Re: [Sheflug] Re: Office apps

[David Holden <xxxxx [at] xxxxxxxx>]

Hi Stephen,


you might want to point them to

http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/news/newonsite/oss-policy.htm


With regard to Excel and Office 97, Microsoft's main way of making money 
is to engineer the need for upgrades into all its software, this is 
difficult to avoid because they are clever at it:(

Since you will have to bite the bullet at some point on this I would 
advice you to start looking for the most open/standards based 
alternatives as soon as possible.

The fact that this is mission critical further emphasizes this need as 
what are your patients going to do when Excel/Office 97 falls over and 
microsoft no longer support it.

   dave.




stephen.tozer-loft@sth.nhs.uk wrote:
> Thanks David and Richard.
> 
> We aint secretaries.  I know you'll all hate me for saying it but Excel is a
> good thing.  NHS IT departments seem to be getting less and less interested
> in looking at anything thats not made by micro$oft.  Physicists here (mostly
> me) have developed a whole suite of VB macros for Excel and Word which are
> absolutely mission (=patient) critical.  We get around the
> future-compatibility issue by not upgrading from Office97.  I run a
> departmental linux server and am trying to persuade other staff to get into
> linux.  With no support or interest from IT departments.
> 
> I know little of this GtK of which you speak, Richard, but doubt whether we
> can do the same thing in a few seconds.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Stephen
> ____________________________________________
> Dr. Stephen Tozer-Loft
> Principal Radiotherapy Physicist
> Medical Physics Department
> Weston Park Hospital
> Witham Road
> Sheffield S10 2SJ
> 
> Tel: +44 (0)114 226 5174    Fax: +44 (0)114 226 5521
> 
> 
> 
> 
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: David Holden [mailto:dh [at] iucr.org]
>>Sent: 31 July 2002 12:46
>>To: shef-lug [at] list.sheflug.org.uk
>>Subject: Re: [Sheflug] Re: Office apps
>>
>>
>>Most of your question about openoffice are answered at their site, 
>>www.openoffice.org.
>>
>>With regard to the question below see
>>
>>http://www.openoffice.org/about_us/press_faq.html#8
>>
>>dave.
>>
>>
>>Richard Ibbotson wrote:
>>
>>>Stephen
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>presumably you're still stuffed if you've got visual basic macros
>>>>for M$-Office apps that you want to preserve?
>>>
>>>
>>>Presumably.
>>>
>>>Your own local circumstances must be different from those 
>>
>>which I have 
>>
>>>observed and witnessed in many other places.  Even if I speak to 
>>>local Sheffield NHS people they tell me that they prefer not to use 
>>>VB macros with Mircro$loth office.  I myself after speaking to many 
>>>local office secretaries have found that not many of them use such 
>>>things due to the possibility of the documents not being compatible 
>>>with future office apps.  Then there's the issue of viruses being 
>>>spread by VB macros.  You get a similar kind of effect from 
>>
>>fires in 
>>
>>>large forests.  A fire can explosively move two miles through a 
>>>forest due to local conditions.  Similar things happen with viruses 
>>>and networks.
>>>
>>>Don't understand why someone at your end of the world advocated the 
>>>use of VB macros.  You might be able to get round it in a 
>>
>>few seconds 
>>
>>>with Gtk+.  Probably have to read a book to do that.
>>>
>>>Someone else will probably do a lot better than me in understanding 
>>>your problems :)
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>-- 
>>Dr. David Holden. (Systems Developer)
>>check-out : crystallography journals online <http://journals.iucr.org>
>>
>>Thanks in advance:-
>>Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
>>See: <http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html>
>>
>>Personal Links:-
>>Recommended reading : http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnationtp/
>>UK Privacy (R.I.P)  : http://www.stand.org.uk/commentary.php3
>>Public GPG key available on request.
>>--------------------
>>
>>___________________________________________________________________
>>
>>Sheffield Linux User's Group -
>>http://www.sheflug.co.uk/mailfaq.html
>>
>>  GNU the choice of a complete generation.
>>
> 
> ___________________________________________________________________
> 
> Sheffield Linux User's Group -
> http://www.sheflug.co.uk/mailfaq.html
> 
>   GNU the choice of a complete generation.
> 


-- 
Dr. David Holden. (Systems Developer)
check-out : crystallography journals online <http://journals.iucr.org>

Thanks in advance:-
Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
See: <http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html>

Personal Links:-
Recommended reading : http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnationtp/
UK Privacy (R.I.P)  : http://www.stand.org.uk/commentary.php3
Public GPG key available on request.
--------------------

___________________________________________________________________

Sheffield Linux User's Group -
http://www.sheflug.co.uk/mailfaq.html

  GNU the choice of a complete generation.