FBXL Social

Ah the eternal conundrum of, “do I really need a faster, better work machine, or do I just want another Shiny?”

@t_l_wood I'm thinking the small efficiencies of a new machine justify the expense.

@helgztech the one I have is slooooow and I am impatient. But maybe I should learn patience and save cash?

@t_l_wood I guess it depends whethervit will translate into meaningful productivity gains and reduced stress, or if other budget constraints are more pressing. Doing a systematic cleanup and optimize of your current machine can help a little.

@helgztech unfortunately, I didn’t think ahead very well when I bought this one (ASUS laptop) and I think it’s about as efficient as it’s going to get.
I could potentially wipe it and start again to see if that helps, but that process can be painful 😂

@helgztech Also annoyingly, I have a MacBook that is amazing and does everything I need for personal work, but for dayjob I need to use Microsoft, and even using Word for Mac has caused issues between clients and colleagues.
I can upgrade and expense it, but it’s a PITA.

@t_l_wood I've noticed issues between Mac and Windows when I've received documents; Google docs too. Actually I wonder if this explains some weird formatting I've seen in student work. Docx but maybe they're on Mac.

@helgztech Yeah, lots of formatting / styles weirdness and track changes not working correctly.
We use templates for the documents we do and Word for Mac wouldn’t save things in a way that honoured the styles, so opening it in MS Word made it look like a mess.
Personally, I don’t think using Word for what we do is the right tool anyway, but try telling that to management 😂

@t_l_wood @helgztech please do tell management. People need to know that the 'when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail' approach to computing is very detrimental to all of us. Microsoft has single-handedly held back computing for at least a decade with its predatory proprietary practices and general incompetence.

@lightweight @helgztech oh, we have, and it’s been noted, but it’s also complicated. While the system we use *basically* works, there is literally no spare time or energy to change it. So we limp along and swear a lot and the job gets done it’s just not as efficient as it could be.

@lightweight @helgztech Better the Devil you know, I suppose. 😬

@t_l_wood @helgztech Of course, I'm quite convinced that the 'devil we know' is unworthy of our patience. The alternative is - I'm entirely convinced - better, more empowering, and - once the Microsoft-created exit-from-lock-in cost has been met - vastly more cost-effective.

@lightweight @helgztech I’m in full agreement with you, but unfortunately I don’t have the clout to sway the management. ☹️

@t_l_wood @lightweight likewise. I appreciate the commitment to open source evangelism, but I'm effectively a deck hand on the Titanic. And management in institutions actively disregards the opinions of those who aren't the annointed.

@helgztech @lightweight my brain is betraying me and I can’t remember the phrase for time spent doing a job the way it’s always been done versus time spent making the necessary changes to do the job more efficiently, but mostly I feel like businesses don’t want to do the latter as it’s just too hard / costly.

It’s why collectively we haven’t fixed issues that cause climate change, right? 😬

@t_l_wood @helgztech @lightweight I've been thinking that climate change is more active malice by oil companies than inertia: we stopped using CFCs because Big CFC didn't manage to lobby effectively.