It is a simple matter of practical necessity. I already own a copy of FrontPage 2000 and, when I use FrontPage, this is the version I use.
I would have been perfectly willing to evaluate an updated version of FrontPage, however Microsoft has not seen fit to provide an evaluation copy for me to test. Most of the software review articles that I write are based on either a package that I already own, or a package that has been provided for the purpose of evaluation. If I had to buy my own evaluation releases out of my own pocket at full retail, I would probably put out one, perhaps two articles a year. Software, especially proprietary software, can get expensive real fast.
I was aiming for a real world test of programs under the circumstances that I, and some other SOHO writers, actually work in. In practical real world terms, I have no intention of purchasing upgrades to my current version of MS Office for the forseeable future. For my purposes the cost is not worth the potential benefit.
Why should I spend an unholy amount of my own money to upgrade a proprietary package when I can (eventually) obtain an OSS equivalent for free? And based on what I am reading in industry related surveys, I am far from the only SOHO operator who has declined to embrace the newer versions of Microsoft's offering.
I use FrontPage now for the same reason that I once used MS Windows - because I have no choice in the matter. For now.
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Re:Get current
Posted by: BarrySmith on April 09, 2004 09:48 AMI would have been perfectly willing to evaluate an updated version of FrontPage, however Microsoft has not seen fit to provide an evaluation copy for me to test. Most of the software review articles that I write are based on either a package that I already own, or a package that has been provided for the purpose of evaluation. If I had to buy my own evaluation releases out of my own pocket at full retail, I would probably put out one, perhaps two articles a year. Software, especially proprietary software, can get expensive real fast.
I was aiming for a real world test of programs under the circumstances that I, and some other SOHO writers, actually work in. In practical real world terms, I have no intention of purchasing upgrades to my current version of MS Office for the forseeable future. For my purposes the cost is not worth the potential benefit.
Why should I spend an unholy amount of my own money to upgrade a proprietary package when I can (eventually) obtain an OSS equivalent for free? And based on what I am reading in industry related surveys, I am far from the only SOHO operator who has declined to embrace the newer versions of Microsoft's offering.
I use FrontPage now for the same reason that I once used MS Windows - because I have no choice in the matter. For now.
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