[jcoley2]

Several of my new employees got new laptops this week and of course along with Vista came Office 2007 and those new file formats.

Does any one have a good free utility to open these new word documents? Not finding anything on Microsofts' website nor on the net.

[Brad]

Tell them to set Office to save in the legacy format.

If they're your employees, you get to tell them what to do, right?

[chucker]

There isn't a good solution yet, because the format is still very new.

• You can try http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashb...converter.html
• Or http://www.panergy-software.com/prod.../features.html
• Microsoft will soon release an add-in for Office:mac to do the conversion
• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard will be able to read such files in pretty much any app, such as TextEdit

[jcoley2]

Originally Posted by Brad If they're your employees, you get to tell them what to do, right?

Only if I beat them or withhold their daily rations!

LOL

[chucker]

Tell them to install http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en , then to export to PDF when sending you something.

[curiousuburb]

Tell them to get MacBooks or MBPs after the 'Santa Rosa' rev this summer.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by jcoley2 Only if I beat them or withhold their daily rations!

Seriously, though, is there any reason that they *have* to use the new format? Why can't they switch to using the old format until the new format is more widely supported?

[zippy]

I agree with Brad. There is no compelling reason to use .docx that I am aware of, and a very compelling reason or two to stick with the old .doc. If I ran a business, I would make it policy to use the old until further notice.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by curiousuburb Tell them to get MacBooks or MBPs after the 'Santa Rosa' rev this summer.

Those will come with a magical reads-any-format chip?

[drewprops]

Yes, and they have really big tits too.

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by chucker Those will come with a magical reads-any-format chip?

Like the 802.11n chips that couldn't be sold as n or upgraded without a fee (due to a silly law), but otherwise had the hidden mojo?

Perhaps.

But they'll probably be less out-of-the-box-obnoxious. And you'll be able to run better OSes.

But it's still lame to be locked into a docx when legacy options are built-in but not default.

[billybobsky]

Originally Posted by drewprops Yes, and they have really big tits too.

Suhwee!

[jcoley2]

Originally Posted by zippy I agree with Brad. There is no compelling reason to use .docx that I am aware of, and a very compelling reason or two to stick with the old .doc. If I ran a business, I would make it policy to use the old until further notice.

Good ideas and I just made this policy change today.

Boy, do I hate Microsoft!

[MBHockey]

Originally Posted by chucker Tell them to install http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en , then to export to PDF when sending you something.

I wish this was more of the standard.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by MBHockey I wish this was more of the standard.

If you mean that Microsoft should include that plug-in with Office itself, I agree, and so does Microsoft. Adobe wouldn't let them.

[MBHockey]

Actually, i meant that just using PDFs as the standard would be better. But yes, when i think about it more, it would be much easier to achieve this if that plug-in was included. Too bad Adobe wouldn't let them bundle it.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by MBHockey Actually, i meant that just using PDFs as the standard would be better.

But that's my point: Adobe won't allow Microsoft to include a PDF exporter with Office, much less set it as the default output format (though that wouldn't make sense, since PDF isn't designed for editing).

You could install a PDF printer driver on your employees' computers, of course, and ask them to use that, but then they might as well just install Microsoft's add-on.

[beardedmacuser]

Originally Posted by chucker But that's my point: Adobe won't allow Microsoft to include a PDF exporter with Office, much less set it as the default output format (though that wouldn't make sense, since PDF isn't designed for editing).

Out of curiosity, did Apple require Adobe's permission for all of OS X's "Save as PDF..." goodness? Saving as PDF, or emailing PDF, or saving web receipts is such a great feature of OS X.

Also, while I'm thinking of such things, how is Apple allowed to sell OS X and Macs with a DVD player and a media player (iTunes, Quicktime, etc) where other OSs such as Windows can't (or continue to do so in the face of pointless EU litigation to get them to stop)?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by beardedmacuser Out of curiosity, did Apple require Adobe's permission for all of OS X's "Save as PDF..." goodness?

No. Apple doesn't have a dominant marketing position. Adobe played the antitrust card in Microsoft's case; they couldn't possibly apply that on Apple (or anyone else, such as OpenOffice.org).

Apple (or Microsoft) don't have to license anything from Adobe either; the bulk of PDF is in a bunch of open ISO standards.

Also, while I'm thinking of such things, how is Apple allowed to sell OS X and Macs with a DVD player and a media player (iTunes, Quicktime, etc) where other OSs such as Windows can't (or continue to do so in the face of pointless EU litigation to get them to stop)?

Same thing. The EU nonsense came up because, with Microsoft having such a dominant market position with Windows, middleware such as Windows Media Player could be forced down consumers' throats, thereby building one monopoly through another. Apple can't do that. Furthermore, almost all of Apple's software can easily be removed, whereas removing such as components such as Internet Explorer used to be very problematic.

[beardedmacuser]

Ah, thanks.

[curiousuburb]

edit: meh... seem to be echoing chucker's general tone, with a few tweaked memes. call it harmony if not stereo.

Originally Posted by beardedmacuser Out of curiosity, did Apple require Adobe's permission for all of OS X's "Save as PDF..." goodness? Saving as PDF, or emailing PDF, or saving web receipts is such a great feature of OS X.

IIRC, the use of PDF in OS X is a legacy of Display Postscript on the NeXT. Seems to me they got a favourable license at that time, and it may have been carried over when Apple bought NeXT (and all of its IP).

Anybody remember the terms of the license for NeXT -vs.- the OSX developer remarks about PDF? Bueller?

Am I conflating PDF licensing with Quartz in regard to Display Postscript? </rattles skull>

Originally Posted by beardedmacuser Also, while I'm thinking of such things, how is Apple allowed to sell OS X and Macs with a DVD player and a media player (iTunes, Quicktime, etc) where other OSs such as Windows can't (or continue to do so in the face of pointless EU litigation to get them to stop)?

You can run other media players and DVD players in the Mac, and can uninstall the default ones.

Microsoft has a history of not playing nice in this arena. MS has explicitly crippled competing tools (including QT a few times), and has often made it impossible to remove the default MS tools without borking Windows. Hence they get anti-monopolist treatment.

The reason the Europeans seem to spank MS more visibly and with more frequency than the USA has more to do with lobbyists in DC than spite from the EU. Keeps the lawyers and lobbyists busy, though.