11/3/07 retrospective: I made the switch and also had the English Department lab and classroom install Open Office on all the computers, an easy request as it turned out. It seems that all labs on campus are adding it, perhaps in recognition that Windows and Vista should not be required in order to get an education. The button is a link to the Open Office site. For those using Macs, try NeoOffice, an Open Office port for the Mac. I did, and it’s great.

I'm back from another great Computers and Writing conference and now have things to do--mail catch up, accepts and regrets for the edited collection call, and making a complete switch to Open Office.

I've toyed with it before and in a previous version (2003?) tried it and quickly switched back. The newest version is far better and times are different now. I posted some of the reasons why on the TechRhet list in response to a thread about Word 2007 and back-compatibility issues:

I know I'm probably late to the Word 2007 conversation because I use the digest version of this list, but here's the deal. Since thinking about writing and the processes involved is a huge part of what we do, why not take the needed next step and really examine what accepting the Microsoft comfort zone means rhetorically. I am very comfortable with Office--have been a Word user since 1991. I've dealt with back-compatibility issues with former versions of Word in the past. However, the situation is different this time because we have honest choices that include a usable version of Open Office. Sure, I know the Mac version is still the X11 one and the aqua version is only approaching alpha, and as one who uses a PC in the office and a Mac at home I can appreciate that. I hear NeoOffice is out there and will be deciding which to go with at home. I am already switched at my university office.

In answer to Charlie Lowe, whether or not what you posted was a rant (I think not), I hope this issue of paying attention to what is currently transparent for most even in our field--word processor choice--is something we all decide to deal with head-on. This lack of default back compatibility or creating difficulties for back compatibility is a marketing ploy. Most of our students use whatever word processor came with their PC, and that usually means Works or Word, with Wordperfect thrown into the mix. They don't know about open source and they really don't foresee the mess Word 2007 will create in writing classes. It is up to us to be proactive. I will be adding a section in my syllabi that states that Open Office is the preferred set of office programs for the class and that any student who feels that using it will create a hardship needs to talk to me about it. I will also discuss the reasoning behind the open source choice the first day of class. In addition to that, I will be asking my department IT person to add Open Office to the lab and the computer classroom in our building. Most likely, it will be a no-brainer for him and a natural extension of the now default addition of Firefox to labs on our campus.

So, as  I also said on TechRhet, I'm done with the Microsoft construct of "the business of education." It will mean some major inconvenience at home in Macland until the Aqua version is available, but I need to finally do the right thing before the Word 2007 annoyance gets going in the fall. Just like with blogging, I can't expect my students to follow through with something that I'm not willing to do myself.