Don’t forget how long it takes to master software

Issue 627’s Cover

Feature (‘Stop

Using Rubbish Software’, pictured) offered some good advice on using alternative programs, though one thing you overlooked is the time it takes to learn how to use tools. Once you’ve spent half a lifetime working this out, you don’t want to replace it with something that you have to learn all over again.

Take Audacity as an example, which you suggest ditching for Ocenaudio (www.ocenaudio.com). It has taken me years to learn how to use it, and even now I stick to the simpler parts. I don’t want to spend the remaining bit of life I have left learning another program instead.

It’s OK for young whizz-kids who grew up with technology – they soon pick it up. But for many of us who are not so young, learning new stuff is hard work. John Hewett

I’ll be acting on some of your suggestions in the ‘Stop Using Rubbish Software’ feature, but I won’t be replacing Microsoft Office with Onlyoffice (www.snipca.com/41023). Setting aside the fact that Onlyoffice doesn’t provide functions that I currently use, your cost equation of ‘free’ against £60 per year for Microsoft 365 doesn’t factor in the 1TB of Onedrive cloud storage that comes with it. As I need this - which I admit many may not - I sometimes think of the Office suite as a freebie that comes with the storage. While the storage cost is pretty competitive compared with the likes of Google or Dropbox I suspect I could get it much cheaper by going direct to somewhere like Amazon Gateway (www.snipca. com/41434). However, I don’t particularly want to put in the time or effort required to evaluate and learn to use such services. Mike Hall