Trapped in MS Office

[benj111]

I don't particularly see the problem with Libre office. But then they talk about collaboration and we've had that in the form of wikis for over 20 years, so I struggle to think what else this, as yet undefined, new thing needs to do.

I'm kind of surprised they're thinking in terms of software rather than file formats though. Software choice is a good thing. Lock in to a file format, even if technically open, isn't a good thing.

[reichenstein]

"they're thinking in terms of software rather than file formats" where do you get that from? It's a longer article because it's a complex topic, but we explain in detail how the format it the core issue, and conclude that plain text (especially compared to the now common irrational .docx) would in fact be the preferable, future proof format.

[ysleepy]

I like the article, but knowing they sell a polished plain text editor for 50 bucks makes the final conclusion less powerful.

I like iA Writer, but I don't think distraction free writing will solve our office problems.

PS: Also, fuck their AI bullshit, slop engine integration is so disgusting, I can't believe I've paid for this shit.

[reichenstein]

What slop engine integration? There is no slop engine integration. We do the very opposite. We separate between human and machine generated text, we are so careful about making sure that people know what they wrote and what they didn't that even make sure that you see when you spellchecked something with the help of Apple Intelligence. There's nothing to fuck or get angry about AFAIK, and I'm responsible for it.

[FinnLobsien]

I thought their nod to what they sell was extremely subtle. And I also don't think they'd seriously propose iA Writer as THE office solution for governments. That would be delusional.