I wish this were true
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Alcibiades Mar 06, 2010 2:44 AM EDT |
I wish this were true, but in the last week we have spent huge amounts of time on two things which prove it is not. One is trying to do mail merge in Open Office. Just set up two machines side by side, one with MS Office, one with OO, and do mail merge on both. The MS Office one will be through in five minutes. If you are lucky, you'll figure it out on OO after a few days. And then you'll find that the labels don't quite fit. And no, the plug-in does not make it much better. Just differently impossible. The second is getting a USB mike to work under Audacity. Yes, it will sometimes record. Yes, it will sometimes play back. But not one after the other. Why? Who knows. After hours of frustration, we plugged it into Windows and just did it. In Audacity. I wish it were true, but it ain't, and it does no-one any good to pretend that it is. |
| theBeez Mar 06, 2010 5:43 AM EDT |
What Carla fails to mention that many of the things she addresses are the logical consequence of (a) the anti-piracy issues of Microsoft and (b) their licensing. If you want to keep a PC cheap and still sell software, you have to restrict the use of the software to e.g. another computer. With these measures MS sometimes came very close to crippleware, but still many, many users accept that policy. That said, I have to say that many, many users are not tech-savvy and treat the S/W like firmware - if it works, don't touch it. Where Carla is confronted with these users is when things go wrong and they HAVE TO address these issues - make their hundreds of dollars equipment work again. IMHO the only solution is a political one: offer a choice. Like the browser in the EU, make the user select an OS when buying it. If Linux (and not the EeePC 701 way of doing it, my goodness!) gets the rep of being much better "firmware", things will begin to slide. I'm sure of that. |
| bigg Mar 06, 2010 8:34 AM EDT |
@alcibiades Did you read the article or just the title? If the former, please explain the relevance of your comment, I don't see how it's even remotely related to the article. If the latter, I can understand the relevance. |
| keithcu Mar 06, 2010 9:46 AM EDT |
OpenOffice is underfunded. Sun was a pathetic company. The sound recording problems are being fixed. The sound stack has been through a ton of changes in the last few years and things are settling down. |
| TxtEdMacs Mar 06, 2010 9:48 AM EDT |
Bigg! How Dare You criticize Alcibiades? Read the article*? Sure, but why get confused when you have some humor or knowledge that needs to be shared now! Facts mean footnotes and too many words that just obscure the salient point that you wish to impart. So I say ignore it all for the higher goal of ultimate Truth be it in humor or rancor. What's the diff? It's the goal that counts. [censored crosses the TOS line. Thanks Scott and Dino.] So there. As always, Your Buddy Txt. * Never, just gets in the way**. ** Also makes one remorseful when you discover the content differs from your predisposed view of what the summary implies***. *** But it's all Wrong! And it says nothing like what you want it to say****. **** So I say: "Push on for what you know is True!" |
| hkwint Mar 06, 2010 11:35 AM EDT |
Quoting:Like the browser in the EU, make the user select an OS when buying it. It cannot be 'enforced' using art 82/83 of the Treaty of Europe (like with the browser ballot screen), because there's no "proven" abuse of market power. As far as I understood, "market power" is only reached above a market share of 40%. When it comes to browsers, Microsoft is the tying company: They sell you Windows and tie IE/WMP. Because Windows has a 90% market share, it's market power and they can abuse. When it comes to "pre-installed Windows", it's not Microsoft forcing PC's to be sold with Windows. Dell, HP, Acer and the likes are the tying entities: They sell you a PC and they tie Windows to it. Because Dell, HP, Acer etc. don't have a market share of above 40%, they cannot abuse market power because they have none. Microsoft may reduce the cost of licenses for those who buy more licenses, AFAIK that's legal. Because the OEM's sell most computers with Windows, they have to buy licenses for _all_ their computers to minimize the cost for licenses per PC. I guess if they'd only buy licenses for 90% of their PC's and offered 10% with 'choice of OS', then the license cost for those 90% Win-PC's would be higher and their offers wouldn't be competitive, and because all those OEM's are the same there's a status quo. Apart from that, there are rumours Microsoft forces the OEM's to install Windows. That would be a violation of Art82/83, but there are only rumours and no proof, and the DG doesn't have enough FTE to look into it, it seems. Also, when there's no 'plausible indication' of violation, they're not allowed to require those info and raid Microsoft / OEM offices. So the conclusion is, as long as there's no proof of violation nothing is going to happen, and there's no legal framework to demand OS choice now. If desktops were the future - that would be a problem (and it surely has been the last decade). But given the changed 'gadget' landscape I wonder if desktops and laptops are still relevant - counting sheer number of sales. |
| Steven_Rosenber Mar 06, 2010 3:15 PM EDT |
Coincidentally speaking ... -- I was just asked how to do a mail merge in OpenOffice. I haven't a clue how to do it in OO or in MS Office, but if anybody has any tips/tutorials/links, I'd appreciate them. -- I'm using a USB sound interface, and once I figured out that you need to plug it into the laptop's USB port rather than into a hub connected to the laptop, It's been smooth audio sailing ever since, especially in Audacity. I've done this in Debian, Ubuntu and Fedora. |
| Alcibiades Mar 06, 2010 4:46 PM EDT |
I read the article. And no, what I wrote was not strictly on message with the article, but its a real life experience of the general topic. If you like, its about easier or harder in general. Now, when and if I ever figure out how to do mail merge, I'll happily share the secret. Maybe by the end of next week. The answer to labels however is glabels. Now if only they would do this with an OO database. But they won't. USB mikes. Well, give me another week on this. I am indeed plugging it into the usb port. Debian. I'm going to have a bash with Mint. Maybe it will work. It does not work on Mandriva. Or Debian. I have no idea why. What I know for sure is that neither of these things are an issue with Windows, you just do it. I wish it were not so. It would make life so much easier. But it really is so, and that really is a serious issue for ease of use. Or usability at all, never mind ease of it. |
| tuxchick Mar 06, 2010 6:56 PM EDT |
Mail merge and audio production have nothing to do with troubleshooting and repair, or system and network administration. Mail merge in OOo is pretty much like mail merge in MS Office. Easy once you know the steps. The workflow is the same on both: 1. First you need a database of names and addresses 2. Then you design your labels 3. Then merge. 4. Print and done. There are gillions of howtos. I've done many mail merges with OOo for labels and in form letters, it's no big deal. Solveig Haugland is the reigning queen of OOs howtos, like this one: http://blog.worldlabel.com/mail-merge-in-openofficeorg-every... USB audio is no big deal either. As long as you use USB-compliant devices, that is, and not some weird bork job that uses a proprietary Windows or Mac driver. This is common problem with USB 2.0 audio devices. Audacity does not dynamically detect audio interfaces, they have to be plugged in before you start audacity. If you're going to start trying to compare productivity apps on different platforms with the goal of proving "Windows is better" or "Linux is better", good luck because there are way many variables. |
| Sander_Marechal Mar 07, 2010 6:01 AM EDT |
Quoting:When it comes to "pre-installed Windows", it's not Microsoft forcing PC's to be sold with Windows. Dell, HP, Acer and the likes are the tying entities: They sell you a PC and they tie Windows to it. What needs to happen is that the OEM deals need to be made public. Then you can try to prove that it is structured in such a way to discourage alternatives to Windows. I am pretty sure that the OEM discounts are so steep that any serious attempt for OEMs to sell Linux would mean they'd loose a lot of money. |
| helios Mar 07, 2010 9:55 AM EDT |
What needs to happen is that the OEM deals need to be made public Agreed...but the chances of getting any of these agreements into the spotlight is like getting the "secret ingredients" to Kentucky Fried Chicken. We've been digging and probing for three years, trying to get someone to just give us a look at one of them. I even took a contract job a couple of years ago, thinking it would put me in proximity to one of HP's OEM deals with MS. Fort Knox X 3 There is no doubt that MS threatens vendors with licensing cost increases if they do any real volume production with anything aside from Windows. It's not what you know...it's what you can prove in court. Sorry...I am world-renowned for overstating the obvious. h |
| gus3 Mar 07, 2010 10:51 AM EDT |
Quoting:There is no doubt that MS threatens vendors with licensing cost increases if they do any real volume production with anything aside from Windowsor even talk about the deals... |
| Sander_Marechal Mar 07, 2010 5:21 PM EDT |
I just wish the EU would take interest in the OEM deals and force them into the open. That would sort more effect than the browser ballot (which, while a good thing, is several years too late.... and still missing the interop components for e.g. Windows Update) |
| Alcibiades Mar 08, 2010 4:14 PM EDT |
Well, to my surprise and delight, what happened was this. One of the people I've been introducing to Linux on this project, and who had shared my frustration over the mike, wrote that he had figured it out and got it working. Which really is the supreme compliment, when your student takes it and goes beyond what you've been able to give him or her directly. I'll find out what he did when we next meet. Anyway, one down and one to go. One of my other students seems to be part of the way to figuring out mail merge also. She has the advantage of having worked as a secretary in a previous life. Its still not that its easy, it isn't. But difficulty sometimes has its rewards. |
| hkwint Mar 08, 2010 7:44 PM EDT |
Quoting: just wish the EU would take interest in the OEM deals and force them into the open. MS & Co cry "trade secrets are part of our IP! And the EU should not destroy our IP!" And the DG says: "OK, you're a nice citizen now you gave us SMB, ballot screen & Windows N, we cannot ask for more because the public will cry we're just MS / US corporate bashers" and they move on and diminish their MS-watching. Not the way it ought to be, but FSF says there's not much we can do. Except wait for how the DG manages the official ADUC-complaint. |
| tuxchick Mar 08, 2010 11:02 PM EDT |
If it's any consolation, alcibades, doing audio recording on Linux, and especially higher-end, is a real pain in the behind to figure out. The good news is once you get it all sorted out you have a powerhouse platform for pro audio that runs circles around windows. Windows for serious audio production is a sad joke. For simple recordings like podcasts and interviews, have you tried PulseAudio with a USB mic? The latest Audacity releases can use Pulse devices. This is what I do: Sometimes Pulse + Audacity for simple single-mic recordings More often ALSA + Audacity for simple single-mic recordings, turn off Pulse ALSA + Audacity + USB two-channel recording interface for more complex recordings (M-Audio Mobile Pre, Behringer Xenyx 2222FX USB mixer) ALSA + JACK + Audacity or Ardour + Focusrite Saffire Pro Firewire interface for multi-channel recording This is a nice piece on an all-Linux professional audio studio: http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/open-sauce/36698-... |
| tuxchick Mar 10, 2010 12:47 AM EDT |
Oh, and USB headsets are great for audio recording, again as long as they are compliant and not requiring weirdo non-standard proprietary drivers. I have a Plantronics USB headset that is fabulous, and ALSA even supports bass-midrange-treble controls. I have asked dozens of hardware vendors-- really dozens, maybe up to 100 by now-- why they go to all the trouble of writing and maintaining unnecessary proprietary drivers, instead of simply taking advantage of nice standards so their devices work anywhere on anything. I haven't gotten a real answer yet, mostly variations on "Improving the customer experience." Whatever. |
| Steven_Rosenber Mar 10, 2010 1:28 AM EDT |
@tuxchick - Thanks for the recommendation on the Plantronics. I'm in the market for a few USB headsets, and getting that EQ in ALSA is a nice thing. I've been using Audacity quite a bit lately, and I really don't know what I'm doing, so I'm looking forward to your next book. |
| dinotrac Mar 10, 2010 8:46 AM EDT |
>I've been using Audacity quite a bit lately, and I really don't know what I'm doing, so I'm looking forward to your next book. That would be The Hope of Audacity, right? |
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