shakespearemom

I have done my best to cope. I really, truly have. I recovered from my devastation when my computer’s programming–Microsoft made–told me I had not used a rather large program since 2002 and urged me to erase it to make up space. I obeyed, believing my computer would not steer me wrong–only to discover I had deleted the entire Microsoft Office 2003 suite–a part of which I had USED that very morning.

I weighed my options–$299 for another 2003 version off the Microsoft website? Hardly. I opted for the 60-day trial of 2007, allowing me two months to find other options. I could suddenly open my documents.

I celebrated–but only momentarily.

I suppose being able to open and modify my documents only lasted a few weeks into the trial–and with about a month left of my “trial,” I was not allowed to edit what I had already saved. I couldn’t work on my novel. I could only stare at it, inhibited from adding to it or fixing problems I saw as I read through it.

I tried to work positively, despite this setback. I thought, well, then, I’ll just write something new, a short story, a short play, or something I can complete in a day or so, without closing the document. So I tried to open a new document, only to find that now, after only a few days more in my “trial,” I can do nothing more than open an existing document and print it. No new documents, no editing allowed, nothing. I assume within a week or so I’ll have the option of opening my document and not printing it, since at this point that is all Microsoft will allow me to do.

I’ve ordered Microsoft Office 2007 through my college, but I find that it must be mailed to me, and should arrive in 3-4 weeks. So now, I have but one option: if I want to write ANYTHING, I get to use Word Pad. For the next 3-4 weeks. And then, once the new stuff is loaded in, I hope I am able to transfer it from Word Pad to Word.

All of this leads in one direction: I want a Mac, and I want WordPerfect. And I’m willing to go out of my way to use as little belonging to Microsoft as I can. I hate them. I hate their need to dominate everything, I hate their crappy programming, I’ve hated Word for decades, and I’m tired of dealing with inferior products because those are my only options.

I’ll just have to pay more for what I want–and at this point, I couldn’t be more willing.

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