I posted a few weeks ago regarding my move to Linux. I received some great feedback from our readers, and encouragement to continue posting about my experiences. If there is something specific about the Linux experience you would like me to discuss, feel free to email me at [email protected]. Hopefully, you will find these posts helpful.
Two weeks have passed since I walked away from Windows and a couple of things have really struck me in that time.
First, the change was not as jarring as I expected. Changing over to a brand new operating system has not brought my productivity to a halt. I am actually somewhat surprised by this, I thought it was going to a be a big time suck and learning curve. The reality is that I do MUCH of my work in Chrome browser and the change there is largely aesthetic. Sorry Firefox, you didn’t get this Linux convert.
Second, I really believed I would be starved for my Windows applications, turns out…not so much. I gave some serious thought about this perceived dependency. I believe I conceived this trick of the mind around 1998. Despite the drastic change in the technology landscape I really bought into the idea that in order to get anything done you had to be on Windows. Many Windows users have been using the platform for so long, we can’t even imagine the world beyond our own OS yard.
Saying farewell to Office
In that vein, the biggest challenge for me was walking away from the software I use everyday: Microsoft Office. I have cobbled together some thoughts on what it is like to quit Office cold turkey.
1. I haven’t been happy with many changes in Office over the last 10 years. This program has suffered death of a 1,000 cuts, or perhaps more accurately, death by the slow addition of 10,000 pounds. I haven’t acted on this long accumulated pile of frustration because, like the boiling frog, I got used to it.
2. News Flash: Office isn’t the only word processor in the world. Ever wondered if MS kept Works around so long as some sort of strategy to convince users that all other word processors suck? The Office suite is one of the best out there, but there are strong competitors. I took this opportunity to challenge myself to switch to Google Docs, which I have really enjoyed.
3. I didn’t really need all those features in Office, I only needed about 10% of them. Brett and I always have bantered back in forth about the slew of niche features in the Office programs. It creates a lot of noise, which reduces signal. The suite is designed for power users, the rest of us just live in their world, and have to deal with all that comes with it.
That brings us to you
I know, you are the exception. You HAVE to have that one feature, only available in Word/Excel/PowerPoint.
First, pause and reflect on your situation, it sounds desperate. Second, take this as a challenge to change the way you do things. Make it better, simpler, easier to digest. Have you been presenting this essential material in the same fashion for 10, 20 years? C’mon, you can do better.
Personally, Office had become a communications crutch. My communications had a lot of sizzle with Office, but the limitations of Docs have helped me think and serve up more steak.