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Topic: Windows Frustration Thread (Read 40841 times)

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #125
Now with 365, the thing struggles opening a new document when there is already a document open.
I may have been slightly confusing — well not me really, but Microsoft. There's 365 the online interface and the 365 the subscription Office. The latter is pretty much the same as it always was afaict. It's just Office 2019[1] but you have to pay up every year.
Which I can't meaningfully distinguish from Office 2007. But that's probably a good thing.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #126
There's 365 the online interface and the 365 the subscription Office. The latter is pretty much the same as it always was afaict. It's just Office 2019[1] but you have to pay up every year.
Are differences between the 365 web interface and Google Docs serious enough so that it is worth it lean towards 365 and even pay for it? I have not tried Google Docs at all and I use Office 365 the subscription apps only under existential threat.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #127
Google Docs Spreadsheets doesn't have the Excel defect I mentioned, so it may be the opposite. Practically speaking they're all junk in my experience, but good enough for basic simple stuff. I doubt Google Docs is better than LibreOffice at opening MS Office documents, possibly worse.

That's something Office 365 online Word probably does just fine. And it's like Office light on every OS with a modern browser.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #128
Is the full hardcore desktop version of MS Office still around? If not, then it is completely pointless to stick to any MS-branded paid subscription services that are just poor substitutes. It makes more sense to use poor substitutes that we don't have to pay for.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #129
Like I said, Office 2019. :) You can't get it any cheaper than ~60-100 as a used key from the looks of it, so I don't really see any reason to pay the premium over less than 20 for Office 2016. Which is less than two months of Office 365. :lol:

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #130
When I needed MS Word, I installed Word 97 in FreeBSD on Wine. Works like a charm. Fully compatible with current Office formats.
My wife used it to publish her post-graduation work.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #131
Was track changes already properly developed back then? I think these days 2007 or higher is kind of required due to DOCX. I bought a used Office 2016 Pro Plus key 'cause everyone keeps sending me these Office documents and I lost access to Office 365. You can also get Office 2010 and 2013 for about €20 but I'm not aware of any concrete advantages to that. Actually it's more like €20 for 2016 and €25 for 2010 and 2013.

Practically speaking you can get by just fine with WordPerfect 5 or MS Works 2, arguably a lot better than with GSuite/Office 365 in your browser. The only problem is that Office 2000 and higher can't read old MS Works files.

MS Office activation is really obnoxious. Only one copy. Well, maybe it works great for most people but for me I decided to put it on real Windows 10 on my desktop, which is sufficient but limiting. It takes a special reboot to use Office. But for myself I just use LibreOffice.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #132
Was track changes already properly developed back then?
I think it was - although I seldom needed it, if at all back then.
I can open DOCX pretty well with MS Word Viewer in Wine, with proper - official - filter formats added. If I needed to edit something with Word, I would use Word 97 (yes, it opens and edits DOCX), but I uninstalled it because of lack of use.
For my editing needs, I use Markdown. If I have to publish something, I export it to PDF, and that's all.
Let's say word processing is not one of my main activities nowadays.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #133
For my editing needs, I use Markdown. If I have to publish something, I export it to PDF, and that's all.
Markdown in which editor? Or is there an editor called Markdown?

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #134
Word 97 (yes, it opens and edits DOCX)
Wow, really? Good on Microsoft. I know they released plugins for older versions of Office but I didn't realize they went back a full decade. And that right there is why Microsoft is a much less annoying evil than Google.

Markdown in which editor? Or is there an editor called Markdown?
I tend to use Geany for my Markdown, which is my preferred format. In practice as soon as someone else is involved it's easier to get started in Zim or LibreOffice and possibly switch to DOCX.

Some things that I want to look nice I do straight in LaTeX without the Markdown step. It's slightly more annoying to edit, but otherwise it's just a useless time wasting step. LyX can also be a nice option.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #135
Markdown in which editor? Or is there an editor called Markdown?
Markdown is a formatting standard for plain text files. Any plain text editor can do it. Such a document can be viewed in plain text as is, or nicely rendered with structured formatting (such as styled HTML). Hence, a text editor with quick preview is preferred.
As I am a Java developer, I'm using NetBeans IDE for Markdown editing. But it could be anything else.
In Chrome-like browsers, there are extensions available which render Markdown files as nice formatted documents, and the browser itself is able to export them to PDF. That's OK for me. No Microsoft software in the way.  :happy:

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #136
As I am a Java developer, I'm using NetBeans IDE for Markdown editing. But it could be anything else.
How does NetBeans compare with Eclipse? Earlier I have heard that Eclipse should be good for Java developers.

But I do not like Java. I hate most things that are obviously developed with Java or that require Java plugins, such as my current main tool/intra-site/database that I am forced to use at work. There are two colleagues at work who are trying to learn Java and become developers alongside with the current job.

I hate Chrome so passionately that I do not use it at home. I use Chromium instead, with minimal changes in settings, and I only launch it to show things to others, not for my own use. At work I am forced to use Chrome, but there we are prevented from installing any extensions anyway. It's sad that Chrome is now the de facto web standard, which IE used to be, so that I occasionally need to change the identifier in my other browsers to Chrome.

For a while I tried to master Markdown markup language. I think the idea is excellent and Pandoc is the best implementation with possibly all the formatting goodies and finesses one might need in life. But about the turn of the year I veered towards Emacs Org instead, which I have found equally excellent. Emacs Org also comes with sufficient formatting goodies inbuilt in Emacs, such as conversion to HTML and PDF.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #137
I hate most things [...]
You could just stop there, all been said.  :lol:

I went to look to what that Markdown thing is, interesting  but I couldn't see nothing with the Notepad editor. So I downloaded a top level editor, Brackets.

What a confusion. I only have the patience for these things because I'm prisoner at home just like most of Europeans.

Another thing, for the first time I'm using Window 10 ( I had the 7). Surprisingly, I like it.
A matter of attitude.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #138
In part that's because in the old days, what we have now would be called Windows 10 Service Pack 2 or 3. Now it's called Windows 10 build 1909. But it's still way worse than Windows 7 because they #$% up a lot of stuff for no reason that they're still slowly rebuilding.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #139
I went to look to what that Markdown thing is, interesting  but I couldn't see nothing with the Notepad editor. So I downloaded a top level editor, Brackets.
Do you use Brackets for syntax highlighting? I think Notepad++ has syntax highlighting for Markdown files (.md). Notepad++ is overall the best text editor on Windows (after hours of tweaking and theming).

What I still miss is an editor with a BBCode highlight, the kind of code written for forum posts like this one. BBCode should be childishly simple to highlight, but somehow I have not noticed anyone doing it. For a while I tried to create a highlight scheme myself, but I learned that I am an absolute failure at regexing stuff.

In part that's because in the old days, what we have now would be called Windows 10 Service Pack 2 or 3. Now it's called Windows 10 build 1909. But it's still way worse than Windows 7 because they #$% up a lot of stuff for no reason that they're still slowly rebuilding.
I think the rolling release model is a good idea - but for Linux, not for Windows. For Windows, it is a good idea to get rid of it as completely as possible.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #140
It's just half-yearly updates, I wouldn't call that rolling release. I'm not sure how annoying it is or isn't though.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #141
But isn't it so that you do not have to pay for new Windows versions anymore, as there are only updates, no new major releases?

By the way guys, I wrote an Emacs Org Lightning Intro for you.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #142
Yeah, a worrisome development. I'd rather pay for a new Windows every 5-10 years, because what exactly are they making money from then? On the other hand, if you buy a new laptop or something, you do pay for that. Building your own PC is niche.

Supposedly the PC market is/was "declining rapidly." I find that questionable, but of course back in 2000 our computer from '96 was hopelessly outdated and right now my computer from 2014/2015 may not be top of the line but it's hopefully years from needing replacement.[1] Plus that computer from '96 was literally our first.

A market that's "mature" or whatever you want to call it isn't "declining." It just isn't the big new thing.
But I did get a new GPU a couple of years ago, and I've bought probably two SSDs to upgrade my storage in the meantime.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #143
How does NetBeans compare with Eclipse? Earlier I have heard that Eclipse should be good for Java developers.
Things have changed a bit. As I'm working with Maven, NetBeans is so much easier than Eclipse. But Intellij IDEA has catched up being the preferred IDE for many. I just prefer NetBeans because I'm used to it and it does what I need.

But I do not like Java.
That's OK. It's annoying to be required to use Java if you are not working with Java.

I use Chromium instead
I use Iridium.
Notepad++ is overall the best text editor
Period. :)

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #144
Microsoft renaming Office 365 to Microsoft 365, bringing Teams to everyone

Starting April 21, Office 365 will be called Microsoft 365, a move that illustrates the company’s desire to shed the stuffy image of the Office branding, and position it as a people first suite of apps.
Now I just hate it forever.



Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #147
The stuffy image of the Office branding? Office means pretty decent products that do arguably stuffy things well. Calling it 365 won't make those stuffy tasks any less stuffy… I predict that in a decade we'll see them moving away from the stuffy 365 branding then.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #148
They change from Office to 365 because they want to dominate not only the so called productive areas of people's life but people's entire life as well. All the days of the year, always, forever and ever.
They don't even try to hide it anymore.

Even so, I distrust Microsoft a little bit less than I distrust Google.
A matter of attitude.

Re: Windows Frustration Thread

Reply #149
Back to school.
Quote from: Assignment Requirements
Assignments must be submitted in Microsoft Word format as a single document. You should include your user ID number and jurisdiction in the header of your assignment. We also recommend:

- a cover page that includes your ID number, submission date and the course title (do not include your name)
- a contents page – optional, but gives a professional finish to your assignment
- font size 11 or 12 in a clear typeface such as Calibri, Ariel, Times New Roman
- leave 1.5–2 line spacing
- use sub-headings to clearly identify what you are discussing
I've got work to do and I hate it, because they want MS Word.