The days of licking your pencil lead and pressing hard, you are making four copies are long behind us, but some of our departments haven't quite caught all the way up, yet. However, when budgets are tight, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Consider this example of thrifty technology thinking:
I do quite a bit of training for an equipment manufacturer, and as part of that training, we distribute CDs and DVDs that contain lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations, as well as videos of the equipment in use. These are instructor-level classes, and the idea is that the folks that we train will go back to their agencies and use the materials from the disks to train their own people. We've all been through training like this: PowerPoint slides and a lecture, with videos embedded in some of the slides. The training is usually run off of a computer that is plugged into an LCD-type projector.
Of course, when you're handing out thousands of disks, to thousands of trainers, there are bound to be some problems. While some of the trainers are very computer literate, most are middle-of-the-road computer types, and some are hopelessly inept when it comes to that kind of technology. It's probably a good example of a Bell Curve in action.
When I teach my classes, I usually offer that anyone in class that has a problem with the materials can call or email me for help - and every once in a while, someone does. Most of the problems are fairly typical, but occasionally I hear of one that makes me sit up and take notice. This is one of those.
I got a phone call from a former student that was getting ready to teach his first use-of-force class using the materials I had given to him. He had it pretty well figured out, except that - no matter what he did - he could not get the videos to play. Every time he hit a PowerPoint slide with an embedded video, it just would not play the video. Frustration and irritation were setting in, and he finally called me for help.
We spent a long time on the phone, working through a long list of troubleshooting ideas. Of course we started with the simplest things (Is the projector plugged in Fred?). Nothing seemed to work.
Finally, knowing that he was using a department computer, and knowing that some departments don't exactly have the most up-to-date computers and software, it occurred to me that he might have an old copy of Microsoft Office, and that his version of PowerPoint was incompatible with the video files we were using. I asked him if he had experienced any other problems with his software. He said that his whole department was using the same software, and no one had ever experienced problems. I had him try the disk in a different computer with the same flawed result.
Finally, we decided to check out the version of PowerPoint his department was using. Now, anyone that has ever tried to talk someone through a problem solving or troubleshooting process over the phone knows how frustrating it can be. You're working through the steps from memory, while the person you're trying to help is trying to understand what you're telling them to do. Sometimes this can go on for a long time, and can get very frustrating for both parties. That became the case here, as I was asking him to tell me what version of Microsoft products he was using, and he was trying to accommodate me.
The straw that broke the camel's back was when he couldn't even find the Microsoft Office entries on his menu. Finally, out of sheer frustrating, I had him start reading me the entire list of installed software. He was correct; there was no entry for Microsoft Office.
There was, however, an entry for something called OpenOffice. Aha! Once again the ugly head of simplicity, and don't out smart yourself popped up.
As it turns out, his department wasn't even using Microsoft Office, even though that's what all the officers thought they had. The Chief had done something unorthodox, and actually pretty smart. Not being able to afford a copy of Office for each computer in his department, the Chief had opted for a substitute program that he could acquire for free - the OpenOffice program suite.
OpenOffice is what's called "freeware". In other words, copies of it can be downloaded at no charge. Additionally, it's also open source, which means that rather than one company owning it, and developing all the computer programming for it, it's provided in an open fashion so that anyone with the programming know-how can work on it, developing the program's functionality. It is, in effect, a community effort. The idea is that - with so many people working on it - it will be developed more quickly and cheaply than traditional software.
The OpenOffice suite is a substitute for Microsoft Office, with the ability to open, edit, and save Microsoft documents. There are equivalents for most of the Office programs. In place of Word, OpenOffice provides "Writer", and in place of PowerPoint, there is "Impress". There are four other applications included in the OpenOffice suite: Calc, which is similar to Excel; Base, which is a database program; Draw, which is a drawing and graphics program; and Math, used for editing math formulas and the like.
The newest version of OpenOffice can open and edit the newest Microsoft formats that are used in Office 2007. All in all, it's a very inexpensive way to get Microsoft Office functionality onto your department (or personal) computers.
The problem was that one of the few aspects of Office that would not work in OpenOffice was the playing of embedded videos in PowerPoint presentations. The slides would work fine, but the videos just wouldn't play.
The solution for my friend was to download and use the free PowerPoint Viewer program available from Microsoft. He could then edit his PowerPoint presentations in Impress, and then use the PowerPoint Viewer to show his files. While it was a slightly jury-rigged solution, it worked for him.
In the meantime, his boss should get a lot of credit for saving his agency a bunch of money by not having to purchase copies of Microsoft Office for each computer. Most of the officers never knew that they were using a freeware substitute, and it didn't matter. For the few things that OpenOffice couldn't do, there were other options. It was a smart, innovative solution all the way around.
It was an important lesson for both my friend and me: When problems arise, try to not outsmart yourself. You're not as brilliant as you think you are.
Remember Ocham's Razor, the scientific concept that says - all other things being equal - the simplest solution is usually the correct one.
Stay safe, and wear your vest!
