Comments on: Why Give Up Word? Part One http://markelikalderon.com/2006/10/15/why-give-up-word-part-one/ Philosophy and Text Fri, 20 May 2011 16:38:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Why Give Up Word? Part Two at Excursus http://markelikalderon.com/2006/10/15/why-give-up-word-part-one/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Why Give Up Word? Part Two at Excursus Sat, 25 Nov 2006 17:17:56 +0000 http://markelikalderon.com/blog/2006/10/15/why-give-up-word-part-one/#comment-8 <p>[...] In my first post I described how I gave up Word. For those engaged in academic writing, or the production of certain kinds of complex documents, there’s reason to do so as well. To follow this up, I would like to bring your attention to Marko Pinteric comparison of Word and LaTeX: [...]</p> […] In my first post I described how I gave up Word. For those engaged in academic writing, or the production of certain kinds of complex documents, there’s reason to do so as well. To follow this up, I would like to bring your attention to Marko Pinteric comparison of Word and LaTeX: […]

]]> By: Mark Eli Kalderon http://markelikalderon.com/2006/10/15/why-give-up-word-part-one/comment-page-1/#comment-3 Mark Eli Kalderon Wed, 25 Oct 2006 19:01:17 +0000 http://markelikalderon.com/blog/2006/10/15/why-give-up-word-part-one/#comment-3 <p>Hi Lee. For a complex document such as a dissertation, especially one involving formal material, the simple answer is LaTeX. Writing equations in a wordprocessor is IMHO a nightmare. I speak from bitter experience. LaTeX can be daunting to the uninitiated, but thanks to the hard work of others, it is pretty easy to set up. (I installed a TeX tree and produced my first LaTeX document in an afternoon.) And as long as you "color within the lines", it is very easy to use. It can get difficult if you want to do something not explicitly provided for, but, for me at least, these occasions are rare (thanks to the plethora of packages available), <em>and</em> solutions can be found.</p> <p>Are you a Mac user or a Windows user? If you are a Mac user, I would recommend using the <a href="http://www.tug.org/mactex/" rel="nofollow">MacTeX</a> distribution. If you are a Windows user, then I would recommend the <a href="http://www.miktex.org/" rel="nofollow">MiKTeX</a> distribution. In addition to a TeX distribution (the typesetting software) you would need a LaTeX-aware editor. I have no recommendations for Windows, but on a Mac, <a href="http://www.uoregon.edu/~koch/texshop/" rel="nofollow">TeXShop</a> is a very nice GUI front-end. That's where I started and its free (though now I use <a href="http://www.macromates.com/" rel="nofollow">TextMate</a> which isn't). A useful guide to using LaTeX is <a href="http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort" rel="nofollow">A (Not So) Short Introduction to LaTeX2e</a>.</p> <p>This blog will be mostly dedicated to the technology of writing. So stay tuned for more guidance.</p> Hi Lee. For a complex document such as a dissertation, especially one involving formal material, the simple answer is LaTeX. Writing equations in a wordprocessor is IMHO a nightmare. I speak from bitter experience. LaTeX can be daunting to the uninitiated, but thanks to the hard work of others, it is pretty easy to set up. (I installed a TeX tree and produced my first LaTeX document in an afternoon.) And as long as you “color within the lines”, it is very easy to use. It can get difficult if you want to do something not explicitly provided for, but, for me at least, these occasions are rare (thanks to the plethora of packages available), and solutions can be found.

Are you a Mac user or a Windows user? If you are a Mac user, I would recommend using the MacTeX distribution. If you are a Windows user, then I would recommend the MiKTeX distribution. In addition to a TeX distribution (the typesetting software) you would need a LaTeX-aware editor. I have no recommendations for Windows, but on a Mac, TeXShop is a very nice GUI front-end. That’s where I started and its free (though now I use TextMate which isn’t). A useful guide to using LaTeX is A (Not So) Short Introduction to LaTeX2e.

This blog will be mostly dedicated to the technology of writing. So stay tuned for more guidance.

]]> By: Lee Walters http://markelikalderon.com/2006/10/15/why-give-up-word-part-one/comment-page-1/#comment-2 Lee Walters Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:12:59 +0000 http://markelikalderon.com/blog/2006/10/15/why-give-up-word-part-one/#comment-2 <p>I see there might be advantages in ditching word - the archival feature you mention, concentrating on content and funny logicians symbols included. But there seem to be a number of different? solutions - latex, markdown, textmate etc. Where does one start? I am confused and feeling technologically alienated and at only 33!</p> <p>I am, as you know, a graduate student who needs to use logical symbols and the greeks. Any advice?</p> I see there might be advantages in ditching word - the archival feature you mention, concentrating on content and funny logicians symbols included. But there seem to be a number of different? solutions - latex, markdown, textmate etc. Where does one start? I am confused and feeling technologically alienated and at only 33!

I am, as you know, a graduate student who needs to use logical symbols and the greeks. Any advice?

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