A Character Builder Analogy - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

A Character Builder Analogy

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
scarlettlin
Nov 03, 2010 12:07:17 I've seen several analogies with regards to the CB. Most of them do not quite "work". This one, I think, does.

Imagine if you will, and this is PURELY hypothetical (as an analogy) that Microsoft continually promises that Office updates and patches are coming, but never when. And they are promising Office for Mac 2011 is also coming soon. This goes on for several months, when they finally make an announcement - Office for Mac 2011 is in fact NOT coming, neither are the updates. In fact, they are stopping all updates, and will be releasing the new version in Office Live in 2 weeks. This will be completely online, and will include a new document format. One that cannot be saved or exported. You can upload, edit, and save your old documents online though. Going forward, all documents created with Office Live can only be saved on their servers, and will not be able to be shared at least at first, and for an undetermined amount of time. The templates, research tools, etc will only be available using the Office Live as well. And when they do allow sharing, you will only be able to share documents with other 'subscribers' to Office Live. True, there are other tools avaliable that you could use that do essentially the same thing, but they are just not quite the same.
#2
hametsuj
Nov 03, 2010 12:12:46
I've seen several analogies with regards to the CB. Most of them do not quite "work". This one, I think, does.

Imagine if you will, and this is PURELY hypothetical (as an analogy) that Microsoft continually promises that Office updates and patches are coming, but never when. And they are promising Office for Mac 2011 is also coming soon. This goes on for several months, when they finally make an announcement - Office for Mac 2011 is in fact NOT coming, neither are the updates. In fact, they are stopping all updates, and will be releasing the new version in Office Live in 2 weeks. This will be completely online, and will include a new document format. One that cannot be saved or exported. You can upload, edit, and save your old documents online though. Going forward, all documents created with Office Live can only be saved on their servers, and will not be able to be shared at least at first, and for an undetermined amount of time. The templates, research tools, etc will only be available using the Office Live as well. And when they do allow sharing, you will only be able to share documents with other 'subscribers' to Office Live. True, there are other tools avaliable that you could use that do essentially the same thing, but they are just not quite the same.

It's cool, I use openoffice.
#3
arobicha
Nov 03, 2010 12:40:26
I've seen several analogies with regards to the CB. Most of them do not quite "work". This one, I think, does.

You're essentially describing a paid version of Google Docs that doesn't allow saving, or exporting (to a raw file format, but does to a PDF). First off, the new CB WILL allow you to save characters - just not locally. The D&Di team have also addressed the outcry for exporting, and they plan to implement it sooner than they had initially planned - so that part of your analogy is no longer valid. Your real gripe is clearly the loss of a compiled CB with a built in database, but I can see the reasons they've chosen to take the service online, and I think it makes a lot of sense (especially from a business stand point). You should really read the terms of use.
#4
scarlettlin
Nov 03, 2010 13:58:44
I've seen several analogies with regards to the CB. Most of them do not quite "work". This one, I think, does.

First off, the new CB WILL allow you to save characters - just not locally. The D&Di team have also addressed the outcry for exporting, and they plan to implement it sooner than they had initially planned - so that part of your analogy is no longer valid.

As to the first, I addressed this in my analogy - "Going forward, all documents created with Office Live can only be saved on their servers, and will not be able to be shared at least at first, and for an undetermined amount of time." Oh and look, the second item is there in that same statement! By "shared" I meant exported or saved to be sent via email or another method. And as far as "sooner than they had initially planned" well, considering all the "soon" we've heard lately, I'll believe it when I see it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 scarlettlin Nov 03, 2010 12:07:17	I've seen several analogies with regards to the CB. Most of them do not quite "work". This one, I think, does. Imagine if you will, and this is PURELY hypothetical (as an analogy) that Microsoft continually promises that Office updates and patches are coming, but never when. And they are promising Office for Mac 2011 is also coming soon. This goes on for several months, when they finally make an announcement - Office for Mac 2011 is in fact NOT coming, neither are the updates. In fact, they are stopping all updates, and will be releasing the new version in Office Live in 2 weeks. This will be completely online, and will include a new document format. One that cannot be saved or exported. You can upload, edit, and save your old documents online though. Going forward, all documents created with Office Live can only be saved on their servers, and will not be able to be shared at least at first, and for an undetermined amount of time. The templates, research tools, etc will only be available using the Office Live as well. And when they do allow sharing, you will only be able to share documents with other 'subscribers' to Office Live. True, there are other tools avaliable that you could use that do essentially the same thing, but they are just not quite the same.
#2 hametsuj Nov 03, 2010 12:12:46	I've seen several analogies with regards to the CB. Most of them do not quite "work". This one, I think, does. Imagine if you will, and this is PURELY hypothetical (as an analogy) that Microsoft continually promises that Office updates and patches are coming, but never when. And they are promising Office for Mac 2011 is also coming soon. This goes on for several months, when they finally make an announcement - Office for Mac 2011 is in fact NOT coming, neither are the updates. In fact, they are stopping all updates, and will be releasing the new version in Office Live in 2 weeks. This will be completely online, and will include a new document format. One that cannot be saved or exported. You can upload, edit, and save your old documents online though. Going forward, all documents created with Office Live can only be saved on their servers, and will not be able to be shared at least at first, and for an undetermined amount of time. The templates, research tools, etc will only be available using the Office Live as well. And when they do allow sharing, you will only be able to share documents with other 'subscribers' to Office Live. True, there are other tools avaliable that you could use that do essentially the same thing, but they are just not quite the same. It's cool, I use openoffice.
#3 arobicha Nov 03, 2010 12:40:26	I've seen several analogies with regards to the CB. Most of them do not quite "work". This one, I think, does. You're essentially describing a paid version of Google Docs that doesn't allow saving, or exporting (to a raw file format, but does to a PDF). First off, the new CB WILL allow you to save characters - just not locally. The D&Di team have also addressed the outcry for exporting, and they plan to implement it sooner than they had initially planned - so that part of your analogy is no longer valid. Your real gripe is clearly the loss of a compiled CB with a built in database, but I can see the reasons they've chosen to take the service online, and I think it makes a lot of sense (especially from a business stand point). You should really read the terms of use.
#4 scarlettlin Nov 03, 2010 13:58:44	I've seen several analogies with regards to the CB. Most of them do not quite "work". This one, I think, does. First off, the new CB WILL allow you to save characters - just not locally. The D&Di team have also addressed the outcry for exporting, and they plan to implement it sooner than they had initially planned - so that part of your analogy is no longer valid. As to the first, I addressed this in my analogy - "Going forward, all documents created with Office Live can only be saved on their servers, and will not be able to be shared at least at first, and for an undetermined amount of time." Oh and look, the second item is there in that same statement! By "shared" I meant exported or saved to be sent via email or another method. And as far as "sooner than they had initially planned" well, considering all the "soon" we've heard lately, I'll believe it when I see it.