Grumble Thread

[smittims]

While this thread's current I'd like to ask if anyone knows about parcel delivery scams.

I recently passed a house where a sign said 'we do not accept parcels for neighbours. ' This sounds a little unfriendly, until I remembered hearing about a scam where they trick you into accepting a parcel which isn't for you, and then try to get you to pay for it. I suppose legally they can't do anything, but a lot of people can be frightened into paying up if they get a bullying letter.

[Serial_Apologist]

While this thread's current I'd like to ask if anyone knows about parcel delivery scams.

I recently passed a house where a sign said 'we do not accept parcels for neighbours. ' This sounds a little unfriendly, until I remembered hearing about a scam where they trick you into accepting a parcel which isn't for you, and then try to get you to pay for it. I suppose legally they can't do anything, but a lot of people can be frightened into paying up if they get a bullying letter.

Thanks for the warning about something which had never occurred to me, smittims. I am always taking parcels in for my next-door neighbours - seldom if ever do they thank me for it, either!

[LMcD]

Thanks for the warning about something which had never occurred to me, smittims. I am always taking parcels in for my next-door neighbours - seldom if ever do they thank me for it, either!

Same here!

[french frank]

I forgot that the latest Mac operating systems don't support MS Word, with whom I have had a long and happy relationship. Buying a new Macbook with the latest OS means paying a regular suscription or a hefty one-off amount for the new Word upgrade. I am now, once again, persevering with Pages to see if it will be adequate for my current needs. Fortunately, I haven't yet junked my old Macbook and probably won't as there will be other apps which no longer work.

[Dave2002]

I'm not quite sure what you mean - do the latest Mac systems not run Word at all? I thought that they would run Word, allbeit for some kind of fee. Also they might either be via subscription, or if you want a lifetime version a somewhat more hefty charge.

[french frank]

I'm not quite sure what you mean - do the latest Mac systems not run Word at all? I thought that they would run Word, allbeit for some kind of fee. Also they might either be via subscription, or if you want a lifetime version a somewhat more hefty charge.

That is the grumble! I paid for the original upgrade of MS Office and am still using it on my older Macbook. It was one reason why I didn't upgrade from Monterey to whatever came next (Ventura?). The new Mac has the latest OS - Sonoma - and until I opened a new Word docx and tried to type I'd quite forgotten that my version of Mac MS Office (incl Word and Excel) wasn't supported. I never got on with Pages but now I'm having another go

[french frank]

I forgot that the latest Mac operating systems don't support MS Word, with whom I have had a long and happy relationship.

Have downloaded the latest version of LibreOffice. Docs have to be dragged and dropped into it and then saved as .odt files instead of docx. Not sure whether these will be readable by Word which I still have on Macbook 1. May have to download a version of LO for that MacOS (not Apple Silicon). But I think I can manage. And because I'm not really such a skinflint, I'll probably make a donation to LibreOffice.

[Old Grumpy]

I have used LibreOffice for years on a PC (not a Mac). I personally have had no problems with it. Recipients of email attachments in .odt format have sometimes found they can't open them (on PCs, I think). In those circumstances a copy of the .odt document printed to PDF and then sent as an attachment has solved the problem.

[french frank]

I have used LibreOffice for years on a PC (not a Mac). I personally have had no problems with it. Recipients of email attachments in .odt format have sometimes found they can't open them (on PCs, I think). In those circumstances a copy of the .odt document printed to PDF and then sent as an attachment has solved the problem.

I thought I'd remembered having a problem with .odt but since this latest version of LO works with the latest version of MacOS maybe it will work on an older version of MacOS. I donated £20 to LO (TDF) which is cheap enough in comparison with what Word would cost.

[Pulcinella]

I thought I'd remembered having a problem with .odt but since this latest version of LO works with the latest version of MacOS maybe it will work on an older version of MacOS. I donated £20 to LO (TDF) which is cheap enough in comparison with what Word would cost.

I'm lucky in being able to piggy back off my partmer's Word subscription, and he claims that as a business expense! It threw a fit in Review mode last week, but I think that was because of the way the file had been created.

[french frank]

I'm lucky in being able to piggy back off my partmer's Word subscription, and he claims that as a business expense! It threw a fit in Review mode last week, but I think that was because of the way the file had been created.

Some things in LibreOffice are very familiar, others a mystery. Why has a huge, brightly-coloured bar chart appeared apparently at the top of my new .odt (ex-docx) document? What's it a bar chart of?

[Old Grumpy]

Some things in LibreOffice are very familiar, others a mystery. Why has a huge, brightly-coloured bar chart appeared apparently at the top of my new .odt (ex-docx) document? What's it a bar chart of?

Sorry can't help there...

...never seen that!

[gurnemanz]

I grumbled when Microsoft discontinued support for my Word 2010 in 2020 which was working perfectly well for my purposes. I objected to being asked to pay an annual subscription henceforth and tried the free Libre Office but didn't really get on with it, maybe having got so used to using Word since I got a free copy of it via the FE college where I was working in the 90s. In the end I did go for Office 365 at £59.99 per annum. You get the Office apps but in addition, more importantly as it turns out, 1TB of cloud storage via OneDrive which I have found to be very useful indeed for a) file backup in addition to external hard drive, b) being easily able to move files from phone to laptop, c) having access via internet from anywhere to all backed-up files, eg my digital photos.

[french frank]

I grumbled when Microsoft discontinued support for my Word 2010 in 2020

I bought Office 2016, but fortunately I've retained my 2016 Macbook with Monterey so have that to fall back on. Not sure how I'll get on with LibreOffice but I'll persevere. I guess there's a spreadsheet app to replace Excel too.

You get the Office apps but in addition, more importantly as it turns out, 1TB of cloud storage via OneDrive which I have found to be very useful indeed for a) file backup in addition to external hard drive, b) being easily able to move files from phone to laptop, c) having access via internet from anywhere to all backed-up files, eg my digital photos.

I've just purged a lot of my free iCloud storage as it was running out of space, but I find iCloud most useful for just dragging and dropping a few files that I'm working on so that they're available from other devices, rather than storage. I've downloaded all my photos and deleted them from iCloud and my phone; they will be sorted into separate folders. As I make two back-ups on to hard drives they will be safe if the Macbooks pack up. No one wanted to see videos of my great-niece which were on my phone anyway

[Old Grumpy]

Not sure how I'll get on with LibreOffice but I'll persevere. I guess there's a spreadsheet app too

Yes and more:

https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/libreoffice/