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Written by Randall Wood
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Monday, 19 February 2007 |
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 This document is specifically focused on the early stages of working on an Avalon Travel Publishing manuscript, which is traditionally delivered in Word format. Why get your manuscript from the publisher in the first place? Because numerous editorial changes happened to your manuscript in the time since you delivered it, and the only way to begin work on a subsequent version is by getting a copy of the latest and greatest from your publisher. But this document is also a useful tool for anyone who wants to convert a large number of Word documents to Text for any reason.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 19 February 2007 )
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Written by Randall Wood
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Wednesday, 03 May 2006 |
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The unfortunate truth is that word processors don't do a whole lot more today than they did 10 years ago, so to encourage continued upgrading, software makers wield the planned obsolescence of document formats like a sledgehammer. So we’ve learned to communicate with each other and are now enjoying the brave new Information Age, in which most any computer can communicate with most any other computer, right? Not completely. Certainly we've come a long way forward in being able to interchange information from the “bad old days” when specific equipment was required to access specific information. But Nirvana it is not: at the opening of the 21st century data formats have become a competitive weapon, and proprietary protocols are being wielded in a way that leads us back towards a world of less interoperability, not more. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 21 July 2007 )
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Written by Randall Wood
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Tuesday, 17 September 2002 |
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I dislike receiving Microsoft Word documents because I neither use nor like that piece of software, and too many computer users think that Word documents are a standard format. Because Microsoft refuses to reveal the details of that file format, competitors' software is doomed to work almost but not quite as well.
Microsoft Word's file format is not a legitimate standard because it is not "open." Other software companies are prevented from knowing the format, and as a result their software can not perfectly read and write Microsoft Word documents. This subterfuge has enabled Microsoft to lock users into its software. In fact, Microsoft regularly changes its formats to cause incompatibilities the user is forced to resolve by purchasing the latest version of their software (There is no technical reason why file formats must change). |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 February 2006 )
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