Open Office is free office software covering word processing, spreadsheets and other tools. There are plenty of online resources covering how to get the most from Open Office. I am surprised that anyone would pay $16.95 for a magazine about software which is free and for which there are free resources online. What happened to the open (free) office software concept?
Still cheaper then office 2007 and still has most of what user require, the magazine is a get you started, dont get that with office 2007
Tony,
I think you’re missing Mark’s point. Open Office is free. The materials in this magazine are available freely online. Why would people pay $17 at a newsagency when the content is supposed to be free?
As the saying goes, “The most likely thing to have discovered water wasn’t a fish”
Just because we know it’s free doesn’t mean everyone else does. Being on the inner sometimes makes us lose opportunities that an outsider normally sees and capitalises on.
Huh?
Might be a tough one to explain…
The quote is attributed to Marshall McLuhan. It essentially means that we can be obsorbed by what we think is normal and an everyday occurance but unaware that an opportunity exists outside of it.
Marco,
As I understand it, the magazine is targeted at those who already have or already know what Open Office is.
… and those who already have or already know what Open Office is are more likey to access the information online rather than in a magazine.
I’m one of those people that never heard of it until I saw the mag in a news agent. I use the internet for email and occasional browsing and as I already had MS word with the computer I never gave a thought to anything else. But . . . due to the errors received when using MS word and other problems I am now looking into OpenOffice. Something I wouldn’t have done if I wasn’t browsing my local newsagency. And yes . . .I bought the mag too!
I agree that newsagents are dumped with a lot of marginal product and deserve the right to decide on the potential of that magazine in their particular market. I do however think it’s questionable that some on this forum seek to be experts on the merits of certain magazines….based on the way they believe customers might source certain information. If you don’t want to stock something…fine, but isn’t it a bit arrogant to pass judgement on the broad appeal of certain magazines? Surely the publisher taking the risk of putting their hard earned into a product might have a reasonable understanding as to whether there might be a market for it or not.
Ted,
I am no magazine publishing expert and I am sure most newsagent commenters here don’t consider themselves such experts. However, I do know what sells and what does not sell. The Open Office title is a surprise because computer titles are fading and because it is for something which is free – this was the core point of my blog post.
Your point about publishers is somewhat mistaken since we provide them with an inexpensive supply model. We even bankroll them thanks to the terms we have with distributors.
For overseas publishers, the risk is based on their local market, Australia is a small addition to the print run away so hardly any risk at all.
If you read all the magazine posts here you’ll see that I love the medium and want to be a specialist. Unfortunately, the bad behaviour of some makes it challenging for the rest.
Mark