[Pc_Support] Re: OpenOffice v2 beta usage in production setting?

[Bryan J. Smith]

On Thu, 2005-07-07 at 21:40 -0400, Phil Barnett wrote:
> So, I fail to see where the problem is.

The problem isn't with OOo formats.
The problem is using OOo to read/save MSO formats by default.

> I save it I can open it.

OOo will save what features it can to a MSO format.
It's good, even better in 2.0, but not perfect.

That's where the problem comes in.

By saving to MSO formats by default, you'll have users create some
portions of document, only to _lose_them_ when they open it again.

They'll also be bombarded (by default) with the "warning" on saving to a
MSO format when a portions of their document won't be saved.  That
pretty much happens with _all_ the documents I create.

> So what if Microsoft decides to go somewhere else?

My point was that now is the (like any prior) time to create all _new_ 
content in OOo formats.  Because it's nice to open something 5 years
from now and not lose anything, and be ready-to-edit without issue.

At the same time, yes, you can read/save to MSO as needed.  But you
don't want to be doing that by default.  It not only creates more
headaches, but the issues will quickly get management to dismiss OOo as
even an option.

So if you're going to adopt OOo, limit your reading/saving of/to MSO
formats as much as you can, and use OOo formats natively.  By saving to
MSO formats by default, you're just creating _more_ headaches than using
MSO itself -- and that's exactly what management will see.

> I don't have a dog in that hunt if I'm using OOo everywhere.
> I can use OOo forever. No license.

Exactly.
If you use OOo as save to ODT (or SXW in 1.x) by default, you'll have
*0* issues when users pull up a document they saved earlier -- let alone
created with a different version.
That does not create any more issues for yourself.

But you do _exactly_ that when you set MSO as your default format.
You will have users saving and losing information.

> This is not a cross contamination issue.

???  I think we're talking the same, but just misunderstanding each
other  ???


-- 
Bryan J. Smith                                     b.j.smith at ieee.org 
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