User Name
Password
AppleNova Forums » Third-Party Products »

Holy Crap! Next version of MS Office to have native PDF exporting


Register Members List Calendar Search FAQ Posting Guidelines
Holy Crap! Next version of MS Office to have native PDF exporting
Page 1 of 2 [1] 2  Next Thread Tools
atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Send a message via AIM to atomicbartbeans  
2005-10-02, 04:33

This just in on Slashdot...

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?si...id=109&tid=218

So, does this mean that soon, you Office users will be able to export your Word documents as a PDF file?

Great job, Microsoft, you've done it again... always the leader.

You ask me for a hamburger.
  quote
Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2005-10-02, 06:08

Don't we already have that thanks to OS X's printing functionality? Well, it would be nice if Office applications could open .pdf files.

And oh, I found a couple of MS fanboys and -girls thanks to your link:

http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=114720

  quote
atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Send a message via AIM to atomicbartbeans  
2005-10-02, 06:21

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mugge
Don't we already have that thanks to OS X's printing functionality? Well, it would be nice if Office applications could open .pdf files.

And oh, I found a couple of MS fanboys and -girls thanks to your link:

http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=114720

Talk about missing the point...

I was hoping you'd all play along.
  quote
Mac+
9" monochrome
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: 🇦🇺
 
2005-10-02, 07:15

I got the sarcasm (and liked it) ... just didn't have a witty rejoinder.
  quote
Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2005-10-02, 07:15

Uh? Wasn't your point that MS was nothing near innovative? I'm pretty sure you were making fun of them.

Maybe it's because I actually use Office. Not passionately, but I use it. So I actually was sorta looking forward to that feature, regardless how late it might come.

And just to get it straight; I don't agree with those people I linked to, I think they are laughable, and wanted to share my laughs.

Did that make sense?
  quote
atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Send a message via AIM to atomicbartbeans  
2005-10-02, 07:37

Ah, I see.

At first I thought you were one of those fanboys...

*hides in corner*

Last edited by atomicbartbeans : 2005-10-02 at 07:57.
  quote
Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2005-10-02, 07:41

Ok. Now it's my turn to laugh at you!



I just don't get why those guys are so excited, it's not like they announced the 'word will not crash' feature.
  quote
atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Send a message via AIM to atomicbartbeans  
2005-10-02, 08:00

I assume you're referring to the crash prevention plugin?

Microsoft will release it with Longhorn, and it prevents Windows apps from crashing.

This plugin costs a mere $499 with online activation, for a 3-month license. Rumor has it that the plugin itself is fairly stable, and doesn't crash often.

You ask me for a hamburger.
  quote
AsLan^
Not a tame lion...
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Narnia
 
2005-10-02, 10:29

Did you guys watch the video ?

It looks pretty good actually.
  quote
Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2005-10-02, 10:54

No. It took 2 hrs not to load (running in the background), so I kinda lost my patience with it.

Ah well, we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with. So far Office 2004 will do the stuff... It's not really that great, but it covers a lot of areas, and I figure replacing all it's functionality with specialized apps, would cost a small fortune.
  quote
AsLan^
Not a tame lion...
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Narnia
 
2005-10-02, 11:10

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mugge
No. It took 2 hrs not to load (running in the background), so I kinda lost my patience with it.
Oh yeah, it was like a 2000kbps stream and it looked like regular mpeg4

Office is pretty good, Microsoft still has a lot of work to do...
  quote
Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2005-10-02, 11:25

My prediction: it'll suck.

Not just MS-suck, but MS-we-want-it-to-die-suck. See, MS has a new technology that's supposed to replace PDF. What better way to keep people from buying a *GOOD* PDF exporter that works in any app, than to provide one that only works in *some* apps? "Oh, well, I can just *move everything into Office* and then print, if I need PDF. Man, that really sucks. Oh look, I can just use MS's native replacement, and it works a lot better! Cool!"

Two results: more migration to Office, *just to print to PDF*, and then making PDF look bad so they can move in.

Don't expect this to be anything but suckage.
  quote
atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Send a message via AIM to atomicbartbeans  
2005-10-02, 11:28

Now that's what I was looking for all morning.

What you all have to realize is that this is so incredibly mediocre. Microsoft says that in the near future, it will add a long-overdue functionality to a select few applications, the same function that Apple has flawlessly integrated into its entire system for over 4 years.

Good job, Kick!

Edit: Here's to all you Windows-using potential switchers to M$ Office: you don't need to buy Office to be able to create PDFs in Windows. You can already do it for free.

You ask me for a hamburger.

Last edited by atomicbartbeans : 2005-10-02 at 11:35.
  quote
AsLan^
Not a tame lion...
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Narnia
 
2005-10-02, 12:19

Quote:
Originally Posted by atomicbartbeans
Now that'sWhat you all have to realize is that this is so incredibly mediocre. Microsoft says that in the near future, it will add a long-overdue functionality to a select few applications, the same function that Apple has flawlessly integrated into its entire system for over 4 years.
[/url].
Just to be argumentative... are we just talking about the pdf thing ? because Appleworks is a little long in the tooth these days... so long in fact, that it got put in the trash the other day when it opened without my say so.

You guys are right about the pdf functionality and the applications barrier to entry (what Kickaha was talking about) but the sad truth of the matter is that Office is really the only *real* office suite suitable for everyday business, and use. Especially if you work in an environment (beaurecracy) where you have to generate many good looking, meaningless documents every day.

Now, I don't do work like that anymore, but when I did I found Office surprisingly functional. Openoffice, as nice as it is, sometimes can't save a doc and re-open it having it look the same ! I still use Openoffice at home because the stuff I do here isn't so important, but the way things stand now, if I need a program to generate business documents then it will have to be Office.
  quote
atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Send a message via AIM to atomicbartbeans  
2005-10-02, 12:23

Quote:
Originally Posted by AsLan^
Just to be argumentative... are we just talking about the pdf thing ?
Yes.
  quote
AsLan^
Not a tame lion...
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Narnia
 
2005-10-02, 12:23

Quote:
Originally Posted by atomicbartbeans
Yes.
well, there goes my argument
  quote
atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Send a message via AIM to atomicbartbeans  
2005-10-02, 12:26

I'm not ragging on Word in general (which is a fairly competent program), simply that Microsoft just announced future PDF support, and the world rejoices... while we've had it made all along.

You ask me for a hamburger.
  quote
Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2005-10-02, 12:30

Quote:
Originally Posted by AsLan^
You guys are right about the pdf functionality and the applications barrier to entry (what Kickaha was talking about) but the sad truth of the matter is that Office is really the only *real* office suite suitable for everyday business, and use. Especially if you work in an environment (beaurecracy) where you have to generate many good looking, meaningless documents every day.
And if you don't work in an environment where you have to share documents with everyone else who's too brain-dead to figure out that Word *isn't* the only word processor on the planet*, iWork produces better looking documents faster, IME. Keynote kicks PowerPoint across the playground and back without breathing hard, while Pages (for the most part) shows Word how to really do layout.

If what you need is compatibility for other people to *edit*, then yes, Office may sadly be your only choice. Such are monopolies. If you don't need that, and just need people to be able to view the documents, then iWork + PDF is the best solution I've found.

Unless you need a spreadsheet. *shakes fists at Cupertino*


* I once had someone who I had asked to send me some photos send an Excel file. The photos were all embedded within the Excel file. She couldn't figure out why I was peeved. "Well, just *open* it!" "I don't *HAVE* Excel!" "What? Of course you do. Just look harder for it." "Just send me the pictures." "I did." "No, you sent a proprietary wrapper file that degraded the photo quality to uselessness for my needs, so please just send the image files." "I don't understand why you just don't open the file I sent you." And on and on and on and on... these are the people that use Office for EVERYTHING. They should be shot.
  quote
Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2005-10-02, 12:31

Quote:
Originally Posted by atomicbartbeans
I'm not ragging on Word in general (which is a fairly competent program), simply that Microsoft just announced future PDF support, and the world rejoices... while we've had it made all along.
You're a Mac user. Get used to it.
  quote
AsLan^
Not a tame lion...
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Narnia
 
2005-10-02, 12:42

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kickaha
* I once had someone who I had asked to send me some photos send an Excel file. The photos were all embedded within the Excel file. She couldn't figure out why I was peeved. "Well, just *open* it!" "I don't *HAVE* Excel!" "What? Of course you do. Just look harder for it." "Just send me the pictures." "I did." "No, you sent a proprietary wrapper file that degraded the photo quality to uselessness for my needs, so please just send the image files." "I don't understand why you just don't open the file I sent you." And on and on and on and on... these are the people that use Office for EVERYTHING. They should be shot.
That's great

The excel thing is a pretty big deal, and the whole integration thing really starts to come into play when you have to take different kinds of documents from muliple sources and make it into something that someone like the person you were talking about above can just click on and open. PDF is great for this but in my experience it didn't really work because we always reuse each others stuff and if you send someone a PDF they'll just ask for you to send the slides, or the word file etc...

Take a look at that Office 12 video, I think Pages has some competition coming with the new word, provided it actually gets released sometime, obviously Pages is here and now.
  quote
torifile
Less than Stellar Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
Send a message via AIM to torifile  
2005-10-02, 12:49

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kickaha
* I once had someone who I had asked to send me some photos send an Excel file. The photos were all embedded within the Excel file. She couldn't figure out why I was peeved. "Well, just *open* it!" "I don't *HAVE* Excel!" "What? Of course you do. Just look harder for it." "Just send me the pictures." "I did." "No, you sent a proprietary wrapper file that degraded the photo quality to uselessness for my needs, so please just send the image files." "I don't understand why you just don't open the file I sent you." And on and on and on and on... these are the people that use Office for EVERYTHING. They should be shot.
You forgot the part about that Excel spreadsheet in a Word doc. I love that story.

edit: fixed link. Scroll down to kick's post.

Last edited by torifile : 2005-10-02 at 13:05.
  quote
Koodari
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
 
2005-10-02, 12:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by torifile
You forgot the part about that Excel spreadsheet in a Word doc. I love that story.
Linky not worky. You have an admin command in it.

The nominal addition of PDF still doesn't put Microsoft back on the list of options in Massachusetts, does it?
  quote
torifile
Less than Stellar Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
Send a message via AIM to torifile  
2005-10-02, 13:06

Quote:
Originally Posted by Koodari
Linky not worky. You have an admin command in it.
Check now. It should work.
  quote
rasmits
rams it
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Seattle
 
2005-10-02, 13:07

Quote:
Looks like its back to the old drawing board for the OpenOffice.org team, they cant possibly hope to stand up to Office 12
  quote
Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2005-10-02, 14:10

Quote:
Originally Posted by torifile
You forgot the part about that Excel spreadsheet in a Word doc. I love that story.
You're right, I'd blocked that part as just too stupid. Yes, she put them in an Excel table embedded in a Word document. The table was to 'organize' them.

I still give her crap about it.
  quote
Kickaha
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2005-10-02, 14:11

Quote:
Originally Posted by Koodari
Linky not worky. You have an admin command in it.

The nominal addition of PDF still doesn't put Microsoft back on the list of options in Massachusetts, does it?
Nope. PDF is not an editing format.
  quote
atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Send a message via AIM to atomicbartbeans  
2005-10-02, 14:19

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kickaha
You're right, I'd blocked that part as just too stupid. Yes, she put them in an Excel table embedded in a Word document. The table was to 'organize' them.

I still give her crap about it.
Hey, that sounds like my high school.

$50 million tech budget. What do they do? Fill the school up with Dells (ack) running Windows XP (ew), M$IE (yuck), and M$ Office (barf).

The teachers there have a little handbook published by the tech department about how to use the computers. The tech department acts just like a little slave to Microsoft's marketing division. So, whenever any class I'm in does something involving computers, all the students are told by the teachers that to print images, you first have to import them into Microsoft Word. Then you go to file -> print.

What do I bring to school every day? A flash drive with Firefox and OpenOffice installed on it (on the days I leave my iBook at home). I may have to deal with Windows, but for the love of God, I can't stand shitty M$ productivity apps.

You ask me for a hamburger.
  quote
SlackerDX
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
 
2005-10-02, 15:21

I really get tired of the bias against OS X. I volunteer at a United Way office, where they use Dells with XP. Luckily, I can bring my Powerbook. When my coordinator sees it, she goes, "Oh, is that an Apple? I hate those things. I can't do anything on them!" WHAT?! It's like people are so used to doing things the hard way (Windows) that they can't imagine there being a simple, elegant way (OS X). She knows how to do all kinds of stuff in Office but she is amazed by the fact that I can have 2500 mp3s on my computer (I got tired of her putting on the same old Norah Jones cd everyday...).

The only reasons I ever use XP in that office are to use Andar (a database program) and Excel. I'm hoping Apple will take care of the Excel thing for me soon...Cells/Numbers/Sheets anyone????
  quote
nassau
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2005-10-02, 16:04

ok, i know we're talking about windows here (right...?) but word has had PDF support built in for a while - on the mac. no not in the print menu, an actual button for PDF...

i have a screenshot but can't attach it.. no hosting either..
  quote
ast3r3x
25 chars of wasted space.
 
Join Date: May 2004
Send a message via AIM to ast3r3x  
2005-10-02, 16:38

I've said it before and I'll say it again. People don't like technology (if they use technology they don't like macs) because they have to do something different to achieve their goal.

The majority of people don't know WHY they are doing something, they just know the process. It's why they can't figure out microwaves other than their own that they memorized how to do it.

If your on a mac, some people will assume you "don't have email" because you don't have a start button.
  quote
Posting Rules Navigation
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Page 1 of 2 [1] 2  Next

Post Reply

Forum Jump
Thread Tools
Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
holy crap batman, emulation goes warp speed thegelding Third-Party Products 14 2004-10-01 08:38
Use open office, get sued by Microsoft. BenRoethig General Discussion 10 2004-09-23 08:20


« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 20:17.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2024, AppleNova