Number 229 - June 2002

XP, VP, ZP
by Burton Shane (bshane39@yahoo.com) Jan 2002 ACGNJ News
Microsoft presents its latest incarnation of Windows as Windows XP. They describe the new operating system, as follows:     "Microsoft Windows XP is more than just a new version of Windows with a new look and new and enhanced features. It heralds a new era of reliability and usability, and dramatically expands the options for communications and digital media. Things that users only dreamed about a few years ago are now possible. And the recently possible has now become easy.     "The clean, customizable look moves the old idea of an intuitive user interface toward reality .Multiple-user accounts make one machine act like many. Communication features deliver on the promise of being connected while on the go-and make remote computing a natural, productive way to do business. The same communication features give home users what they want-and already use the most- the ability to stay in touch with friends and family. Easy digital media features give home users the ability to do more of what they like, more quickly- create and enjoy music, pictures, and movies. And quick home networking recognizes and encourages the reality of multiple home PCs sharing the same printers or Internet connection.     "XP stands for Experience. More than just some new bells and whistles, Windows XP delivers real, usable features that make whole new user scenarios not only possible, but simple."     Anyone who has upgraded from one version of Windows to another can expect the same minor improvements and problems. This upgrade includes, however, a new "pocketbook" factor. Subscription and activation. This means periodic payments and original disk re-activation whenever hardware is changed.	A recent survey indicates that 36% of Office users are so irritated that they will switch, rather than submit to Microsoft's attempt to reduce piracy and increase their income at the consumer's expense. The current alternatives are Sun Office (Free), and Lotus Smartsuite ($ 70). Sun Office is very compatible with Microsoft Office and runs on Sun, Windows, and Linux. Lotus Smartsuite includes Word Perfect, and runs on MacOs, Windows, and Linux. Most of the 10% of non-Microsoft Office applications run on MacOs. IBM and Apple support Lotus.     I downloaded a free copy of Sun Office (100 MB--I have cable internet) from http://www.sun.com (click on Download Center). Sun will supply a CD for $10.     I have used Lotus Smartsuite (Word Perfect) and the venerable (and competent) Lotus 1-2-3 (spreadsheet).     Microsoft might have opened the door to significant fragmentation of the desktop market. TOGGLE Editor's Notes:     TOG is authorized to distribute the Sun Office CD. Librarian Tom Stepanek has it available.     We have created slide presentations using Sun's StarOffice Impress Presentation Manager and then shown it without modification1 in both Windows and Linux using the StarOffice suite adapted to each operating system. We have also created the equivalent slide shows for Internet display and had them run without modification on both Windows and Linux servers.     1 Well, that's not quite true. We had to modify the text typeface selection and size on some slides because the selected font in the originating operating system was not available in the other operating system and the default selection didn't quite fit the way we wanted it to.
Number 229 - June 2002