On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 08:24:58 -0000 (UTC), Chris wrote:

> Markdown is also great for embedding interpretable code which can be
> evaluated when knitted or compiled. Perfect for writing data reports as
> part of a workflow.

Do you use Jupyter notebooks as a delivery medium? Think of it as an
interactive report, including both live code and narrative description.
And the code can produce rich output directly into the notebook, too.

On 2024-12-30 19:05, DFS wrote:
> On 12/28/2024 3:07 PM, Andrzej Matuch wrote:
>
>
>> Yeah, it sometimes pains me that it is brought up as often as it is as
>> some sort of must-have piece of software. It suggests that people
>> don't do much other than open up Word and Excel.
>
>
> Why are you whining about MS Office, when Larry Duh brought up
> LibreOffice first (in this thread)?
>
>
> Besides which, hundreds of millions of people live and die by MS Office
> at work.

And hundreds of millions of people also worship a murderous pedophile
but that hasn't managed to sway me.

--
Andrzej (Andre) Matuch
Telegram: @AndrzejMatuch
Zephyrus G14 GA401QM on Fedora 41
KDE supporting member

On 2024-12-30 19:12, Paul wrote:
> On Mon, 12/30/2024 8:31 AM, Andrzej Matuch wrote:
>> On 2024-12-29 21:49, Joel wrote:
>>> sticks <wolverine01@charter.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>> "Precious hardware"
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That's funny
>>>>>
>>>>> It's my baby, yes, I have an emotional attachment to my computer, I
>>>>> assembled it.  M$ crapware, other than such for Linux, can step off.
>>>>
>>>> Fine, you obviously have some emotional issues.  I don't really give a
>>>> shit what you call or how you feel attached to your computer.  Have at
>>>> it weirdo.  I'm still laffing at you.
>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> I Stand With Israel!
>>>>>
>>>>> "That's funny."
>>>>
>>>> Now that you Linux guys have completely taken a shit on the win11 group,
>>>> you're now stooping to commenting on sig files.  I manage to only use 4
>>>> words to get my point across.  You on the other hand have written a
>>>> short essay for yours.  Kinda fits your character.
>>>>
>>>> FWIW, I got no problem with the way the normal people talk about Linux
>>>> here.  One of our favorites in this group regularly uses it for things
>>>> and shares his experiences.  He even manages to point out the flaws and
>>>> problems with the various microsoft operating systems.  Everybody
>>>> appreciates the education a handful of people in these groups give us.
>>>>
>>>> What they don't do is rave on an on about how horrible microsoft is at
>>>> every chance they get and advocate Linux above all else in a fucking
>>>> windows newsgroup.  We're here to learn about Windows 11 and if Linux
>>>> can be of use in sorting things out great.  But you can take your Linux
>>>> pom poms and wear yourself out in your advocacy group.  It's just
>>>> getting a little old around here IMO.  Other than that....Fuck Off!
>>>
>>>
>>> "You obviously have some emotional issues."
>>
>> Ignore him. Looking back, I had an emotional attachment to the Powerbook G4 I used in the early 2000s and still remember my MSI GT72 very fondly.
>>
>> Meanwhile, he wants to learn about Windows 11. Good for him. The rest of us want to be educated on why a majority of AMD-powered computers in the wild will be forced to suffer fTPM stuttering even three years after the problem surfaced because Microsoft won't ease up on the TPM requirement and manufacturers don't want to deploy an update for the machines they've sold.
>>
>
> We wave "Hi" from the Windows group :-)
>
> https://www.ghacks.net/2022/06/27/bypass-windows-11-microsoft-account-requirement-and-deny-privacy-questions-during-setup-with-rufus/
>
> "Remove requirement for Secure Boot and TPM 2.0"
>
> Happy motoring!

It's great that such a solution is available, but I'm afraid that won't
fix the fTPM stuttering problem because it happens even when secure boot
and TPM aren't used by Windows. Unless you can disable fTPM in general
from the BIOS, you're still going to suffer from periodic stutters.

--
Andrzej (Andre) Matuch
Telegram: @AndrzejMatuch
Zephyrus G14 GA401QM on Fedora 41
KDE supporting member

On 2024-12-30 19:53, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:12:32 -0500, Paul wrote:
>
>> https://www.ghacks.net/2022/06/27/bypass-windows-11-microsoft-account-requirement-and-deny-privacy-questions-during-setup-with-rufus/
>>
>> "Remove requirement for Secure Boot and TPM 2.0"
>
> This is why they say, Windows is a great OS -- if your time is worth
> nothing.

And there is no reason to believe that circumventing both Secure Boot
and TPM will lead to a Windows installation which will respect your
decision not to use either feature. Any update you are forced to install
might suddenly lock you out of the system. Microsoft confirmed quite
recently that despite news that they were easing the TPM requirement,
they're not actually planning on doing so.
<https://windowsforum.com/threads/windows-11-installation-no-easing-of-hardware-requirements-confirmed.347806/>

The message here is clear: if you like AMD but don't want fTPM
stuttering, your best choice is Linux.

--
Andrzej (Andre) Matuch
Telegram: @AndrzejMatuch
Zephyrus G14 GA401QM on Fedora 41
KDE supporting member

On 2024-12-30 11:56, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>> On 2024-12-29 21:41, Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>>> [...]
>>>
>>>> Amazing that none of you has mentioned latex.
>>>
>>> This isn't that kind of group!
>>
>> Latex is software :-P
>
> Obviously, but as you used all lowercase, it screamed for a pun. And
> of course, it's 'LaTeX'.
>
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX>

Well, I do not talk LaTeX, so I do not know.

I do know, though, that I do have a command named "latex" in my computer.

cer@Telcontar:~> latex --version
pdfTeX 3.141592653-2.6-1.40.22 (TeX Live 2021/TeX Live for SUSE Linux)
kpathsea version 6.3.3
Copyright 2021 Han The Thanh (pdfTeX) et al.
There is NO warranty. Redistribution of this software is
covered by the terms of both the pdfTeX copyright and
the Lesser GNU General Public License.
For more information about these matters, see the file
named COPYING and the pdfTeX source.
Primary author of pdfTeX: Han The Thanh (pdfTeX) et al.
Compiled with libpng 1.6.34; using libpng 1.6.34
Compiled with zlib 1.2.11; using zlib 1.2.13
Compiled with xpdf version 4.03
cer@Telcontar:~>

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 12/30/2024 7:59 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:58:06 -0500, DFS wrote:
>
>> If you ever do need to automate office software or build custom
>> applications, you'll find that MS Office and VBA is extremely superior
>> to ALL other office software.
>
> Unfortunately, no.

You have NO idea what you're talking about.

> Even Microsoft realizes that VBA is crap, which is why
> it is offering Python access to Excel users -- at a cost, of course.

Python can't come close to replacing VBA (and vice versa of course).

Le 31-12-2024, DFS <guhnoo-basher@linux.advocaca> a écrit :
> On 12/21/2024 7:26 AM, CrudeSausage wrote:
>
>> The moment you require an online account to verify if you are the person
>> who bought the software, you don't own it.
>
>
> You don't own GuhNoo-GPL software either. The only sofware you actually
> own is stuff you write for yourself, or that you get copyright to.
>
> You don't own public domain stuff, either.

It means nothing to own an immaterial stuff in a general sense. Nobody
owns any software, music or book. Some own the right on it, it's not the
same. Or some own a digital copy of it. It's still not the same.

Now, you can own the exclusive privilege to manage what's on your own
computer (in a large sense, a smartphone is a computer, too). With FOSS,
you can be the master. With Windows and Mac, you can hope they won't do
anything bad, but you have no certainty. Microsoft already changed
Windows behaviour putting the config files on their cloud. You can tell
as long as you want, that without proof we can't accuse them of
anything. The fact remains that never doing anything bad in the past is
no certainty they won't change in the future.

Look at what Amazon did, when people believed they managed the kindle
and the books they bought. Before, there was no proof. After, there is
proof, but it's too late:
<https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html>
You can say that they removed illegal stuff refunding the customers, but
the fact remains: people discovered Amazon, not they, manage the kindle
they had in their hands and can interfere.

--
Si vous avez du temps à perdre :
https://scarpet42.gitlab.io

On 2024-12-31 02:18, DFS wrote:
> On 12/30/2024 7:59 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:58:06 -0500, DFS wrote:
>>
>>> If you ever do need to automate office software or build custom
>>> applications, you'll find that MS Office and VBA is extremely superior
>>> to ALL other office software.
>>
>> Unfortunately, no.
>
> You have NO idea what you're talking about.
>
>
> > Even Microsoft realizes that VBA is crap, which is why
> > it is offering Python access to Excel users -- at a cost, of course.
>
> Python can't come close to replacing VBA (and vice versa of course).

I remember Visual Basic as being the "superior" language which caused
all the computers in my CÉGEP's computer lab to get infected and result
in shockingly slow printing and caused students to miss their deadlines.

--
Andrzej (Andre) Matuch
Telegram: @AndrzejMatuch
Zephyrus G14 GA401QM on Fedora 41
KDE supporting member

Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
> On 2024-12-30 11:56, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> > Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
> >> On 2024-12-29 21:41, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> >>> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
> >>> [...]
> >>>
> >>>> Amazing that none of you has mentioned latex.
> >>>
> >>> This isn't that kind of group!
> >>
> >> Latex is software :-P
> >
> > Obviously, but as you used all lowercase, it screamed for a pun. And
> > of course, it's 'LaTeX'.
> >
> > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX>
>
> Well, I do not talk LaTeX, so I do not know.
>
> I do know, though, that I do have a command named "latex" in my computer.
>
> cer@Telcontar:~> latex --version
> pdfTeX 3.141592653-2.6-1.40.22 (TeX Live 2021/TeX Live for SUSE Linux)
> kpathsea version 6.3.3
> Copyright 2021 Han The Thanh (pdfTeX) et al.
> There is NO warranty. Redistribution of this software is
> covered by the terms of both the pdfTeX copyright and
> the Lesser GNU General Public License.
> For more information about these matters, see the file
> named COPYING and the pdfTeX source.
> Primary author of pdfTeX: Han The Thanh (pdfTeX) et al.
> Compiled with libpng 1.6.34; using libpng 1.6.34
> Compiled with zlib 1.2.11; using zlib 1.2.13
> Compiled with xpdf version 4.03
> cer@Telcontar:~>

Yes, I know you use Linux, so I indeed assumed that lowercase 'latex'
is a command on Linux.

I've never used LaTeX either, but from the Wikipedia ppage, I
understand that LaTeX is the markup/formatting language and that
<something>TeX<something> is the software/program which processes that
language. That understanding id confirmed by the fact that your
'latex --version' output mentions '<something>TeX<something>', but not
'LaTeX'.

Bottom line: Two guys talking about something they don't know anything
about! :-)

On 2024-12-31 05:10, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
> Le 31-12-2024, DFS <guhnoo-basher@linux.advocaca> a écrit :
>> On 12/21/2024 7:26 AM, CrudeSausage wrote:
>>
>>> The moment you require an online account to verify if you are the person
>>> who bought the software, you don't own it.
>>
>>
>> You don't own GuhNoo-GPL software either. The only sofware you actually
>> own is stuff you write for yourself, or that you get copyright to.
>>
>> You don't own public domain stuff, either.
>
> It means nothing to own an immaterial stuff in a general sense. Nobody
> owns any software, music or book. Some own the right on it, it's not the
> same. Or some own a digital copy of it. It's still not the same.
>
> Now, you can own the exclusive privilege to manage what's on your own
> computer (in a large sense, a smartphone is a computer, too). With FOSS,
> you can be the master. With Windows and Mac, you can hope they won't do
> anything bad, but you have no certainty. Microsoft already changed
> Windows behaviour putting the config files on their cloud. You can tell
> as long as you want, that without proof we can't accuse them of
> anything. The fact remains that never doing anything bad in the past is
> no certainty they won't change in the future.
>
> Look at what Amazon did, when people believed they managed the kindle
> and the books they bought. Before, there was no proof. After, there is
> proof, but it's too late:
> <https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html>
> You can say that they removed illegal stuff refunding the customers, but
> the fact remains: people discovered Amazon, not they, manage the kindle
> they had in their hands and can interfere.

The positive about Amazon books is that their DRM can easily be removed
in Calibre. Therefore, it is indeed possible to buy a book from Amazon
and own it. That's what I did when I decided to replace the Kindle I
lost on the metro with a Kobo. However, the DRM for Kobo purchases seems
to be a little harder for Calibre to handle.

--
Andrzej (Andre) Matuch
Telegram: @AndrzejMatuch
Zephyrus G14 GA401QM on Fedora 41
KDE supporting member

On Mon, 12/30/2024 9:06 PM, Andrzej Matuch wrote:
> On 2024-12-30 19:53, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:12:32 -0500, Paul wrote:
>>
>>> https://www.ghacks.net/2022/06/27/bypass-windows-11-microsoft-account-requirement-and-deny-privacy-questions-during-setup-with-rufus/
>>>
>>>     "Remove requirement for Secure Boot and TPM 2.0"
>>
>> This is why they say, Windows is a great OS -- if your time is worth
>> nothing.
>
> And there is no reason to believe that circumventing both Secure Boot and TPM will lead to a Windows installation which will respect your decision not to use either feature. Any update you are forced to install might suddenly lock you out of the system. Microsoft confirmed quite recently that despite news that they were easing the TPM requirement, they're not actually planning on doing so. <https://windowsforum.com/threads/windows-11-installation-no-easing-of-hardware-requirements-confirmed.347806/>
>
> The message here is clear: if you like AMD but don't want fTPM stuttering, your best choice is Linux.
>

You are aware of course, that inconveniencing large numbers of
customers, or even the hint of damage to user data (accessibility),
leads to class action lawsuits.

People even resorted to small claims courts, to get
even with Microsoft.

The people in the windows group, do not worry too much about
the poorly handled messaging. If they release four P.R. messages,
and the message in each one is different, you're free to latch
onto one of them and run with it.

For the time being, Rufus works. Why does Rufus continue to work ?
Do you see the message yet ? The two faces of Microsoft.

Microsoft *have* been quietly closing doors behind the scenes.
The activity aligns with the directive to "do security".
For example, some easy ways of "becoming administrator", so you
can recover from deleting administrator by accident, have been
removed. In addition, psexec no longer works, and another piece
of code that could make you TrustedInstaller, similarly no longer
works. these are baby steps, but they're also a "message" to
customers at large.

Paul

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 08:24:58 -0000 (UTC), Chris wrote:
>
>> Markdown is also great for embedding interpretable code which can be
>> evaluated when knitted or compiled. Perfect for writing data reports as
>> part of a workflow.
>
> Do you use Jupyter notebooks as a delivery medium? Think of it as an
> interactive report, including both live code and narrative description.
> And the code can produce rich output directly into the notebook, too.

Typically, I use Rstudio.

On 12/31/2024 5:10 AM, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
> Le 31-12-2024, DFS <guhnoo-basher@linux.advocaca> a écrit :
>> On 12/21/2024 7:26 AM, CrudeSausage wrote:
>>
>>> The moment you require an online account to verify if you are the person
>>> who bought the software, you don't own it.
>>
>>
>> You don't own GuhNoo-GPL software either. The only sofware you actually
>> own is stuff you write for yourself, or that you get copyright to.
>>
>> You don't own public domain stuff, either.
>
> It means nothing to own an immaterial stuff in a general sense. Nobody
> owns any software, music or book. Some own the right on it, it's not the
> same. Or some own a digital copy of it. It's still not the same.

It means a LOT to own digital and intellectual property: software,
music, books, videos, patents, blueprints, even recipes such as the
Coca-Cola formula. Any intellectual property can and almost always is
owned by a legal entity, be it you or me or Microsoft or Paramount
Pictures (movie studio). I'm not telling you anything new.

"This software is licensed, not sold" is the basis for Microsoft's
immense wealth and power.

> Now, you can own the exclusive privilege to manage what's on your own
> computer (in a large sense, a smartphone is a computer, too). With FOSS,
> you can be the master. With Windows and Mac, you can hope they won't do
> anything bad, but you have no certainty.

Linux users THINK they can be the master, but since virtually nobody
audits FOSS code it's easy for a bad actor to mess with Linux systems.
For instance, until I told him about it, the pathetic and smug Feeb
didn't know his precious Cooledit spyware program phoned home upon
install to tell the developer about the computer it was being installed on.

Open or closed source, it's all based on trust. I trust MS, but I feel
a little more certain Linux distros and FOSS developers won't mess with
my software installation.

But day to day, I don't even think about it.

> Microsoft already changed
> Windows behaviour putting the config files on their cloud. You can tell
> as long as you want, that without proof we can't accuse them of
> anything. The fact remains that never doing anything bad in the past is
> no certainty they won't change in the future.

Yes. The situation that MS can and has mistakenly deactivated valid
Windows license keys is a travesty.

> Look at what Amazon did, when people believed they managed the kindle
> and the books they bought. Before, there was no proof. After, there is
> proof, but it's too late:
> <https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html>
> You can say that they removed illegal stuff refunding the customers, but
> the fact remains: people discovered Amazon, not they, manage the kindle
> they had in their hands and can interfere.

ALL this is a battle between good and evil:
Good: content creators and Windows users
Evil: pirates and Linux people

Andrzej Matuch wrote this post while blinking in Morse code:

> On 2024-12-31 02:18, DFS wrote:
>> On 12/30/2024 7:59 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:58:06 -0500, DFS wrote:
>>>
>>>> If you ever do need to automate office software or build custom
>>>> applications, you'll find that MS Office and VBA is extremely superior
>>>> to ALL other office software.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, no.
>>
>> You have NO idea what you're talking about.
>>
>> > Even Microsoft realizes that VBA is crap, which is why
>> > it is offering Python access to Excel users -- at a cost, of course.
>>
>> Python can't come close to replacing VBA (and vice versa of course).

AI Overview:

While both Python and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) can be used for
automation, Python is generally considered a more versatile and
general-purpose language, making it better for complex tasks beyond just
Microsoft Office applications, whereas VBA is specifically designed to
automate tasks within Microsoft Office programs like Excel and Word, making
it ideal for simpler, application-specific automation within that
environment.

Examples: NumPy, SciPy, STUMPY, Pandas.

On the other hand:

https://github.com/sancarn/awesome-vba

> I remember Visual Basic as being the "superior" language which caused
> all the computers in my CÉGEP's computer lab to get infected and result
> in shockingly slow printing and caused students to miss their deadlines.

--
For I swore I would stay a year away from her; out and alas!
but with break of day I went to make supplication.
-- Paulus Silentiarius, c. 540 A.D.

Frank Slootweg wrote this post while blinking in Morse code:

> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>> On 2024-12-30 11:56, Frank Slootweg wrote:
>> > Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>> >> On 2024-12-29 21:41, Frank Slootweg wrote:
>> >>> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>> >>> [...]
>> >>>
>> >>>> Amazing that none of you has mentioned latex.
>> >>>
>> >>> This isn't that kind of group!
>> >>
>> >> Latex is software :-P
>> >
>> > Obviously, but as you used all lowercase, it screamed for a pun. And
>> > of course, it's 'LaTeX'.
>> >
>> > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX>
>>
>> Well, I do not talk LaTeX, so I do not know.
>>
>> I do know, though, that I do have a command named "latex" in my computer.
>>
>> cer@Telcontar:~> latex --version
>> pdfTeX 3.141592653-2.6-1.40.22 (TeX Live 2021/TeX Live for SUSE Linux)
>> kpathsea version 6.3.3
>> Copyright 2021 Han The Thanh (pdfTeX) et al.
>> There is NO warranty. Redistribution of this software is
>> covered by the terms of both the pdfTeX copyright and
>> the Lesser GNU General Public License.
>> For more information about these matters, see the file
>> named COPYING and the pdfTeX source.
>> Primary author of pdfTeX: Han The Thanh (pdfTeX) et al.
>> Compiled with libpng 1.6.34; using libpng 1.6.34
>> Compiled with zlib 1.2.11; using zlib 1.2.13
>> Compiled with xpdf version 4.03
>> cer@Telcontar:~>
>
> Yes, I know you use Linux, so I indeed assumed that lowercase 'latex'
> is a command on Linux.
>
> I've never used LaTeX either, but from the Wikipedia ppage, I
> understand that LaTeX is the markup/formatting language and that
> <something>TeX<something> is the software/program which processes that
> language. That understanding id confirmed by the fact that your
> 'latex --version' output mentions '<something>TeX<something>', but not
> 'LaTeX'.
>
> Bottom line: Two guys talking about something they don't know anything
> about! :-)

LaTeX is a buncha wrapper macros to simplify TeX, I think.

I use LaTeX to generate a couple of large documents (only 300 pages each)
with table contents, list of tables, list of figure, and an index. It took me
awhile to create a nice look, but one benefit is being able to use vi to
generate PDFs. Another benefit is avoiding wrestling with a GUI.

There's a document processor, LyX, based on TeX and LaTeX, if you want a GUI.
(There are others as well).

--
Don't mind him; politicians always sound like that.

On 12/31/2024 1:08 PM, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:
> Andrzej Matuch wrote this post while blinking in Morse code:
>
>> On 2024-12-31 02:18, DFS wrote:
>>> On 12/30/2024 7:59 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:58:06 -0500, DFS wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> If you ever do need to automate office software or build custom
>>>>> applications, you'll find that MS Office and VBA is extremely superior
>>>>> to ALL other office software.
>>>>
>>>> Unfortunately, no.
>>>
>>> You have NO idea what you're talking about.
>>>
>>> > Even Microsoft realizes that VBA is crap, which is why
>>> > it is offering Python access to Excel users -- at a cost, of course.
>>>
>>> Python can't come close to replacing VBA (and vice versa of course).
>
> AI Overview:
>
> While both Python and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) can be used for
> automation, Python is generally considered a more versatile and
> general-purpose language, making it better for complex tasks beyond just
> Microsoft Office applications, whereas VBA is specifically designed to
> automate tasks within Microsoft Office programs like Excel and Word, making
> it ideal for simpler, application-specific automation within that
> environment.
>
> Examples: NumPy, SciPy, STUMPY, Pandas.
>
> On the other hand:
>
> https://github.com/sancarn/awesome-vba

Thanks for that great link. I haven't written any meaningful VBA code
in years, but it helps make MS Office the only office software worth
considering if you need custom applications.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 02:18:09 -0500, DFS wrote:

> On 12/30/2024 7:59 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:58:06 -0500, DFS wrote:
>>
>>> If you ever do need to automate office software or build custom
>>> applications, you'll find that MS Office and VBA is extremely superior
>>> to ALL other office software.
>>
>> Unfortunately, no.
>
> You have NO idea what you're talking about.

Says the one who doesn’t do this kind of stuff for a living.

>> Even Microsoft realizes that VBA is crap, which is why
>> it is offering Python access to Excel users -- at a cost, of course.
>
> Python can't come close to replacing VBA (and vice versa of course).

VBA is just an automation language for Office -- and not a good one at
that.

Python is a proper programming language. Which Microsoft seems to think
Office users will actually be willing to pay extra for.

That tells you all you need to know.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 11:01:01 -0500, Paul wrote:

> People even resorted to small claims courts, to get even with Microsoft.

How successful has that been? Particularly when Microsoft makes it clear
it doesn’t accept responsibility for bugs in the software.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:18:02 -0500, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:

> LaTeX is a buncha wrapper macros to simplify TeX, I think.

All I know is 'Tex' is not pronounced like 'Tex Ritter'.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 02:18:09 -0500, DFS wrote:

> On 12/30/2024 7:59 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:58:06 -0500, DFS wrote:
>>
>>> If you ever do need to automate office software or build custom
>>> applications, you'll find that MS Office and VBA is extremely superior
>>> to ALL other office software.
>>
>> Unfortunately, no.
>
> You have NO idea what you're talking about.
>
>
> > Even Microsoft realizes that VBA is crap, which is why it is offering
> > Python access to Excel users -- at a cost, of course.
>
> Python can't come close to replacing VBA (and vice versa of course).

Esri did a good job of replacing VBA.

https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-desktop/3d-gis/arcgis-
desktop-and-vba-moving-forward/?rmedium=redirect&rsource=blogs.esri.com/
esri/arcgis/2016/11/14/arcgis-desktop-and-vba-moving-forward

They had their own scripting language, Avenue, and switched to VBA over 20
years ago,

https://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall02articles/new-tool.html

For a while VBA and Python coexisted, but VBA was phased out. Enjoy living
in the past.

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:18:02 -0500, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:

>
> LaTeX is a buncha wrapper macros to simplify TeX, I think.
>

LaTex is the global standard for mathematical typesetting.

Regarding mathematics publishing of any kind, there is no mention,
and there never was any mention, and there never will be any mention,
of Microslop.

It's FOSS LaTex all the way!

Microslop is for brain-dead secretaries what cannot even
add 2+2.

--
Gentoo: The Fastest GNU/Linux Hands Down

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:54:08 -0500, DFS wrote:

> Thanks for that great link. I haven't written any meaningful VBA code
> in years, but it helps make MS Office the only office software worth
> considering if you need custom applications.

Nobody has written meaningful VBA code in years.

On 2024-12-31 14:50, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>> On 2024-12-30 11:56, Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>>>> On 2024-12-29 21:41, Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>>>> Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>>>>> [...]
>>>>>
>>>>>> Amazing that none of you has mentioned latex.
>>>>>
>>>>> This isn't that kind of group!
>>>>
>>>> Latex is software :-P
>>>
>>> Obviously, but as you used all lowercase, it screamed for a pun. And
>>> of course, it's 'LaTeX'.
>>>
>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX>
>>
>> Well, I do not talk LaTeX, so I do not know.
>>
>> I do know, though, that I do have a command named "latex" in my computer.
>>
>> cer@Telcontar:~> latex --version
>> pdfTeX 3.141592653-2.6-1.40.22 (TeX Live 2021/TeX Live for SUSE Linux)
>> kpathsea version 6.3.3
>> Copyright 2021 Han The Thanh (pdfTeX) et al.
>> There is NO warranty. Redistribution of this software is
>> covered by the terms of both the pdfTeX copyright and
>> the Lesser GNU General Public License.
>> For more information about these matters, see the file
>> named COPYING and the pdfTeX source.
>> Primary author of pdfTeX: Han The Thanh (pdfTeX) et al.
>> Compiled with libpng 1.6.34; using libpng 1.6.34
>> Compiled with zlib 1.2.11; using zlib 1.2.13
>> Compiled with xpdf version 4.03
>> cer@Telcontar:~>
>
> Yes, I know you use Linux, so I indeed assumed that lowercase 'latex'
> is a command on Linux.
>
> I've never used LaTeX either, but from the Wikipedia ppage, I
> understand that LaTeX is the markup/formatting language and that
> <something>TeX<something> is the software/program which processes that
> language. That understanding id confirmed by the fact that your
> 'latex --version' output mentions '<something>TeX<something>', but not
> 'LaTeX'.
>
> Bottom line: Two guys talking about something they don't know anything
> about! :-)

:-D

I think I have generated output from Latex documents, but just following
a recipe.

And I like LyX.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 2024-12-30 16:08, Andrzej Matuch wrote:
> On 2024-12-30 03:24, Chris wrote:
>> CrudeSausage <crude@sausa.ge> wrote:
>>> Le 2024-12-21 à 03:52, Mr. Man-wai Chang a écrit :
>>>> On 20/12/2024 9:03 am, CrudeSausage wrote:
>>>>> <https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-365-users-
>>>>> hit-by-random-product-deactivation-errors/>
>>>>>
>>>>> ​Microsoft is investigating a known issue triggering "Product
>>>>> Deactivated" errors for customers using Microsoft 365 Office apps.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> It's not about "owning the software", but whether it requires a real-
>>>> time online account to work. The usual words are "standalone" and
>>>> "offline". :)
>>>
>>> The moment you require an online account to verify if you are the person
>>> who bought the software, you don't own it.
>>
>> You've never "owned" software, afaia. At best, you own a licence which
>> allows you to use the software within the terms of the licence. If you
>> break the terms then you can lose the right to use the software.
>
> It's pretty easy to own the software if you use open-source, to be
> honest. You have access to the code and can do as you wish with it as
> long as you agree to share your modifications with the people who
> offered it to you. That's as good as it gets outside of producing your
> own program.

I think you can keep your modifications to yourself, as long as you
don't share or publish or sell the binary. Just your own internal usage.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
> On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:12:32 -0500, Paul wrote:
>
> > https://www.ghacks.net/2022/06/27/bypass-windows-11-microsoft-account-requirement-and-deny-privacy-questions-during-setup-with-rufus/
> >
> > "Remove requirement for Secure Boot and TPM 2.0"
>
> This is why they say, Windows is a great OS -- if your time is worth
> nothing.

Well, Windows 11 requirements for Secure Boot, TPM 2.0 and some other
hardware requirements are quite artificial and mainly intended to sell
more machines. Very few people are disputing that.

But that doesn't mean it takes time, it takes money *or* - if you
don't want to spend the money - it does take time, *if* you're willing
to fight windmills.

Face it, there never have been such kind of artificial roadblocks, ever
from NT via 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and 8[.1] all the way up to 10. That spans
some 32 years. Not bad, I would say.

Yes, in that timeframe there have also been higher hardware
requirements for newer versions, but they were functional (mostly space
and speed), not artificial.

FYI, please don't try to start a Windows versus Linux dispute with me.
I started with Unix/UNIX systems when both memory sizes were expressed in
KB and disk sizes were expressed in (a few) MB. And I started with
computers which had (core) memory sizes of 8-64KB and disks (if any) of
a few hundred KB.