About software. In working on getting my space the way I want it, I’ve been thinking about my computer. I have an iMac, which I absolutely love. I wish I had one with the larger screen, but this one suits me fine. Mr. Geeky has purchased several add-ons for me for various occasions–more memory, usb hub, 250 gig hard drive, iPod–so I’m quite happy on the hardware front. The problem is software–specifically word processing software. The house is officially an anti-Microsoft zone, has been since 1997 or 8. It’s a political thing. Mr. Geeky, truly the uber-geek around here, is opposed to Microsoft’s business practices and a big proponent of open source software. He’s a Linux man. I used to be a Linux person. I had a laptop with Linux, wrote my Master’s thesis on it and started my dissertation on it. As I started doing more web development, the laptop quickly lost its ability to keep up. So we considered another machine and settled on the Mac. I get a stable, non-Microsoft operating system, plug-n-play, and games. Mr. Geeky feels good about still being anti-Microsoft.
The first year of my job, I didn’t really do any writing. I was adjusting to working full-time and was trying to decide whether to finish the Ph.D. Then I started writing in earnest. I used Apple Works for a while and it was okay. Then I looked for some alternatives out there and actually purchased Mellel, which is also just okay. Open Office doesn’t really have a good native version for the Mac. What I want is Microsoft Word. It’s what I use at work. I’ve been secretly writing on the PC laptop I’ve borrowed from work. I like the look and feel of Word. It does all the things I want a word processor to do. I can actually purchase (really lease) the whole Office suite through the school for $55. Mr. Geeky would freak out.
The thing is, it’s my computer, my space and I have my own money, thank you very much, so I can do what I want. But I’ve tried to be supportive of Mr. Geeky’s political views. I don’t want to disappoint him with my weakness. If anyone knows of a just-as-good alternative, please tell me (and don’t say Nisus; I’ve tried it, don’t like it much).
While I’ve been debating this–the house is falling apart around me. While the boys were sick, I didn’t do much. I blogged. I wrote. I did not clean house. My house is now a pit of dispair. I’ll dig my way out this weekend–and I’m going to set up the office space (including some word processing software).
