Comments on: Competing with free http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/ Writings on technology and society from Wellington, New Zealand Wed, 02 May 2012 08:16:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: colin http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/comment-page-1/#comment-720 colin Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:56:14 +0000 http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/#comment-720 Tama I've no idea whether we could get stunning 3d games from a free model. I'm not really part of the gaming community - my idea of fun is things like Nethack or Adventure which are a million miles from what you are talking about., so I'm just not qualified to tell. However, I am not arguing that commercial software is somehow wrong, just that in many areas of software endeavour there are free alternatives, and that this gives a problem for commercial vendors in those areas. Cheers Colin Tama

I’ve no idea whether we could get stunning 3d games from a free model. I’m not really part of the gaming community – my idea of fun is things like Nethack or Adventure which are a million miles from what you are talking about., so I’m just not qualified to tell.

However, I am not arguing that commercial software is somehow wrong, just that in many areas of software endeavour there are free alternatives, and that this gives a problem for commercial vendors in those areas.

Cheers

Colin

]]> By: Tama http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/comment-page-1/#comment-719 Tama Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:52:13 +0000 http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/#comment-719 You are only talking about commerical "office" software here. How does the free model work with games ? Do you believe we would get games of the quality of Half-Life 2, or Mass Effect, or Civilizasiotn 4 in the free model ? I know a couple of people who work in CGI, and there is no way they would do what they do unless they were well paid for it (stress is the main concern). You are only talking about commerical “office” software here. How does the free model work with games ? Do you believe we would get games of the quality of Half-Life 2, or Mass Effect, or Civilizasiotn 4 in the free model ?
I know a couple of people who work in CGI, and there is no way they would do what they do unless they were well paid for it (stress is the main concern).

]]> By: it.gen.nz » Paying for software when there are free alternatives http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/comment-page-1/#comment-626 it.gen.nz » Paying for software when there are free alternatives Wed, 21 May 2008 19:13:31 +0000 http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/#comment-626 [...] blogged about this before, but this radio programme has some different angles. Read on for my speaker notes, or pull [...] [...] blogged about this before, but this radio programme has some different angles. Read on for my speaker notes, or pull [...]

]]> By: Gold http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/comment-page-1/#comment-585 Gold Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:19:56 +0000 http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/#comment-585 @Brett Roberts I have to agree with Dave. Where is my 'Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack' for OpenOffice.org and KOffice (the two Office systems I currently use)? I also fail to understand why MSOffice can't at least natively import ODF files. I'd have at least expected it to be able to open these. How else is MSOffice going to compete with FOSS offerings if it can't even import these very open standards? @Brett Roberts

I have to agree with Dave.

Where is my ‘Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack’ for OpenOffice.org and KOffice (the two Office systems I currently use)?

I also fail to understand why MSOffice can’t at least natively import ODF files. I’d have at least expected it to be able to open these. How else is MSOffice going to compete with FOSS offerings if it can’t even import these very open standards?

]]> By: Dave Lane http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/comment-page-1/#comment-583 Dave Lane Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:26:57 +0000 http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/#comment-583 @Brett Roberts (National Technology officer at Microsoft NZ), Thanks for the pointer to the compatibility pack. It's like tits on a bull for me, though. What about those running platforms for which Microsoft doesn't produce a version of MS Office? The growing Linux segment of the market cannot interoperate with MS Office formats (new or old) unless it uses one of the various productivity packages (KOffice, OpenOffice, Abiword, etc.) which have <em>painstakingly reverse engineered</em> the Microsoft file formats because that's the only way to offer compatibility with MS products. An interesting insight into MS's strategic thinking came out of the "Comes vs. Microsoft" class action lawsuit (which MS lost) in Iowa not long ago. Part of the evidence was an internal email in which Bill Gates said, <a href="http://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/2000/PX02991.pdf" rel="nofollow">letting others access MS file formats without MS software is "suicide for our platform"...</a> (PDF). It saddens me to think that MS doesn't feel it can compete based on the capabilities of its software, and instead uses the graft of exclusive file formats to maintain customer "loyalty" ("dependence" would probably be more accurate). It's also very unfortunate that MS Office 2007 supports neither the office document ISO standard ODF, nor does it support Microsoft's own newly minted ISO standard-in-absentia, OOXML, which is still just a hypothetical standard given that no one's actually implemented it yet. Cheers, Dave @Brett Roberts (National Technology officer at Microsoft NZ),

Thanks for the pointer to the compatibility pack. It’s like tits on a bull for me, though.

What about those running platforms for which Microsoft doesn’t produce a version of MS Office? The growing Linux segment of the market cannot interoperate with MS Office formats (new or old) unless it uses one of the various productivity packages (KOffice, OpenOffice, Abiword, etc.) which have painstakingly reverse engineered the Microsoft file formats because that’s the only way to offer compatibility with MS products.

An interesting insight into MS’s strategic thinking came out of the “Comes vs. Microsoft” class action lawsuit (which MS lost) in Iowa not long ago. Part of the evidence was an internal email in which Bill Gates said, letting others access MS file formats without MS software is “suicide for our platform”… (PDF). It saddens me to think that MS doesn’t feel it can compete based on the capabilities of its software, and instead uses the graft of exclusive file formats to maintain customer “loyalty” (“dependence” would probably be more accurate).

It’s also very unfortunate that MS Office 2007 supports neither the office document ISO standard ODF, nor does it support Microsoft’s own newly minted ISO standard-in-absentia, OOXML, which is still just a hypothetical standard given that no one’s actually implemented it yet.

Cheers,

Dave

]]> By: Francois Marier http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/comment-page-1/#comment-575 Francois Marier Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:33:38 +0000 http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/#comment-575 Kevin Kelly has a great essay about ways that people can differentiate their products when they are Free. "Better Than Free:" http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/01/better_than_fre.php Kevin Kelly has a great essay about ways that people can differentiate their products when they are Free.

“Better Than Free:” http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/01/better_than_fre.php

]]> By: Brett Roberts http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/comment-page-1/#comment-574 Brett Roberts Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:40:02 +0000 http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/#comment-574 @Gerald If you're currently running Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003 there is no need to upgrade your software. What you need is the "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats" which is freely available for download from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en Once installed the compatibility pack will enable you to open, edit, and save files using the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 formats @Gerald

If you’re currently running Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003 there is no need to upgrade your software. What you need is the “Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats” which is freely available for download from:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en

Once installed the compatibility pack will enable you to open, edit, and save files using the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 formats

]]> By: Gerald Jackson http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/comment-page-1/#comment-571 Gerald Jackson Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:41:26 +0000 http://it.gen.nz/2008/04/22/competing-with-free/#comment-571 Links rather nicely to your earlier post on the flawed ISO vote, doesn't it. Incidentally, as a publisher, we have required our authors to deliver their mss in Word (or Word-compatible) format over the years. Now we have an 'interesting' situation: Microsoft has released Word 2007, which cannot be opened by earlier versions of Word, but our university's IT department has yet to implement this upgrade. Result? Increasingly, we are receiving .docx documents that we cannot open. And, even when we do eventually upgrade, we'll face the problem of having file recipients unable to open our documents. The solution seems to be to migrate to other (open source) software capable of opening/being opened by all formats. In short, Microsoft seems to have just written its second suicide note in as many years. Links rather nicely to your earlier post on the flawed ISO vote, doesn’t it. Incidentally, as a publisher, we have required our authors to deliver their mss in Word (or Word-compatible) format over the years. Now we have an ‘interesting’ situation: Microsoft has released Word 2007, which cannot be opened by earlier versions of Word, but our university’s IT department has yet to implement this upgrade. Result? Increasingly, we are receiving .docx documents that we cannot open. And, even when we do eventually upgrade, we’ll face the problem of having file recipients unable to open our documents. The solution seems to be to migrate to other (open source) software capable of opening/being opened by all formats. In short, Microsoft seems to have just written its second suicide note in as many years.

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