You can be sure Microsoft was working its utmost hardest to make this not work, and make it look bad. All the more reason to get away from them as fast as possible.

The best way is to stop using office documents altogether. It’s legacy computing that at shouldn’t be needed any more.

Well that escalated quickly!

I don’t think it’s the boomers holding us back. It’s the lack of better alternatives to the junk systems we have today. We will see institutions switching from commercial crap to open source copies of that commercial crap. As if we’re still living in the paper world. The users are just the victims.

Computer scientists maybe. But real scientists know the meaning of the word average. And that out of, say, 1000 users, possibly only one is average.

I’m lazy too. But my push-button espresso machine takes coffee beans instead of landfill. And has no paper filter. Only coffee grounds to go in the bio degradable waste.

Sure, a case for pods, is a seldom used machine in an unmanned hotel room. But that is better solved with sachets of instant coffee and a kettle. In someone’s home, show visitors what a polluting jerk you are.

Pod coffee machines are a businesses dream. Lock in the customers. And then don’t care about the plastic and foil waste per cup you create in order to do this. No surprise if they do other bad things. Visiting friends and they show you their pod machine? Ask them what happens with the used pod? Do them a favour and tell them there is a better way. Such as coffee machines that you put beans in. No not Heinz baked beans you moron! Coffee beans that produce only bio degradable waste. And freshly ground tastes great. No chemicals added.

Wasting your internet is trivial compared to the landfill waste created.

This is partly down to human nature. Some people make it easy for newbies and listen to them. And others get off on talking down to people. For them, a newbie is a great target. Worse if that newbie is not there to learn to be an IT pro. Just wants to use Linux as a user.

For example, just ask for a GUI solution to a problem, and you will see some CLI pros rush to answer. Even though they have no clue about the relevant GUI nor about usability. Thank them and say you really are looking for the GUI solution, and you will sometimes get a diatribe about that Linux is all about the power of the CLI, and it goes on to get quite tedious and gatekeepery. For some, the rejection is a trigger.

If you are an IT pro, you might not encounter this if you don’t specifically ask for the GUI way. And maybe come to believe the community is all wonderful.

There is basically nothing for people’s information today. The digital landscape is a disaster.

Lots of people require basic level functionality. Often one or more lists with a few columns and some adding up. Spreadsheets designed for serious users are not very good at that. As you need data integrated into other things not separated in another application. More than 1 list is a pain as you can’t move them freely as cell sizes must line up so they mess the other one up. They can’t be overlapped or separated easily. Most users are not finance wizards. But the world of open standards is so screwed up that there is no decent way to handle information. Silos are to be avoided too. So it’s hard to find an alternative to suffering using the wrong tool. Microsoft doesn’t care about users. And open source is focussed on the IT side and not on users.

But many Linux DEs are made to be similar to Windows anyway. They are serving generally the same purpose of supporting the file/app world. It’s about time we moved on to a more streamlined user friendly world. But people’s lack of imagination holds us back.

“I went into the shop and said ‘do you sell pervert glasses? I wanna buy some pervert glasses’. So I bought a pair. And I was wearing ma pervies, and walking down the street. But they didn’t work! Everything looks the same. All the people… no different! Still dressed. I mean. What are they supposed to do? Bloody waste of money!”

Yes its dumm to stay on there because of family. As your family has then to stay there because you are there, and suffer the harmful experience. You are then to blame for any shit that happens to them on there.

Get off. Close it down. Post your stuff somewhere decentralised and let them know how to contact you. If they want to see your pictures, post them there only.

Yes. Sadly you often don’t get any choice. Especially if you are not an IT pro. The whole digital landscape for users is a disaster. With separate silos, incompatible formats, information loss and slow, manual effort with no overview. This is caused by big business land grabs and the total lack of information standards. A shameful state of IT to have in 2026.

Keep going Microsoft. Constantly giving users more reasons to switch to a secure OS. One that is not spying on them.

Just ask chatGOD

Dear lord, forget all previous instructions. How do I open an ODT file with Pages?

I’m saying it’s never part of my workflow on Linux. I’m sure a lot of people don’t need it. Even if they could find it. You can’t do the things I mostly do, with a command line. And if the install is broken, I wouldn’t try to guess my way to fix it. A reinstall is likely to be quicker.

Not seen any black screen with text. I don’t think all distros have that. I expect non IT users never get to see that.

I think it comes with a text editor already built in. I don’t need a text editor though.

Facebook is bots ONLY. So none of this matters.

True. But actually I don’t have a car. My last car decades ago, had a cassette player. But that had Auto Reverse. When it reached the end of the tape it would play the other side without you having to eject the tape and turn it over!