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From: Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.os.windows-11,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: The problem with not owning the software
Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2025 02:52:06 -0000 (UTC)
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On Sun, 5 Jan 2025 01:10:42 -0000 (UTC), Chris wrote:

> Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 4 Jan 2025 02:19:07 -0000 (UTC), Chris wrote:
>> 
>>> Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> On Thu, 2 Jan 2025 12:09:28 -0000 (UTC), Chris wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>>> ... suggests that people don't do much other than open up Word and
>>>>>> Excel.
>>>>> 
>>>>> In the professional world that's pretty accurate.
>>>> 
>>>> Doesn’t sound like that adjective “professional” extends to the actual
>>>> quality of results, then.
>>> 
>>> Based on what, exactly?
>> 
>> Based on the known issues with over-reliance on Microsoft products.
> 
> Such as? Excluding the gene name issue, which is pretty niche.

It’s affecting a whole lot of research work
<https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-016-1044-7>.

Then there was the massive screwup over underreporting of COVID-19
figures in the UK, which went undetected for months
<https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/10/excel-glitch-may-have-caused-uk-to-underreport-covid-19-cases-by-15841/>.

The Austrian Social Democratic Party’s botched election of a new
leader
<https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/06/austria_election_excel_blunder/>.

How many Excel screwups can you commit in just one job?
<https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/12/excel_anesthetist_recruitment_blunder/>.

Is it a good idea for a Formula 1 team to use Excel to manage its
parts inventory?
<https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/03/formula-1-chief-appalled-to-find-team-using-excel-to-manage-20000-car-parts/>.

There are entire websites devoted to compiling errors caused by using
Microsoft Excel.