criteria and motivations RE: Maximum File Size For Word Documents

[Sean Brierley <seanb_us -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Apologies if this came off as a tool-measuring thread.
That was not my intent. (See below.)

--- dmbrown -at- brown-inc -dot- com wrote:
> 
> Sean,
> > I think people use Word
> > because, a) it's ubiquitous, b) it's perceived as
> > being free because it's bundled with hardware
> > purchases, c) people making the decisions are not
> in a
> > position to know its shortcomings for some
> > applications, d) it's available in a variety of
> > languages.

<snip> A and D:  These are obviously HUGE advantages >
and
> quite legitimate justifications for selecting Word
> over some other tool.
> 
> B:  If a company needs the hardware and needs Word
> for hundreds of tasks for which it is perfectly
> suited, then it IS free to the tech writers who
> might prefer something else.

<snip> 
> I know, you'll argue that they lose time using the
> wrong tool; but in many (if not most) cases, that
> represents far less money than the cost of
> purchasing licenses and training for a more
> expensive and more complicated tool.

<snip> 
> C:  If you're in one of the few situations in which
> this is this is the case, do a better job of making
> your case for a different tool.  I've never had a
> manager deny me a purchase when I demonstrated a
> genuine need.

I agree with everything David wrote here, but would
add the following.

> then it IS free to the tech writers who
> might prefer something else.

Right. But that doesn't mean the tech writers should
not get something else . . . just that they would have
Word for free anyway. Using the wrong tool for the
wrong job, Word, FrameMaker, Ventura, RoboHelp, etc.,
can cost money.

> If you're in one of the few situations in which
> this is this is the case, do a better job of making
> your case for a different tool.  I've never had a
> manager deny me a purchase when I demonstrated a
> genuine need.

Neither have I really. Well, I did have some training
denied. And, I've seen posts from people who were shot
down on necessary tools. And, I was told to bootleg
somebody else's copy of a piece of software by my boss
at a former employers, because I needed the software
but he wouldn't spend the budget dollars to get it for
me. And, I've seen many recent posts where Word,
RoboHelp, and other training has been frozen for
employees, and even one where employees apparently
have to pay their own travel but get reimbursed for
actual class fees for training. All of which is to
say, that we--you and I--are probably not in the
majority when it comes to our success at getting
managers to buy us software.

I would argue, rather than being about tools, this is
about short-term expense versus long-term gain. That
is, we have XYZ software and even though ABC software
will save us measurable time over 6 months, we will
not invest in ABC software now. I expect and have been
told that this condition is prevalent and has been at
least since the late 90s.

For the record, I've been using Word since v2 for
Macintosh. I still use Word and could not do my job
without it. Ditto, actually, FrameMaker, WebWorks
Publisher, and RoboHelp. Software that has fallen by
the wayside and that I sorta miss includes Xerox/Corel
Ventura, and I still get misty-eyed thinking of the
ol' Chris Dickman Corelnet. LOL!

Cheers and non-partisan grins,

Sean


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