Time Wasting Crap

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Beside personal crap, one main reason why I haven't been blogging at all for the last two months is this piece of garbage I'm typing on. I hate shit-rate products whether it be the computer or the software.

I don't like being completely dependent on Microsoft products like Word. So I've tried using other word-processing programs.

Open Office. Libre Office. Abiword. Jarte. They're all shit.

I gave up on Open Office a long time ago because I wanted something that could create files compatible with Word documents. But when formatting my zine, all the work I put in would fuck up, the layout would move around when I opened the Open Office .doc file in Word.

Libre Office seemed promising until I got this message only a week after I had installed it:

"For some reason Libre Office has stopped working."

OK, I go into the control panel and do a repair. I open up Libre Office again and --

"For some reason Libre Office has stopped working."

So I uninstall the program, then download the latest version, carefully following the directions. Then when I try to open up the new version --

"For some reason Libre Office has stopped working."

So I permanently uninstalled that shit and tried Abiword. It's also shit. I tell it I want my text in Tahoma 10 point and it keeps defaulting to Times Roman 12 every time I add more copy.

I start to Google info about the problem and find that other people have the same problem. The fix is involved -- and then I stop, saying FUCK IT!, I've wasted enough time on this crap. If the software doesn't work right out of the box, then why should I troubleshoot it like one of its developers?

There is also a program called Jarte but in print preview it lies to you. It shows 4 pages but when you print there's a spill over to page 5.

Also, my big piece of shit Brother Printer likes to reprint files I've already printed. I have to go in and delete the files in its memory even though the jobs are done. If I don't delete, the next time I turn on the printer it I end up with a second useless copy. Sometimes the damn thing prints ghosts file out of nowhere, stuff I didn't tell it to print.

So I'm back using an old version of Word that has its faults but does work.

Now if I could uninstall the personal crap in my life...

Comments

Doug said…
Hmm. Computers being a source of frustration. Imagine that.

They will be our downfall. Much of the time I find myself merely wishing they'd hurry up and get it over with.
12:31 AM
X. Dell said…
Maybe your life needs a cold reboot?

You know, I have typed out my posts using MSWord, MSWorks, and Open Office. But my opinion of them isn't as high as yours. I found myself coming back to a copy of Corel Word Perfect that I purchased in 1997. At the time I bought it, I couldn't believe I paid that much for it. Now, it's absolutely essential. Sure, it has some problems running in Windows 7, but it's still better than anything else that I have seen.
2:59 AM
Anonymous said…
Just lost a few hours with that Abiword "feature" you mention (bug #3152, first reported 10 years ago and still in status "new").

Abiword was really my last hope... but now I'm going to buy a typewriter.
11:11 AM
X. Dell said…
Thought you might have come back to cyberspace with news of Moseley (sp?).

Hope you are well.
5:06 PM
Ray Palm (Ray X) said…
X. Dell:

ThanX for letting me know. I was trying to keep track of how Jim was doing and I didn't get the news until now. I did have a watch on a thread at the Paracast Community Forum about how he was doing but I never received any updates in my email box.

When I have the chance, I will indeed write a post about him.
6:40 PM
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