuous.  I have railed at the misuse of PowerPoint for
years.  However, that criticism is not geared toward the software itself,
but to those who misuse the software.  It's kind of like blaming the hammer
and nail for bad construction.  It's not the tool, but the person wielding
the tool who is ultimately at fault.  PowerPoint can be a useful tool when
used appropriately.

Just my thoughts.

Frank Aronson

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 9:02 PM, Duane Dale <duane.dale at gmail.com> wrote:

>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
>
> Fixing a typo...
>
> On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 8:43 PM, Duane Dale <duane.dale at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I think my comment toward the end of the PC > iMac conversion thread got
>> booted as off-topic.
>> HAVING bothered to concoct a response I wanted to share, here it is under
>> a fresh Subject:
>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 4:00 PM, Roger Williams <roger at qux.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> ...Naw, in my book Microsoft Word (tied with Powerpoint) takes the prize
>>>> as the
>>>>
>>>> most atrocious application ever to be inflicted upon the neophyte
>>>> business
>>>> community.  ...
>>>>
>>>
>>> Someone who takes on PowerPoint with a vengeance is Edward Tufte. He's
>>> the author of several wonderful books on the visual presentation of
>>> information. In one of them he explores the Challenger space shuttle
>>> disaster, considering how O-ring temperature behavior was analyzed, and how
>>> it might have been viewed in ways that would have spotted the potential for
>>> aberrant behavior at outlier temperatures.
>>>
>>> Tufte has a short booklet on PowerPoint in which he criticizes its basic
>>> multi-tiered bullet-list structure. See
>>> http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp
>>>
>>> If you click the link just above the image of the booklet's cover -- a
>>> link labeled "PowerPoint does Rocket Science" -- you'll get a sample from
>>> the book which is Tufte's analysis of the other space shuttle disaster
>>> (Columbia), showing how Boeing's placement of optimistic comments within
>>> top-level bullets held sway over more concerning comments hidden in the
>>> lower-tier bullets (in PowerPoint slides of amazing complexity, by the way).
>>>
>>> Tufte is Professor Emeritus at Yale University, where he taught courses
>>> in statistical evidence, information design, and interface design.  He does
>>> periodic road-shows -- one-day courses in his methods, with a price that
>>> includes a number of the books. Recommended.
>>>
>>> -- Duane Dale
>>>
>>
>>
>
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