Mitch Deacon
2005-11-03 17:58:06 UTC
Hello satlug community:
I am new to this list-serve, having just moved here from California, so I apologize in advance if this has already appeared on the list. The articles below offer a review of the open source software alternative to the over-priced Microsoft Office suite.
Cheers,
Mitch
Why OpenOffice.org 2.0 Is Your Best Choice
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
www.eweek.com
Follow this link to view the article: Why OpenOffice.org 2.0 Is Your Best Choice
October 20, 2005
Opinion: It's free and it works. Next question?
There are many fancy reasons that OpenOffice.org is a great choice for your office work. For example, it's open source and it supports an open format document standard, OpenDocument.
But let's put "openness" to the side. Let me get down to the nitty-gritty: It's free (as in free beer) and it works. What's not to like?
I've been running a late beta of OpenOffice.org 2.0 on both my SuSE 9.3 and 10 Linux boxes and on Windows XP. And, you know what? It works great.
I've started writing with vi on Unix and WordStar on CP/M. Over the years, I've used Lotus Word, WordPerfect and, yes, every version of Microsoft Word for Windows from 2.0 to 2003. Along the way, I've also used spreadsheets starting with VisiCalc, with many years spent on Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro and for the last five years, Microsoft Excel.
I could go on, but suffice it to say, "Steven knows office software."
OpenOffice.org is every bit as good as the best of all those proprietary programs?Lotus Word Pro 9.8 and Excel 2000 for my money?and in some ways it's even better.
For example, OpenOffice.org supports XForms?a newish Web standard for building forms using XML?and it has excellent HTML support. If you're like a lot of people who use Microsoft FrontPage because you want a Web authoring tool that acts like a word processor, you should stop mucking about with the perpetually annoying FrontPage and move to OpenOffice.org.
No, it's not an out-and-out Web authoring tool suite. For that, beginners should look to the open-source Nvu, while advanced users should head over to Macromedia's newly updated Dreamweaver. But OpenOffice.org is more than good enough for most folks, and it's free.
Got a ton of stuff already in Microsoft formats? Don't sweat it.
While extremely fancy documents?think legal paperwork?may not make it over from Microsoft to OpenDocument in perfect shape, the vast majority of your papers and spreadsheets will translate perfectly from one to the other.
Let me put it this way: Over the last four months, I've flipped hundreds of documents and spreadsheets from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org and back again, and I haven't lost a font or a formula yet.
The new OpenOffice.org also boasts an interface that's much more like the Microsoft Office interface. Unlike Microsoft Office, though, you can run it on Windows, Linux or Solaris and, regardless of platform, it looks and works the same.
The program will keep the look of its native environment. So, if you're running it on XP, it will look like an XP application; on Linux with KDE, it will look like a KDE application, and so on.
I haven't been a big fan of personal database programs for a long time now. The only one out there these days that I care for at all is Microsoft's Visual FoxPro. Yes, I can say good things about Microsoft products?when they really are good.
That said, OpenOffice.org's Base Java-based HSQLDB database engine is a solid database. Its real selling point to me is that it has both good SQL and JDBC (Java Database Connect) support. In short, while I still look to FoxPro for PC-based databases, I can see using OpenOffice.org 2.0 to model a serious, server-based DBMS. The idea of even attempting that same job with Microsoft Access makes me ill.
On the other hand, I found one area of Microsoft Office where it still holds the lead over OpenOffice.org: presentations. PowerPoint is just a richer application than OpenOffice.org's Impress.
Don't get me wrong. Impress is a fine presentation creation program. With its new Multipane View and many more animation effects and slide transitions, it's far better than OpenOffice.org 1.1.5. For anyone who doesn't do a lot of presentations, Impress is more than enough. It's just that, in my experience, people who tend to work on presentations do a lot with them and they want every bit of power they can get their hands on. For those users, PowerPoint is still the better choice.
Finally, OpenOffice.org still doesn't have a grammar checker. If you have to have one of those, however, there is another open-source word processor, AbiSource's AbiWord, which does come with one.
Of course, you could get that in Microsoft Office, but let's get back to brass tacks again. OpenOffice.org's price tag: 0. Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003's list price: $499 new, $329 as an upgrade.
Day in and day out office usability? For all practical purposes, they're about the same.
So, which would you rather 'buy?'
eWEEK.com Senior Editor Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has been using and writing about operating systems since the late '80s and thinks he may just have learned something about them along the way. He can be reached at ***@ziffdavis.com.
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OpenOffice.org Releases Long-Awaited Version 2.0
www.eweek.com
By Chris Preimesberger
October 20, 2005
OpenOffice.org 2.0, the first office application suite to feature native support for the OASIS-approved OpenDocument file format, was released Thursday morning, one week following the project's fifth anniversary of its founding.
The 2.0 final follows three beta versions?the latest released only last Friday. RC2 was released Aug. 31 after a review and repair of about 600 software bugs.
OpenOffice.org 2.0 is the first stable version of the open-source office suite able to produce the new XML-based standard ODF (OpenDocument format), sanctioned internationally only last May by OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards).
It also features improved interoperability with Microsoft Word formats and a fully accessible, more powerful relational database for use with financial applications, community manager Louis Suarez-Potts said.
In addition to the OpenDocument format, a redesigned user interface and a new database module, OpenOffice.org 2.0 also adds improved PDF support, a superior spreadsheet module, enhanced desktop integration and several other features that take advantage of its advanced XML capabilities, such as the ability to easily create, edit and use XForms.
The OpenDocument format is used to store data from desktop applications, such as word processing, presentation and spreadsheet software. It is meant to enable the free exchange of data between OpenDocument-compliant software packages.
OpenDocument is also supported by Sun Microsystems's StarOffice 8, IBM, the KDE Project, and Red Hat Inc.
ODF is not directly supported by Microsoft Office software. Third-party software is required to share Microsoft Office and ODF documents.
OpenOffice.org 2.0 is available in 36 languages and able to run natively on Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X (X11) and several other platforms.
Although the OpenDocument standard was approved only last May by OASIS, it already has garnered government support. The state of Massachusetts's CIO, Peter Quinn, declared as of Jan. 1, 2007, all electronic documents created by state employees could be saved in only two format types: OpenDocument and Adobe's PDF.
"OpenOffice.org is on a path toward being the most popular office suite the world has ever seen," said Jonathan Schwartz, president and CEO of Sun Microsystems. "As a member of that community, I'd like to offer my heartiest congratulations."
On Oct. 5, Sun and Google Inc. announced a new partnership to distribute each other's products. Part of that work will include Google helping to distribute OpenOffice.org. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said: "We'll work to make the distribution of it more broad," he said.
OpenOffice.org will be endowed with a Google search box -- assuming the open-source community that develops it can be persuaded, to add it -- Schwartz said. That persuasion shouldn't be too hard; Sun, which made the decision to release the source code for what now is OpenOffice, still has heavy involvement in the project.
Sun Chairman Scott McNealy said Google will become involved in Sun's open-source OpenSolaris. "There's a huge alignment strategy with research and development, (involving) Open Document Format, OpenOffice and OpenSolaris," he said
---------------------------------
Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.
I am new to this list-serve, having just moved here from California, so I apologize in advance if this has already appeared on the list. The articles below offer a review of the open source software alternative to the over-priced Microsoft Office suite.
Cheers,
Mitch
Why OpenOffice.org 2.0 Is Your Best Choice
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
www.eweek.com
Follow this link to view the article: Why OpenOffice.org 2.0 Is Your Best Choice
October 20, 2005
Opinion: It's free and it works. Next question?
There are many fancy reasons that OpenOffice.org is a great choice for your office work. For example, it's open source and it supports an open format document standard, OpenDocument.
But let's put "openness" to the side. Let me get down to the nitty-gritty: It's free (as in free beer) and it works. What's not to like?
I've been running a late beta of OpenOffice.org 2.0 on both my SuSE 9.3 and 10 Linux boxes and on Windows XP. And, you know what? It works great.
I've started writing with vi on Unix and WordStar on CP/M. Over the years, I've used Lotus Word, WordPerfect and, yes, every version of Microsoft Word for Windows from 2.0 to 2003. Along the way, I've also used spreadsheets starting with VisiCalc, with many years spent on Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro and for the last five years, Microsoft Excel.
I could go on, but suffice it to say, "Steven knows office software."
OpenOffice.org is every bit as good as the best of all those proprietary programs?Lotus Word Pro 9.8 and Excel 2000 for my money?and in some ways it's even better.
For example, OpenOffice.org supports XForms?a newish Web standard for building forms using XML?and it has excellent HTML support. If you're like a lot of people who use Microsoft FrontPage because you want a Web authoring tool that acts like a word processor, you should stop mucking about with the perpetually annoying FrontPage and move to OpenOffice.org.
No, it's not an out-and-out Web authoring tool suite. For that, beginners should look to the open-source Nvu, while advanced users should head over to Macromedia's newly updated Dreamweaver. But OpenOffice.org is more than good enough for most folks, and it's free.
Got a ton of stuff already in Microsoft formats? Don't sweat it.
While extremely fancy documents?think legal paperwork?may not make it over from Microsoft to OpenDocument in perfect shape, the vast majority of your papers and spreadsheets will translate perfectly from one to the other.
Let me put it this way: Over the last four months, I've flipped hundreds of documents and spreadsheets from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org and back again, and I haven't lost a font or a formula yet.
The new OpenOffice.org also boasts an interface that's much more like the Microsoft Office interface. Unlike Microsoft Office, though, you can run it on Windows, Linux or Solaris and, regardless of platform, it looks and works the same.
The program will keep the look of its native environment. So, if you're running it on XP, it will look like an XP application; on Linux with KDE, it will look like a KDE application, and so on.
I haven't been a big fan of personal database programs for a long time now. The only one out there these days that I care for at all is Microsoft's Visual FoxPro. Yes, I can say good things about Microsoft products?when they really are good.
That said, OpenOffice.org's Base Java-based HSQLDB database engine is a solid database. Its real selling point to me is that it has both good SQL and JDBC (Java Database Connect) support. In short, while I still look to FoxPro for PC-based databases, I can see using OpenOffice.org 2.0 to model a serious, server-based DBMS. The idea of even attempting that same job with Microsoft Access makes me ill.
On the other hand, I found one area of Microsoft Office where it still holds the lead over OpenOffice.org: presentations. PowerPoint is just a richer application than OpenOffice.org's Impress.
Don't get me wrong. Impress is a fine presentation creation program. With its new Multipane View and many more animation effects and slide transitions, it's far better than OpenOffice.org 1.1.5. For anyone who doesn't do a lot of presentations, Impress is more than enough. It's just that, in my experience, people who tend to work on presentations do a lot with them and they want every bit of power they can get their hands on. For those users, PowerPoint is still the better choice.
Finally, OpenOffice.org still doesn't have a grammar checker. If you have to have one of those, however, there is another open-source word processor, AbiSource's AbiWord, which does come with one.
Of course, you could get that in Microsoft Office, but let's get back to brass tacks again. OpenOffice.org's price tag: 0. Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003's list price: $499 new, $329 as an upgrade.
Day in and day out office usability? For all practical purposes, they're about the same.
So, which would you rather 'buy?'
eWEEK.com Senior Editor Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has been using and writing about operating systems since the late '80s and thinks he may just have learned something about them along the way. He can be reached at ***@ziffdavis.com.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
OpenOffice.org Releases Long-Awaited Version 2.0
www.eweek.com
By Chris Preimesberger
October 20, 2005
OpenOffice.org 2.0, the first office application suite to feature native support for the OASIS-approved OpenDocument file format, was released Thursday morning, one week following the project's fifth anniversary of its founding.
The 2.0 final follows three beta versions?the latest released only last Friday. RC2 was released Aug. 31 after a review and repair of about 600 software bugs.
OpenOffice.org 2.0 is the first stable version of the open-source office suite able to produce the new XML-based standard ODF (OpenDocument format), sanctioned internationally only last May by OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards).
It also features improved interoperability with Microsoft Word formats and a fully accessible, more powerful relational database for use with financial applications, community manager Louis Suarez-Potts said.
In addition to the OpenDocument format, a redesigned user interface and a new database module, OpenOffice.org 2.0 also adds improved PDF support, a superior spreadsheet module, enhanced desktop integration and several other features that take advantage of its advanced XML capabilities, such as the ability to easily create, edit and use XForms.
The OpenDocument format is used to store data from desktop applications, such as word processing, presentation and spreadsheet software. It is meant to enable the free exchange of data between OpenDocument-compliant software packages.
OpenDocument is also supported by Sun Microsystems's StarOffice 8, IBM, the KDE Project, and Red Hat Inc.
ODF is not directly supported by Microsoft Office software. Third-party software is required to share Microsoft Office and ODF documents.
OpenOffice.org 2.0 is available in 36 languages and able to run natively on Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X (X11) and several other platforms.
Although the OpenDocument standard was approved only last May by OASIS, it already has garnered government support. The state of Massachusetts's CIO, Peter Quinn, declared as of Jan. 1, 2007, all electronic documents created by state employees could be saved in only two format types: OpenDocument and Adobe's PDF.
"OpenOffice.org is on a path toward being the most popular office suite the world has ever seen," said Jonathan Schwartz, president and CEO of Sun Microsystems. "As a member of that community, I'd like to offer my heartiest congratulations."
On Oct. 5, Sun and Google Inc. announced a new partnership to distribute each other's products. Part of that work will include Google helping to distribute OpenOffice.org. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said: "We'll work to make the distribution of it more broad," he said.
OpenOffice.org will be endowed with a Google search box -- assuming the open-source community that develops it can be persuaded, to add it -- Schwartz said. That persuasion shouldn't be too hard; Sun, which made the decision to release the source code for what now is OpenOffice, still has heavy involvement in the project.
Sun Chairman Scott McNealy said Google will become involved in Sun's open-source OpenSolaris. "There's a huge alignment strategy with research and development, (involving) Open Document Format, OpenOffice and OpenSolaris," he said
---------------------------------
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