I hadn’t written a letter in MS Word for awhile. I was shocked at how worthless Words spell checker suggestions are. They almost never had the word I was trying to use. Google is better at suggesting the correct spelling then Word.
Firefox has spoiled me rotten. It’s spell checker is so much better at suggesting.
I finally started a thread on the dope just to use Firefoxs spell checker for my letter.
To thnk we actually pay for Word 2003 is pretty sad.
I’m not surprised Firefox’s spell checker is better than a 9-year-old piece of software. I’m surprised you think that makes Firefox a replacement for a dedicated word processor, though. Word, even in 2003, offers a range of features that web browsers are unlikely to ever offer, like mail merging, fine layout control, and so on.
Also, spell checker can’t fix poor grammar. It’s probably still a good idea to have a general idea of the word you’re looking for.
“…correct spelling then Word.” should use ‘than’ rather than ‘then.’
“It’s spell checker…” should have used ‘its’ without the apostrophe.
Word is generally better at catching these types of errors, and I don’t believe Firefox can catch them at all. So we still have a reason to chuck money at Microsoft!
I use Word for word processing. But, when the crazy spell checker fails to suggest the right word I have to use goggle or even better Firefox Spell checker. I can create a dummy post on the Dope, enter my words and get the spelling. Then cancel the post.
I refuse to go back the the stone age with a paper dictionary. I did that garbage for three decades of my life.
I’ve used Word for two decades and never realized how weak the spell checker suggestions are. Until, I used Firefox a couple years. Firefox nearly always suggests the right word.
Odd, I can’t stand the FF spellchecker. It seems like it never comes up with the right word for me. Often, I find myself trying to respell the word just to get the spell checker to give me new suggestions.
In fact, just a few months ago, I posted this:
<snip>
Type delema…what to you get for suggestions? I only ask because, as of now, and I don’t know if it’s due to an update or something else, I’m getting:
Madelena
Madelle
Madelene
Madelle
But again, it still couldn’t figure out that I was looking for dilemma. Sometimes I just end up going to Google, copy/pasting the wrong word so I can copy and paste the “Did You Mean” word that it gives me back which is almost always the word I’m looking for.
delema
I get the same wrong suggestions as you. That’s strange. I can’t imagine why it’s suggesting “Mad” words.
Like everybody else, I sometimes grab the wrong suggestion and don’t notice until after my post.
My glasses are getting out of date and I’m always straining and guessing at what letters are on my screen. They are just fuzzy enough to make my life difficult.
Any sign it’s gotten any better? I didn’t notice that, but I’ve only used Word 2007, and, even then, only for a short time while my sister was taking a class on it, as it was free for 180 days.
The only reason I ever bought Microsoft Word was that it was the only software that let me do proper envelope labels with bar codes, something I’ve had no need to do for a long, long time.
I’ve used 2004 for Mac, an now I have 2011 for Mac. The spellcheck is perfectly fine on both.
If you don’t have any reason to use a word processor, then you don’t need Word. For aceplace’s needs, Firefox is perfectly suited for the task of letter writing. This doesn’t mean Microsoft Word serves no purpose. It would be like saying “A hammer is WAY better with nails than my old screwdriver. Why do we even buy these things, anyway?”
Now, the ribbon interface? You’ll never hear me say a nice thing about that.