..................................................By Don Knox
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presentations, summaries and a variety of purposes they can be invaluable.
I am told that, way-back-when, people bought Macs so they could use EXCEL. I believe it.
MacWrite‚Ñ¢ & MacPaint‚Ñ¢
These two old standards have fallen into some disrepute, not because they don't work
(they do) but because newer programs do "more". Indeed, some newer programs do do more than these relatively basic and very easy-to-use oldies. I am not knocking WRITE‚Ñ¢ or WORD‚Ñ¢ or any of the other fine word processors, or other "paint" programs. In fact I own some of them. In a few cases (which is why I have the "others") I need some of the capabilities not offered by MacWrite‚Ñ¢. Only in a few cases. I find myself quoting Occam's Razor with some frequency. For those of you not familiar with William of Occam, he lived about 700 years(??) ago and is remembered for a gem:
"If several theories all explain observed phenomena, the one theory which makes the fewest assumptions is to be preferred." This is sometimes stated as ".. the simplest .. is preferred."
For me this also applies to programs (and other situations): "If several programs
(whatever) do the job equally well, the simplest program is preferred."
You all have undoubtedly noticed that a gadget not on your car
is not going to break. So with the competing programs:
An option not provided will not bomb. (Yes, I have had WORD‚Ñ¢