From: Nadav Har'El (nyh_at_nonexisting.hamakor.org.il)
Date: Sun 18 Jan 2004 - 11:47:49 IST
On Sun, Jan 18, 2004, shtirlitz_at_unixwarez.net wrote about "Re: [JOB OFFER] Adwise Seeking - PHP Professional":
> I think your complains regarding Microsoft Word format are ridiculous.
> I don't what you to send me documents in Open Office or in PDF formats
> as it will make another unnecessary loop.
Nobody asked to send resumes in Open Office formats - we all realise that
this is (as yet) an uncommon format with a small install base.
However, in some respects, asking for a Linux candidate to send a MS-Word file
is like meeting a vegetarian candidate over lunch in a steakhouse - something
that a-priori will alienate the candidate.
In case my previous posting (which concentrated on the technical aspects of
PDF vs. DOC) wasn't convincing enough, and because it's actually possible to
send you a DOC file even for Open-Office users (I believe Open-Office can
export DOC, with some degree of suceess), let me tell you about the
ideological aspect - the reason I told you that you have "unleased a hoard
of angry penguins" :)
One of the most common complaint we (the people who chose a different
operating system instead of Windows) have is that Microsoft perpetuates its
monopoly by convincing users to use non-standard formats, like its DOC format,
for document transfer. DOC is non-standard not because it's not common (it's
very common, in fact), but because only a single company - Microsoft - has
access to the details of this every-changing format. Competing companies
(remember Dagesh? Q-Text? WordPerfect? Einstein?) can only try to reverse-
engineer this format, and never did so with complete success.
Imagine a world where people exchanged hard-copy documents with standard
formats, like PDF, PS, HTML, or even plain text. In this world, people would
choose Microsoft Word because of its technical excellence and its price
compared to the alternatives. This is the world we want to live in - not a
world where we *have* to use MS-Word for "compatibility" reasons. Not a world
where using software from a different vendor is viewed as an "unnecessary"
complication. In the world we want to live in, compatibility is achieved by
following openly-available high-quality standards, not by all buying software
from the same company.
-- Nadav Har'El | Sunday, Jan 18 2004, 24 Tevet 5764 nyh_at_math.technion.ac.il |----------------------------------------- Phone: +972-53-790466, ICQ 13349191 |Why do we drive on a parkway and park on http://nadav.harel.org.il |a driveway? ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to linux-il-request_at_linux.org.il with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail linux-il-request_at_linux.org.il
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