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Whither word processing?
Feb. 14th, 2008 05:48 pmI was in the process of being frustrated yet again by the new hellhole version of Microsoft Word when I had a sudden insight.
I have not seen significant improvements in word processor software in the last 15 years.
Seriously. ClarisWorks on my parents' old Performa 400 let me type text, edit the font, line spacing, justification, paragraph style, page layout, spellcheck, mail merge, insert graphics, print preview, print, etc. in 1993. AppleWorks on my college iMac could do exactly the same things in 1999. Pages on the new Macs seems pretty much the same, but stupid. MS Word 2007 doesn't seem to be able to do anything new either; it just has a smooth-looking title bar, a new file format to prevent backwards-compatability and force everyone to upgrade, and, inexplicably, a complete lack of menus.
So I have a few questions. Please answer if you can.
Is there really any significant difference between word processors of 1993 and word processors of 2008?
If not, why (apart from the obvious "making money" answer) do software companies keep making more versions?
Is there really any significant difference between .doc and .docx file formats?
Is there any reason why we shouldn't just use .rtf for everything?
Is there any reason why I shouldn't just give up on all word processors except TextEdit and vi?
Now that AppleWorks has reached "end-of-life" status and is no longer being sold, does that mean I can consider it abandonware and hork it for free somewhere?
I have not seen significant improvements in word processor software in the last 15 years.
Seriously. ClarisWorks on my parents' old Performa 400 let me type text, edit the font, line spacing, justification, paragraph style, page layout, spellcheck, mail merge, insert graphics, print preview, print, etc. in 1993. AppleWorks on my college iMac could do exactly the same things in 1999. Pages on the new Macs seems pretty much the same, but stupid. MS Word 2007 doesn't seem to be able to do anything new either; it just has a smooth-looking title bar, a new file format to prevent backwards-compatability and force everyone to upgrade, and, inexplicably, a complete lack of menus.
So I have a few questions. Please answer if you can.
Is there really any significant difference between word processors of 1993 and word processors of 2008?
If not, why (apart from the obvious "making money" answer) do software companies keep making more versions?
Is there really any significant difference between .doc and .docx file formats?
Is there any reason why we shouldn't just use .rtf for everything?
Is there any reason why I shouldn't just give up on all word processors except TextEdit and vi?
Now that AppleWorks has reached "end-of-life" status and is no longer being sold, does that mean I can consider it abandonware and hork it for free somewhere?
