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It's (Past) Time For Apple To Treat Its Canadian Customers Fairly
Canadians, we have a problem!
Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - RTF Workaround
Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - "Time To Upgrade"
Word 5.1 - OpenOffice?
Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - Lynx Text Browser
Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - How About Sheepshaver?
MS Word alternatives - Free and Almost Free

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It's (Past) Time For Apple To Treat Its Canadian Customers Fairly

From Terry

Well said Charles.

Rather than boycott Apple, or others, simply take a 'shopping' trip south of the border every once and a while and 'load' up. By the length of the lines at the border recently those 'dumb' Canadian's have smartened up.

Hopefully Canadian companies like Rogers,whose rip off business model rests on the uneducated consumer, anti-US, etc. will go out of business (the sooner the better for Canadians). Remember Rogers uses AT&T;'s network, and while partners with AT&T;Rogers cannibalized everything AT&T had to offer.

A common dollar is long overdue and hopefully following the next federal election, the ruling government, whoever it will be, will have the business sense to pursue it.

Keep up the pressure Charles, especially with Apple. A common North America store would help lower Canadian 'admin' costs. (I assume you know that the store is located in western Canada so they can get the advantage of a lower Canadian dollar plus lower health costs.)






Canadians, we have a problem!

From: Terry

Hello Charles:

I have watched with interest your comments on Canadian consumerism. Keep up the good work. Unfortunately there is another side to the issue that you no doubt understand, but which will require significant education for Canadians (myself included).

When I was growing up (in the 50's!) to be a Canadian was something special. Many of my relatives lived and worked in the US (although none were American - well their children were and still are). I remember that to be a Canadian worker meant an almost instant job offer south of the border. American's respected our work ethic, it was second to none. They coveted our education system. When the [Avro] Arrow was cancelled a significant number of Canadians moved to NASA.

Over the past several decades the work ethic, the education, and other Canadian attributes have succumbed to a low Canadian dollar. In effect, Canadians were given the option of having a much lower standard of living than their American neighbours (via a lower dollar) for 'free' medical coverage, numerous social programs that have not once eliminated the social problems their spending promised, plus our 'conscience' payments to our French speaking compatriots. As a result we have lost the work ethic, the education and lots of luck getting a green card to work south of the border.

Europe now has the Euro. But to get there each country had to sacrifice, they had to get their countries fiscal model in order. Enter their common playing field.

Canadian business models today are built on a low dollar, lower standard of living. Canadian's have been robbed of the chance to truly compete in an international world. Our current dollar 'rise' has been based on the old standard, raw resources (now mostly foreign owned) and a poor debt ridden US economy. We can't compete in the 'brain' work that our southern neighbours are slowly beginning to embrace (Apple is a role model). Yes, there is RIM, but just look at a map of Canada. If you don't live in about a dozen cities you don't have the technical infastructure to compete worldwide. Even Bell still has a notation that high speed Internet may not be available (in parts of Toronto!) because their business model has no place for infrastructure improvement!

So, a common currency will not solve our current fiscal problem. Unless we learn to compete on the new (World is Flat) business model, we will continue on our current path to obscure poverty.

The first step in preventing this is the problem recognition step. Canadians, we have a problem!

Terry

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Hi Terry;

Thanks for your comments.

I grew up (partly) in the '50s too, and indeed it was a different Canada and a different world. It seems that you and I are pretty much on the same page in general, although I'm a common currency advocate, and am in accord with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, which has called for a "North American perimeter" and a customs union between the two nations. A year or so ago, an independent task force sponsored by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, of which former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley was a co-chair, recommended that Canada, the United States and Mexico become essentially a single trading zone.

While the task force was mainly focused on improving trade and minimizing trade disputes, implementation of its recommendations would require "a strong outer security perimeter," its report said.

Unfortunately, a lot of Canadians resist this idea, just as many Europeans opposed the Euro's introduction, but the objections are based mainly in emotion and/or nationalist ideology - not economic practicality and reality.

A C. D. Howe Institute paper by economists Thomas Courchene and Richard Harris, entitled: "From Fixing to Monetary Union: Options for North American Currency Integration," recommends serious consideration of North American currency union. Its central argument is that increased integration of Western Hemisphere economies through freer trade makes "market dollarization" all but inevitable.

I hope so.

Charles

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Re: Canadians, we have a problem!

From Terry

Hello Charles:

Thanks for taking the time to reply. And, I too, am an advocate for a common NA currency.

I spent a number of months in Europe when I retired last decade. I was amazed that after showing my passport in the UK (point of entry) I was never asked for it until my return to Canada (when I was given a rough time by a diligent new Canadian immigration official.)

Many of the nations in Europe had to follow a 'leveling' program in order to join. It was not only economic, but political and social. Canadians would never accept such a process even though they profess a love for all things European. Of course there is still resistance ( mainly political) but they've only had 20 years to prepare. (It really started with the Concorde!)

Unfortunately for us Canadians, we have for too long lived in a 'liberal' climate (big brother will take care of you). To level for us would be to give up that great health care system ! or that crime free, squeaky clean urban environment, or our pure water, or our pristine forests, clear skies, cheap power, etc. etc. I fear we've lost the habit of competition. We view our southern neighbor with a cynical envy. After all, it's the greatest nation in our short planet's civilization, its people truly believe in freedom (and peace) and they make a tremendous sacrifice to support that belief. (We are learning that lesson ourselves in Afghanistan). Yet we seem to diss them every opportunity we get. Of course their leaders make mistakes, It goes with the territory!

Regrettably, I think it is too late (at least in my lifetime) to see a NA zone. But then, I was wrong about the Berlin wall.

To get back on topic, it is interesting to see Zeller's recent move to lower prices. (A Canadian dinosaur if ever). Hopefully Walmart will move (although there are still vestiges of Woolsworth's there).

However, the Canadian Retail council, bless there hearts, are 'forced to educate Manley's recent positive statement on price reduction by claiming that 'foreign' suppliers are responsible for the high prices (what are they charging us in now), Euros, Yen or is it the Canadian dollar!

All the best and perhaps you will be able to report next week on an new Apple laptop to replace my aging iBook G4.

Terry

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Hi Terry;

Still on the same page; NA common zone a way off, alas, maybe a common currency doable sooner. A couple of months ago, no less than Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge commented following an address he delivered in Chicago that a single currency was “possible.”

Perhaps even more encouragingly, an Angus Reid poll published by the Globe and Mail a couple of years back found that 37% of Canadians believed then that a common currency would be in Canada's economic interest, and some 77% resignedly predicted a common dollar within 20 years - 50 percent within half that time. Here's hoping.

Zellers is owned by Hudson's Bay Company, which I think is now American- owned, ans Wal-Mart Canada announced some substantial price cuts over the weekend. There is progress!

Charles






Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - RTF Workaround

From Bob

I think Pages can read RTF files. Just save your Word files as RTF. After that, no more need for Word.

bob

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Hi Bob;

Heck; Tex Edit Plus can read RTF files.

I tried saving a Word 5.1 document containing graphics as an RTF (I had forgotten that Word 5.1 supports RTF), and it worked just fine.

This is definitely a potential workaround for my Word 5.1 file support issue, although it would be a formidable task to convert the thousand or so files I have to RTF.

Thanks for the tip.

Charles

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Re: Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - RTF Workaround

From Bob

Hi Charles

Sounds like a perfect job for a script... I looked around and found this...

Freeware | Version: 1.0 | Script id: 4988 Author: Kjeld | Developer's Web Site
Scripting Additions Required?: None
Requirements: OS 10.4
Script Type: Editable
Category: Text-Editors
Click here to View Screenshot

This script allows you to convert .doc files to RTF-files. Save as a droplet to drop the Word files on. Or use the convert folder script to convert a folder of Word-docs to rtf-files.

Here is the URL...
http://www.scriptbuilders.net/files/convertdoctortffile1.0.html

Best yet... its free

Cheers!

bob

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Thanks Bob;

Just downloaded it.

Charles






Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - "Time To Upgrade"

From Dave Barnes

Chas,

"The other is Microsoft Word 5.1, which I originally bought back in 1993"

Time to upgrade dude. Fourteen years! I think you got your money's worth. "Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 Student/Teacher edition" on eBay for only $99 USD (that cheap USD). And, Microsoft gets no money.

,dave

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Hi Dave;

I haven't used Word 5.1 as a production tool since 1998, and I have the latest versions of Pages and Papyrus, which are both excellent word processors, although Tex Edit Plus has been my main production word crunching app. for nearly a decade now.

As I noted in the article, my Word 5.1 support issue is with respect to archived Word 5.1 files created back in the '90s, and would not be a deal-breaker.

My objection to using Word 2004 is not primarily monetary, but rather that I make it a point of principle not to use any Microsoft software if there is any reasonable alternative. Happily, there almost always is.

Charles






Word 5.1 - OpenOffice?

From Larry Gusaas

"The other is Microsoft Word 5.1, which I originally bought back in 1993, and still use ....” Have you tried OpenOffice.org? I checked the user manual and it lists WinWord 5 as format it will import, so it mignt also import Mac Word 5.

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Hi Larry;

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't know whether OpenOffice will open Word 5.1 files or not. If it can, it would certainly be a logical workaround.

Charles






Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - Lynx Text Browser

From Andrew

Text browser, try:

http://www.osxgnu.org/software/pkgdetail.html?project_id=226

It's a fork of the old standby text browser Lynx. Recently went universal-binary.

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Thanks for the link.

I have tried Lynx in the past and found it a bit too rudimentary and cumbersome for my purposes, but I see this latest version is Finder-clickable, so I just downloaded it and will give it another try.

Charles






Leopard Kills Mac OS Classic Support - How About Sheepshaver?

From Neil Anderson

How about SheepShaver?

Hi Neil;

SheepShaver would be a possible workaround.

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Does it play well with swapping back and forth between Classic and OS X apps. like Classic Mode does?

Charles

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Re: SheepShaver

From Neil Anderson

Hi Charles,

Classic apps run inside SheepShaver's window.

Here's a couple of screenshots:

Here's some instructions I found on-line: http://theappleblog.com/2006/07/01/classic-on-intel-macs-courtesy-of-sheepshaver

Another review: SheepShaver — The New Classic?:
http://emaculation.com/sheepshaver.html

Best,
Neil Anderson
Author, "Partners in Grime" and "The Lead Goat Veered Off":
http://www.cyclelogicpress.com

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Hi Neil;

Thanks so much. Sheepshaver looks really promising. I've downloaded it and will try it out soon.

Charles






MS Word alternatives - Free and Almost Free

From Anonymous

Charles,

Some free and almost free MS Word alternatives exist:

http://www.macmaps.com/crossplatform.html

Sincerely,
anonymous

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Hi A.

Thanks for the link. A potentially helpful resource.

You don't happen to know whether any of those Word alternatives can open Word 5.1 format files?

I have Pages '08, Papyrus 12, and DevonThink Pro, all of which support opening Word '98 and Word X files, but not Word 5.1.

Charles

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Re: MS Word alternatives

From Anonymous

Charles,

All I know is that MacLink Plus converts Word 5.1 to more modern Word formats better than some of the more modern versions of Word.

You may want to contact Dataviz to find out if it will solve your problem for you.

Sincerely,
anonymous

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Hi A.

I used to use MacLink Plus way back when (version 9 or 11 or somesuch) and it did indeed work very well.

Perhaps overkill for my current needs?

Charles



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Charles W. Moore


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