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Post by jeffolie on Apr 4, 2008 17:12:35 GMT -6
Windows XP refuses to die. When Vista was released last year, some users disliked it so much they loaded XP onto their new, Vista-loaded PCs. Windows XP Home will be available to manufacturers for new ULCPC systems until June 30, 2010, or one year following the release of Microsoft's next version operating system, Windows 7, which at this point is scheduled to ship in 2010. www.technewsworld.com/story/62461.html
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Post by graybeard on Apr 4, 2008 22:30:55 GMT -6
I bought Office 2007, not knowing what I was getting, and it's a miserable piece of crap. A friend bought a new laptop last year, and now she can't transport things between it and her older desktop.
GB
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Post by lasher on Apr 6, 2008 8:57:08 GMT -6
GB,
I'm running Office 2007 and I love it. If you want to share files with computers having earlier versions of Office, you can 'save as' the earlier version.
I haven't checked this out but I think you can go to Microsoft's Office website and download a file that will let your earlier versions read Office 2007 files - kinda like the way they have the free PowerPoint viewer file so that you can view such files even if you don't have the PowerPoint program.
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Post by proletariat on Apr 6, 2008 9:55:56 GMT -6
I'm with GB, Office is a piece of crap. It is a know fact that Microsoft techies always have a copy of Open Office nearby to debug corrupt word files. In addition Microsoft Office with its over reliance on active X is probably the biggest security risk out there.
I have saved files in Microsoft Office to earlier versions with no luck and then did the same thing with Open Office and they opened beautifully. I have never had an issue opening a word file in Open Office or opening a Open Office .doc file in Open Office.
A true story. A few years ago I could not get an XP word file - saved in .doc - to open in Office 97. At home I opened it in Open Office saved it again as a .doc and it opened with no hassles.
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Post by graybeard on Apr 6, 2008 15:04:44 GMT -6
I've been lugging a laptop for 21 years, and been using Office probably from its beginning. What I have used most is Powrpoint, and they screwed it up for the first time with the 2007 version. They probably tried to make it easier for beginners who use a mouse for every move, but nearly destroyed it for us who use the ctrl keys. It has been maddening trying to work overcome all the changes and deficiencies in the new one.
I use PwrPnt for complex wiring diagrams, as it was as powerful as the high priced programs and easier to use. The new one must have taken me at least 25% longer on a 300 hour project last year. Yes, I use the conversions to the earlier version, but all the manipulation defects are still there.
I have a copy of the older version, which I will install before I use PowerPain again.
GB
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Post by lasher on Apr 7, 2008 3:07:33 GMT -6
GB,
You remind me of a PowerPoint upgrade long ago. I first used the program around 1990, for making drawings such as you describe - although they were probably not as sophisticated. Then along came an upgrade that first tailored the program for the purpose of creating presentation slides. I didn't like that much at all, and after that I continued to use PowerPoint, but it was mostly to create and show presentations.
For electrical diagrams and floor plans I switched to Visio, which I noticed Microsoft has since bought. Have you tried using Visio instead of PowerPoint for your drawings?
FWIW, these days I hardly ever use PowerPoint. The Office programs that I use most often are Outlook, Word, and Excel.
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