word verses wordperfect

[Guest]

I have a new computer. I am a homemaker. I like to surf the web and I am
also playing with the idea of selling things on E-Bay. My husband has a
bussiness and sometimes I write letters for him. My question is, what are
the pros and cons of WORDPERFECT verses MICROSOFT WORD. I have wordperfect
here, however if I can benefit from buying microsoft word, I will.Is
microsoft word an easier program?

 

[Greg Maxey]

Minnie,

You are likely to get only opinions here . You like to surf the web. Try
a Google search for Word vs Word Perfect and you will get plenty to surf.

I have used Word for years after switching from Word Perfect. I gave up WP
reluctantly and primarily due to my work office computer having the MS
Office suite installed. That said, I wouldn't want to go back to WP after
semi-mastering Word. Learning to use Word will take a while.

If you think that your range of usage will remain an occassional letter for
your husband's business then I wouldn't recommend switching. If you think
that you might one day enter the work force in an office enviroment, then I
would say that there is a good chance that skills with Word would get you
further than skills with WP.

Remember, these are my opinions

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I'll second what Greg has said. If you already have WP and are comfortable
with it, I see no reason to switch. Word and WordPerfect are built on very
different design principles (see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/WordVsWordPerfect.htm), and most WP
converts are unhappy with Word for a long time. Neither program is "better."
Word is more powerful or easier to use in some areas, WP in others. Word is
currently far more popular (the reverse was once true).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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[Amedee Van Gasse]

minnie shared this with us in microsoft.public.word.newusers:

I have a new computer. I am a homemaker. I like to surf the web and
I am also playing with the idea of selling things on E-Bay. My
husband has a bussiness and sometimes I write letters for him. My
question is, what are the pros and cons of WORDPERFECT verses
MICROSOFT WORD. I have wordperfect here, however if I can benefit
from buying microsoft word, I will.Is microsoft word an easier
program?

You ask this question in a Word newsgroup... what do you expect?
Neither is "better". The most important question you have to ask
yourself is, 10 years from now, will you still be able to open the
documents you made today?
With current WP today, there is not much problem opening WP documents
of 10 years ago.
With current Word however... Microsoft has the nasty habit of changing
the document format every few verions. Conversion tools are provided,
but they are not perfect, and it is all extra work.

As an alternative you could use software that does not use a
proprietary document format, but uses "Open Standards" (notice the
capitals!). Open Standards are guaranteed to work in the near and far
future because they are, uhmmm... Open Standards of course!
Try http://www.openoffice.org to know what I mean. It is free (as in
beer) and Free (as in Speech).

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Your reply assumes that WordPerfect will still be around in ten years.
Perhaps it will. I have no doubt that Word will be. FWIW, I have had no
problem opening Word 2.0 files in Word 2003.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Amedee Van Gasse]

Suzanne S. Barnhill shared this with us in
microsoft.public.word.newusers:

Your reply assumes that WordPerfect will still be around in ten years.
Perhaps it will. I have no doubt that Word will be. FWIW, I have had
no problem opening Word 2.0 files in Word 2003.

Your conclusion is flawed.
I observe that Wordperfect existed 10 years ago, and still exists today.
Concerning Word, that is your opinion. Here in Europe there is much
pressure from governments towards Open Standards. So either Microsoft
starts using Open Standards, or it's out of business in Europe.
Remember Munich (Germany), Bergen (Norway),...