when you give them a choice they sometimes choose to choose.

[lagilman]

And now, of course, the desktop is working perfectly, as it is prone to, and I am faced with the same question I have with the cats: who gets mom-time?

For now, for various reasons, it's Wolfe (the desktop). But I have a project started last night on the yet-nameless laptop that will stay there, and we'll see how that goes....

Meanwhile, I have coffee, it's raining, the cats are snoring, and if I want to go out and Play tonight I have to get me some work done. So...working.

Comments

[cepetit.myopenid.com (from livejournal.com)]

Speaking of choices...

You have a choice in file formats. As someone who constantly deals with this problem (and dealt with it in the editorial/production environment), I suggest that you save your drafts in RTF, rather than DOC, format.

Especially for files that might have to cross the Great Mac/PC Divide.

Especially if you use "smart quotes" and/or any characters (such as diacriticals and accents and m-dashes and £ and ¶ and §) not found on a standard 101-key US English keyboard.

Especially if you use real italics instead of imitation typewriter underlining.

Especially if you don't want phantom characters to show up in the middle of your manuscript after it has changed back and forth n+1 times, where n is a random number greater than or equal to zero.

Especially if you don't want them to show up an hour before you're supposed to deliver the final manuscript to Madame Agent or Editrix.

[mt-yvr.livejournal.com]

Generally when we switch people between platforms - and it goes either way - I tell people to wrap up three projects they are working on with their present system before going over. Mainly because I find people who switch that don't have a lot of time on the new system - which could be PC or Mac, it really doesn't matter - riiiight in the middle of something? Are least likely to actually learn what they need to.

Because they aren't interested in "oh, this is cool" and just want "ok, make it WORK..." Which, really, fair enough.

As to crossing the mac/pc divide? I hear the above poster and I hear it a lot. Personal response : um. No. Crossing platforms these days is less about platform and more about version of software. MSOffice is an everliving pain in my... um. Area. Because, as an example, 2003 and 2011 (mac) talk to each other perfectly but 2008 generally screws up formatting for files made in either version. And since 2011 is a Mac product and I believe the version for PC is actually 2010...

Yeah. It gets odd. Stick with what you know.

But yeah. I hear the frustration. Good luck.



Can I have a new novel now? :P (nomnomnom)

[lagilman]

The problem is, I can't wrap up a project on the old because the old is Not Reliable and I have to be ready to switch at-need. That's why I shelled out the extra $$ for MacWord, so there would at least be that "familiarity" in the process.

I just have to remember to save in RTF for Madame Agent, who has not yet upgraded.


Also, I HATE Open Office with a burning, can't-be-treated passion.

[mt-yvr.livejournal.com]

(lol) I said I liiike to tell people to wait. We rarely ever get the chance. Most times we only see people at crisis points. So, yep.

I got that you really don't have that option. I was rambling off, sorry.