From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Jul 22 14:33:56 2011 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 68EC0106564A for ; Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:33:56 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de) Received: from mx01.qsc.de (mx01.qsc.de [213.148.129.14]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 22DBD8FC15 for ; Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:33:55 +0000 (UTC) Received: from r55.edvax.de (port-92-195-103-124.dynamic.qsc.de [92.195.103.124]) by mx01.qsc.de (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5ED873CE37; Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:33:54 +0200 (CEST) Received: from r55.edvax.de (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by r55.edvax.de (8.14.2/8.14.2) with SMTP id p6MEXrwq003281; Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:33:53 +0200 (CEST) (envelope-from freebsd@edvax.de) Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:33:52 +0200 From: Polytropon To: Chad Perrin Message-Id: <20110722163352.294e2b4b.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <20110722130559.GB73065@guilt.hydra> References: <375e5bcac1acd4b781ef97bd1718e689.squirrel@www.magehandbook.com> <20110721161356.GI5129@think.gnix.co.uk> <20110721171154.GA69523@guilt.hydra> <20110722085210.GA8786@think.gnix.co.uk> <20110722130559.GB73065@guilt.hydra> Organization: EDVAX X-Mailer: Sylpheed 2.4.7 (GTK+ 2.12.1; i386-portbld-freebsd7.0) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: 2020: Will BSD and Linux be relevant anymore? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list Reply-To: Polytropon List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:33:56 -0000 On Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:05:59 -0600, Chad Perrin wrote: > re: TeX and MS Word or OO.o Write > > TeX is a print formatting system. MS Word and OO.o Write are very poor > text editors with some very poor facsimiles of print formatting systems > built into them. (La)TeX is a professional typesetting system with excellent typographical features. The other ones are text processors (often also called word processors). Those are BELOW a typesetting system on the evolutionary ladder. (Good text editors are typically on the same level as the typesetting system they feed.) Some aspects: http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html (my favourite one!) http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/latex.html http://en.nothingisreal.com/wiki/Please_don't_send_me_Microsoft_Word_documents http://www.longleaf.net/ggrow/computerbad.html Sadly, most users don't even use those "low habits" program the wrong way... Microformatting, no difference between text functionality and layout (what it IS vs. what it LOOKS LIKE) and so on are just a few examples. Marco-bomb loaded files, binary blobs and outdated (and therefore incompatible) proprietary versions, as well as problems with interoperability are others. Welcome to digital medieval times. People now crying that LaTeX isn't a WYSIWYG: There's LyX for that. :-) Of course I don't want to enter a discussion of which tool is "the best", as this is nonsense. But it's worth mentioning that traditional word processors are often the _worst_ tool for what people use them in reality. Those people _require_ software that allows them to do even the stupidest, most inefficient and exaggerated idiotic things, and finally that's _also_ an aspect of freedom. > At this point, I think the market for such applications is essentially a > mass case of Stockholm Syndrome. The "market", often consisting of pirated copies, originates from the fact that users want "the same pictures" at home as they know them from work - and vice versa. > When someone fires up MS Office or OpenOffice.org just to write the > equivalent of a post-it note, there is something horribly, desperately > wrong with the way people use software. Of course. For creating post-it notes, you have to use "Powerpoint", and if it should have columns or boxes, use "Excel", moron! :-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...