Software has been wiped from thousands of school computers because of a row over Government funding.
Microsoft Office programs have been ordered to be removed from about 25,000 Apple Macintosh computers in schools.
(...)
He [Education Minister Steve Maharey] said Apple supplied a program similar to Microsoft Office, and NeoOffice, an open-source program developed by volunteers, was also available.
But Mr Le Sueur [Auckland Primary Principals Association past president] said NeoOffice was littered with problems, and its website warned that users could expect lots of bugs.
"That's not the sort of software we should be expecting kids in New Zealand to be using."
... as Office:Mac & NeoOffice-User I may state (for Mr. Le Sueur and others):
MS Office crashes much more often, or rather: NeoOffice crashes almost never.
I do not know if he has tested it. Perhaps he has just read the length of the bug list and seen the disclaimer..
It is not as if educational administrators necessarily know anything about computers. My university's former president couldn't even do his own e-mail.
Best wishes,
Oscar _________________ "What do you think of Western Civilization?"
"I think it would be a good idea!"
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Didn't stop our administrators to take decisions about our ICT division, which used to run the country's biggest local network. They outsourced it, obviously, which did not really help the service.
Joined: Nov 21, 2005 Posts: 1285 Location: Witless Protection Program
Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 5:30 pm Post subject:
I really like the comment:
Quote:
... MSN (Microsoft Sales Ninjas)
. I thought JakeOSX had the Ninja copy-right?!?
Hmmmm Brain ... Thought.
Maybe it's time to re-phrase this statement - just a little. No lies, just a little better ... wording.
(It seems that "most" folks don't recognize irony )
Quote:
Who should use NeoOffice?
NeoOffice is not perfect. Although we try very hard to make NeoOffice free of bugs and crashes, our users still find new bugs and new cases that cause NeoOffice to crash.
So, if you feel that you need software that has been heavily tested, we recommend that you use a commercially-supported product like Microsoft Office.
Sorry, I tired of people quoting this as ... reason NOT to use NeoOffice, for anything.
Quote:
Maybe that's true, but they also feel that NeoOffice is stable enough for everyday use. From the front page:
Quote:
Released as free, open source software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), NeoOffice is fully functional and stable enough for everyday use. The software is actively developed, so improvements and small updates are made available on a regular basis.
I thank God that I found Neo and was able to remove MS Office from my mac.
I get MORE work done, I can do MORE with Neo than MSO, and I spend a lot LESS time fighting with how my documents are formated in Neo.
I pity the folks who only have MS Office as a option. Bwaaaaaahahahaha
Philip ( Here is US$0.25, someone needs to ... buy a clue?!? )
Joined: May 25, 2003 Posts: 4752 Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 7:31 pm Post subject:
On the disclaimer, you can find the opinion of Patrick and myself in this forum topic.
IMHO, people would be more scared of their EULAs for paid software if they actually read them and understood that nearly every piece of software they buy isn't even guaranteed to be fit for any purpose at all (much less AS IS). Man, I wish I could get away with selling cars under a EULA license.
Joined: Feb 12, 2005 Posts: 607 Location: Australia
Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 7:57 pm Post subject: Kiwis
Not sure if we have any Kiwi educators on here, but as a distant cousin from down under, I can imagine what's happened here. The NZ Education Department has been stumping up for the MS per capita agreement, which allows MS programs to be used in all government schools provided that the system pays an amount per student per year, regardless of whether all students use any MS programs. Our state education depertment in South Australia, and those in other states of Australia, used to pay that agreement.
I imagine that MS has decided to charge separately for Mac office, and the education department has done its sums and decided not to pay [it's obviously still paying for the licences for Windows MS, since there's no mention of that]. Or MS may simply have decided not to include Mac Office in the deal.
Clearly Mr Le Seur has never used NeoOffice, but has provided a knee-jerk reaction to government cuts, as his members probably would expect [I'm a life member of a principals assocation, so I know how these things work Not sure why they quote a past president and not a current one] We await developments with interest. I must say that the most surprising thing to me was the number of macs claimed to be in NZ schools. Seems very high, in a population of ?5 million?
The minister plays the usual political games with the truth in saying that "Apple supplied a program similar to Microsoft Office". Does he mean the 30-day demo of iWorks that comes with a new mac?
Joined: Nov 21, 2005 Posts: 1285 Location: Witless Protection Program
Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 2:43 pm Post subject:
Peter,
In my wide reading it does look like Apple offer something (probably iWorks - and NOT a trial version) with all the Macs, AND NeoOffice as an application that is MS Office document format compatible.
About the best of both worlds that Apple can offer.
It's FUD that cause some to not want to stray from the protective "shroud" of MS.
Some never will stray and I pity them.
Philip ( Veeeeeeery interesting developments! tee hee )
Joined: May 25, 2003 Posts: 4752 Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 7:24 pm Post subject:
Apple used to provide free copies of AppleWorks on all of the education machines, IIRC, and came with most of the consumer Macs (iMac, the mini). I always thought it was strange it didn't come with more expensive computers like my Quad
AppleWorks is really more than enough for typing essays and basic spreadsheets (prob. not frequently used in school). It worked for decades in all of the schools I was in in all its various incarnations (AppleWorks for the //e, AppleWorks GS, ClarisWorks, ...). Heck, the mini filemaker is still one of the easiest "my first databases" around. It's sad it's become abandonware. IIRC I thought ClarisWorks had a Windows version too...
Joined: May 25, 2003 Posts: 4752 Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 8:09 pm Post subject:
I eat my own dogfood, but yeah when I'm doing testing for AW related bugs it's smoking fast on the Quad and I'm sure still smokes in Rosetta. It's a good little app. I didn't realize it was still available for purchase; I thought they had pulled it a year or so ago.
IIRC I thought ClarisWorks had a Windows version too...
Yep, for all those PCs in schools' administration or central offices
The spreadsheet was pretty primitive compared to the other parts of the suite, IMO; it seemed like it have never moved beyond the world of Apple //e (colors! charts! how novel!). But the rest of the app was good, and great for schools. Simple, easy-to-use--Mac-like--and not bloated with a million confusing "1%" features like Office.
I really liked the database component, too; I've got a couple of simple database I need to migrate now that AW is all-but-dead....
Smokey
/once worked in ClarisWorks for Windows in the afternoon and ClarisWorks in the morning and evening _________________ "[...] whether the duck drinks hot chocolate or coffee is irrelevant." -- ovvldc and sardisson in the NeoWiki
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