OOPS Challenge Update
For those unfamiliar with the OOPS Challenge, please read about it here.
Here is a summary of my own experience since issuing the challenge on October 4.
It was interesting for me to discover how few Windows applications (as defined by the OOPS Challenge rules) I routinely use: Quicken, Word, Excel, Outlook, TextPad and Wise FTP. There are a bunch of infrequently used applications, but first I want to focus on the major ones.
Quicken
I immediately gave myself a pass on Quicken. I had tried Quicken's web version not too long ago and it was painfully slow and missing some of the slick features and functions of the Windows Quicken that I rely on. But I did realize that I am willing to give up on having my Quicken data on my PC. In reality, all of the data is already "in the cloud" on the web somewhere. I can access all my financial transactions online, I just have to use a different site for each bank, brokerage and credit card company. Quicken, as Lenny Greenberg pointed out to me, is where I aggregate all of this data in one convenient place. That place happens to be my hard drive, but I would willingly give that up. I could not find a web based alternative to Quicken that would import all my Quicken data and that I would also trust with my data.
Word
I started using Google's Writely, which changed its name to Google Docs a few days ago. Not bad! I could use it for everything I use Word for, with one major exception. I am writing a book and Word has all of the capability I need to publish it, without using a pure desktop publishing application. Google Docs falls short in about a dozen major functions and many minor ones. I could live without these for routine word processing, but even if I could find a web-based desktop publisher, I do not want a separate application for what to me are a continuum of word processing uses.
Excel
Google Spreadsheets, now linked at the hip with Google Docs, can handle my modest Excel chores. I'd have to give up some of the charts I use, but I could live with that. Yes, there are other spreadsheet applications that do charts as well, but I realized I would not trust them with my data.
Outlook
I use Outlook for just two things, my calendar and contacts. I sync it with my cell phone. I could give up Outlook for a web-based calendar and contact manager, but I do not have web access on my phone because I have no need for it. I do not use my phone for email or web browsing and do not want to.
TextPad
If you assume that a text editor is really part of any OS, then I could use Notepad and finesse this issue. I like TextPad better than Notepad because it has features that make it a better tool for developing and maintaining web pages. Yes, I use a text editor to do that, I want the control I get when I author the html and javascript myself. I develop my web sites on my desktop, then upload to a web server host for production. If I changed my approach, using a hosted development environment, I could use the hosting service's editor instead of TextPad.
Wise FTP
Because of the way I develop web sites, I need a good FTP client. I could use Windows Explorer's FTP capability, but Wise is easier to use. This too would go away if I changed the approach I use to developing web sites.
Stay tuned for another OOPS update in which I will discuss the applications I use infrequently, some reader comments and my conclusions.
Copyright © 2006 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Windows versus Linux Microsoft OOPS webtop software strategy open source
Here is a summary of my own experience since issuing the challenge on October 4.
It was interesting for me to discover how few Windows applications (as defined by the OOPS Challenge rules) I routinely use: Quicken, Word, Excel, Outlook, TextPad and Wise FTP. There are a bunch of infrequently used applications, but first I want to focus on the major ones.
Quicken
I immediately gave myself a pass on Quicken. I had tried Quicken's web version not too long ago and it was painfully slow and missing some of the slick features and functions of the Windows Quicken that I rely on. But I did realize that I am willing to give up on having my Quicken data on my PC. In reality, all of the data is already "in the cloud" on the web somewhere. I can access all my financial transactions online, I just have to use a different site for each bank, brokerage and credit card company. Quicken, as Lenny Greenberg pointed out to me, is where I aggregate all of this data in one convenient place. That place happens to be my hard drive, but I would willingly give that up. I could not find a web based alternative to Quicken that would import all my Quicken data and that I would also trust with my data.
Word
I started using Google's Writely, which changed its name to Google Docs a few days ago. Not bad! I could use it for everything I use Word for, with one major exception. I am writing a book and Word has all of the capability I need to publish it, without using a pure desktop publishing application. Google Docs falls short in about a dozen major functions and many minor ones. I could live without these for routine word processing, but even if I could find a web-based desktop publisher, I do not want a separate application for what to me are a continuum of word processing uses.
Excel
Google Spreadsheets, now linked at the hip with Google Docs, can handle my modest Excel chores. I'd have to give up some of the charts I use, but I could live with that. Yes, there are other spreadsheet applications that do charts as well, but I realized I would not trust them with my data.
Outlook
I use Outlook for just two things, my calendar and contacts. I sync it with my cell phone. I could give up Outlook for a web-based calendar and contact manager, but I do not have web access on my phone because I have no need for it. I do not use my phone for email or web browsing and do not want to.
TextPad
If you assume that a text editor is really part of any OS, then I could use Notepad and finesse this issue. I like TextPad better than Notepad because it has features that make it a better tool for developing and maintaining web pages. Yes, I use a text editor to do that, I want the control I get when I author the html and javascript myself. I develop my web sites on my desktop, then upload to a web server host for production. If I changed my approach, using a hosted development environment, I could use the hosting service's editor instead of TextPad.
Wise FTP
Because of the way I develop web sites, I need a good FTP client. I could use Windows Explorer's FTP capability, but Wise is easier to use. This too would go away if I changed the approach I use to developing web sites.
Stay tuned for another OOPS update in which I will discuss the applications I use infrequently, some reader comments and my conclusions.
Copyright © 2006 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Windows versus Linux Microsoft OOPS webtop software strategy open source
Labels: software strategy
posted by Phil Bookman at 9:45 AM
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