OT: Trial software / expiration (was Re: OT: Edge on Linux - Issue.)

[Kenneth Brody]

Fairlight wrote:
> Y'all catch dis heeyah?  Kenneth Brody been jivin' 'bout like:
>> For the past four years, Laura has had a contract at a local college for 
>> several weeks at the start of each semester, helping students get their 
>> computers on the school's network, including cleaning off infections.  There 
>> have been quite a few instances of a student coming in in a panic because 
>> their trial edition of MS Office has suddenly stopped working, and the paper 
>> they've been working on is due tomorrow.  Apparently, the daily "I'm going 
>> to stop working in X days" message that they've been getting for quite some 
>> time was just another popup window which got dismissed without being read. 
>> And when the trial MS Office ends, you can't do anything with your documents 
>> beyond displaying them on the screen.  (No editing, no copying, no 
>> cut-and-paste, no printing, etc. etc. etc.)
> 
> OpenOffice.org, installed to removable media, perhaps?  Should be great on
> a USB thumb drive -if- Java is installed on the system.
> 
> And that's if you used cluster systems.  If they're students' actual
> systems, there's no excuse not to use OoO.  Don't even know why someone
> would trial Office at this point,..

They're the students own computers, and they use the trial MS-Office because 
it came pre-loaded on their computer and they don't know any better.

And Laura would tell them about OOo, and show how they can open two windows 
side-by-side and re-type the paper.  Not the ideal solution, but the 
software is free, and they can hire the dorm's fastest typist for a slice of 
pizza and a soda.

-- 
Kenneth Brody