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From: Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org>
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Office like programs for FreeBSD\Linux, etc... was (Re: Linux vs. FreeBSD ...)
Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 11:33:30 -0700
Organization: Me
Lines: 46
Message-ID: <3197807A.51F26C3D@lambert.org>
References: <3188C1E2.45AE@onramp.net> <4mnsc5$6qo@sundial.sundial.net> <3191ADA0.41C67EA6@sprynet.com> <4n2rcq$61e@dyson.iquest.net> <3196AD8C.F6A@cylatech.com>
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Wilson MacGyver wrote:
]
] John S. Dyson wrote:
] > Your comments about Microsoft are sad but true. I am in
] > the position of having to specify NT in certain apps,
] > unless U**X is much better. Luckily, U**X still has a
] > foot-in-the-door in the large scale server market and
] > it's new market of embedded controllers. Microsoft has
] > built so much cruft and inefficiency into NT (I have to
] > program the NT beast), it is likely we can keep the
] > big-server market until we make inroads into the
] > workstation area. But near term, servers and embedded
] > controllers are probably the best market for the likes
] > of FreeBSD. If I could get a real -- document compatible
] > copy of Microsoft Office for FreeBSD, I could use it for
] > OA applications. That isn't in Microsoft's interest
] > though :-(.
]
] I couldn't agree more. I too have to use NT for work and
] various projects. I've been wanting to write a Word
] Processor with both character based interface and X-windows
] GUI for sometime, but I'm having a really tough time trying
] to get a hold of the file formats for Word. Yes, I know it's
] available from Microsoft with a signed license, but I don't
] know what type of restictions they would place on me.
] (probably quite a bit given their record. :) )
With respect: has anyone *asked* Microsoft what it would take
to get them to port Word, et. al.?
They've obviously been willing to port it once (MacOS), so
there has got to be some threshold where they are willing
to undertake a port to a non-Microsoft OS.
I would find it hard to believe that the MacOS port is nothing
more than avoiding the Sherman antitrust acts.
Microsoft runs as seperate business units. Make a business
case, and I bet they will port.
Terry Lambert
terry@lambert.org
---
Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present
or previous employers.