LibreOffice could practically be the alternative to MS Office, functionally it is not missing anything that most users need to be productive with it.
But for most users, a computer is a utilitarian tool, not something they are particularly interested in making a pastime or hobby, or a career out of.
As these are the majority we must consider from their perspective, not the perspective of a Pi forum user who is likely to be somewhat enthusiastic about computing.
If MS Office on Windows is in the school, the office, the University etc then a user wants to their time invested in learning to be useful in those places.
And if a user has learned a certain skill at work, school or University then they will want to use that at home too. They are not interested in spending time on something unfamiliar that they won’t be using for most of their workday.
If historically Libre Office was the established de facto then it would be the other way round with MS Office struggling to gain mindshare.
But MS, through the 90s and beyond turned a blind eye to unlicensed personal use of Office and Windows. They knew that by becoming ubiquitous in the lives of the public would put them in a strong position.
But for most users, a computer is a utilitarian tool, not something they are particularly interested in making a pastime or hobby, or a career out of.
As these are the majority we must consider from their perspective, not the perspective of a Pi forum user who is likely to be somewhat enthusiastic about computing.
If MS Office on Windows is in the school, the office, the University etc then a user wants to their time invested in learning to be useful in those places.
And if a user has learned a certain skill at work, school or University then they will want to use that at home too. They are not interested in spending time on something unfamiliar that they won’t be using for most of their workday.
If historically Libre Office was the established de facto then it would be the other way round with MS Office struggling to gain mindshare.
But MS, through the 90s and beyond turned a blind eye to unlicensed personal use of Office and Windows. They knew that by becoming ubiquitous in the lives of the public would put them in a strong position.
Statistics: Posted by AndrewPiEater — Tue Apr 23, 2024 6:45 am