Very Computer

by **Robert Hughe** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

>Hi to all Linux lovers and Trolls alike.

>Yesterday I was visiting a quasi_government business
>here in Western Australia, when the chap behind the pc
>behind the desk, asked " can I send you the doc in MsWord?

>I replied "sure, I'll just run "strings" on it and delete
>the 2 copies, and your password etc, then use the text ;-)"

- snip -

Thanks for the info on "strings". I've often wondered how to read MS Word for
Macintosh files in Linux and strings does it just fine.

by **Terry Port** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

Hi to all Linux lovers and Trolls alike.

Yesterday I was visiting a quasi_government business
here in Western Australia, when the chap behind the pc
behind the desk, asked " can I send you the doc in MsWord?

I replied "sure, I'll just run "strings" on it and delete
the 2 copies, and your password etc, then use the text ;-)"

He then said, "oh don't you have MsWord?" to which I responded
in the negative.

Now we all know what came next, don't we?

"Want a copy ?", he asked

"No way", I responded, its illegal to use a unlicensed copy of
that program, " I could be fined, and stuck with a criminal
conviction"

The look I got back was priceless, shoulders shrugged, the expression
said "dont be stupid everyone does it"

Well everyone *doesn't* do it.

I often wonder how many Windows programs are actually paid for ?

Kind Regards
Terry
--

My Desktop is powered by GNU-LINUX, and has been
up 1 week 1 hour 7 minutes
** Registration Number: 103931, http://counter.li.org **

by **Jason Bow** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

>Hi to all Linux lovers and Trolls alike.

>Yesterday I was visiting a quasi_government business
>here in Western Australia, when the chap behind the pc
>behind the desk, asked " can I send you the doc in MsWord?

>I replied "sure, I'll just run "strings" on it and delete
>the 2 copies, and your password etc, then use the text ;-)"

>He then said, "oh don't you have MsWord?" to which I responded
>in the negative.

>Now we all know what came next, don't we?

>"Want a copy ?", he asked

>"No way", I responded, its illegal to use a unlicensed copy of
>that program, " I could be fined, and stuck with a criminal
>conviction"

>The look I got back was priceless, shoulders shrugged, the expression
>said "dont be stupid everyone does it"

>Well everyone *doesn't* do it.

>I often wonder how many Windows programs are actually paid for ?

A lot of them are, pre-loads my friend pre-loads.

- Show quoted text -

>Kind Regards
>Terry
>--

> My Desktop is powered by GNU-LINUX, and has been
> up 1 week 1 hour 7 minutes
>** Registration Number: 103931, http://counter.li.org **

by **Cary O'Bri** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

>>Hi to all Linux lovers and Trolls alike.

>>Yesterday I was visiting a quasi_government business
>>here in Western Australia, when the chap behind the pc
>>behind the desk, asked " can I send you the doc in MsWord?

>>I replied "sure, I'll just run "strings" on it and delete
>>the 2 copies, and your password etc, then use the text ;-)"

>- snip -

>Thanks for the info on "strings". I've often wondered how to read MS Word for
>Macintosh files in Linux and strings does it just fine.

Plus there is the added bonus of sometimes finding parts of other
documents, or previous parts of the same document, buried inside the
strings output.

-- cary

by **W. Kierna** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

> > > Hi to all Linux lovers and Trolls alike.

> > > Yesterday I was visiting a quasi_government business
> > > here in Western Australia, when the chap behind the pc
> > > behind the desk, asked " can I send you the doc in MsWord?

> > > I replied "sure, I'll just run "strings" on it and delete
> > > the 2 copies, and your password etc, then use the text ;-)"

> >- snip -

> > Thanks for the info on "strings". I've often wondered how to read MS
> > Word for Macintosh files in Linux and strings does it just fine.

> Plus there is the added bonus of sometimes finding parts of other
> documents, or previous parts of the same document, buried inside the
> strings output.

Yeah! Some kind soul here in this newsgroup told me about strings
before (I used to do it with a hex editor) and I was applying it to a
letter someone sent to a guy here in my office. (The reason I was
reading eMail addressed to me is that any eMail addressed to my
company's domain but not to a valid account - e.g. where someone
spoelled an eMail address wrong - gets forwarded to me, the postmaster,
whereupon I forward it to its intended recipient. This one was so badly
misaddressed that I thought I could have a look at the .DOC to see who I
was supposed to forward it to.) Anyway, smack in the middle of this
nice, conciliatory, polite letter I find a whole bunch of really *
insults (such as "you rip-off *s" and "you *ing
incompetents"). Well, deary me, wasn't I surprised! So I went over to
a PC with Word97 on it and looked at the document, and none of the
insulting stuff was visible.

I guess it's kind of similar to that old trick where some Usenet
jerk^H^H^H^Hreader writes and unwrites "embedded" insults with
ctrl-Hes. What a terrific feature that is! Why in God's name did
Microsoft decide to leave deleted text in Word documents, anyway?
Certainly they couldn't have done it on purpose.

--
--
--
------------------------------------------------------------

George F. Young, Inc. Surveyors and Civil Engineers Since 1919
299 9th Street North phone: 1-727-822-4317
St. Petersburg FL 33701 fax: 1-727-822-2919

by **Marada C. Shradraka** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

Quote:> Why in God's name did
>Microsoft decide to leave deleted text in Word documents, anyway?
>Certainly they couldn't have done it on purpose.

For undo features?
--
Marada Coeurfuege Shra'drakaii
members.xoom.com/marada Colony name not needed in address.
"I loved the evil in me-- not the thing for which I did the evil, simply the
evil"
-- Augustine

by **Jeff Pa** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

>I guess it's kind of similar to that old trick where some Usenet
>jerk^H^H^H^Hreader writes and unwrites "embedded" insults with
>ctrl-Hes. What a terrific feature that is! Why in God's name did
>Microsoft decide to leave deleted text in Word documents, anyway?
>Certainly they couldn't have done it on purpose.

IIRC, Word documents save a bunch of undo states in the file,
which is one of the reasons the documents themselves are so
much larger than a text or HTML file with similar content.

Jeff

by **Chad Mulliga** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

Quote:>> Why in God's name did
>>Microsoft decide to leave deleted text in Word documents, anyway?
>>Certainly they couldn't have done it on purpose.

>For undo features?

For versioning. Office used as a groupware can keep multiple versions of a
document in the same file. Kind of like a lawyer redlining a contract.

Quote:>--
>Marada Coeurfuege Shra'drakaii
>members.xoom.com/marada Colony name not needed in address.
>"I loved the evil in me-- not the thing for which I did the evil, simply
the
>evil"
>-- Augustine

by **j..** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

>>> Why in God's name did
>>>Microsoft decide to leave deleted text in Word documents, anyway?
>>>Certainly they couldn't have done it on purpose.

>>For undo features?

>For versioning. Office used as a groupware can keep multiple versions of a
>document in the same file. Kind of like a lawyer redlining a contract.

Except, if they aren't sloppy, they can end up disclosing
confidential client information by using a 'file as a
database'.

[deletia]

I'm surprised you haven't noticed the complaints about this
sort of thing before.

--
I guess it's just that there's such lack of uniformity of opinion in
the linux advocacy camp, which again impacts negatively on their
credibility as a group. [Hobbyist - c.o.l.a 29-OCT-99]

Bill, you trivialized one customer too many: Linus. |||
/ | \

For sane PPP Docs, try http://penguin.lvcm.com

by **Matthias Wark** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

It was the 29 Oct 1999 03:47:05 GMT...

Quote:> > Why in God's name did
> >Microsoft decide to leave deleted text in Word documents, anyway?
> >Certainly they couldn't have done it on purpose.

> For undo features?

Slack in the "Structured File Format"'s embedded file systems?

mawa
--
Recently on a Liberian bulk freighter:
-- Any cargo to declare, Captain?
-- Um... 280.000 metric tonnes of McSundae.
-- Thanks. Please proceed.

by **Doug Ma** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

> >>>Why in God's name did
> >>>Microsoft decide to leave deleted text in Word documents, anyway?
> >>>Certainly they couldn't have done it on purpose.

> >>For undo features?

> >For versioning. Office used as a groupware can keep multiple versions of a
> >document in the same file. Kind of like a lawyer redlining a contract.

> Except, if they aren't sloppy, they can end up disclosing
> confidential client information by using a 'file as a
> database'.

Indeed. A friend of mine was emailed a job offer as a Word document.
When he read the file with strings (necessary since he didn't have
Word or a Word viewer), he saw the name and address of another person
who had been offered the job first.

Doug.

by **Shumway, Gordo** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

Does StarOffice do something similar? For instance if I use the
StarOffice wordprocessor and save it in MSWord format, are all my
deletes still in the file?

> > Why in God's name did
> >Microsoft decide to leave deleted text in Word documents, anyway?
> >Certainly they couldn't have done it on purpose.

> For undo features?
> --
> Marada Coeurfuege Shra'drakaii
> members.xoom.com/marada Colony name not needed in address.
> "I loved the evil in me-- not the thing for which I did the evil, simply the
> evil"
> -- Augustine

by **Jim Ros** » Sun, 31 Dec 1899 09:00:00

Quote:> Does StarOffice do something similar? For instance if I use the
> StarOffice wordprocessor and save it in MSWord format, are all my
> deletes still in the file?

I don't know but it makes sense if that is a problem, I would copy your
document and paste it into
another new document. That should not then retain any old data in the new
document.
Jim

Very Computer

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.

How to read Ms Word, save money and keep out of prison.