OpenOffice 3.0 promises to bash Office
Microsoft's Office suite could have plausible challenger on the desktop for
the first time since Lotus gave up trying to take on Redmond a decade ago.
With developers struggling to get OpenOffice 2.4 out the door, details are
emerging of the features users have to look forward to in the upcoming bullet
point release, version 3.0.
A
sneak peek on a developer blog OpenOffice Ninja shows a new and easier-to-understand
start screen featuring the main applications, and overhauls of the Writer application
to better compete with Microsoft's Word. That application can now display pages
side by side, allows notes to be added in the margins of copy a la Word, while
the Calc spreadsheet also features a large number of small tweaks to improve
usability.
The suite will be able to cope seamlessly with Office 2007's XML-based file
formats, though the blogger notes that the current development skeleton manages
this with mediocre results.
Thus far the Sun-sponsored OpenOffice suite has remained an outsider, used
mostly by open source enthusiasts or just those too tight to pay the high price
ticket of Office. Despite offering a usable alternative to Office, it has made
no noticeable impression on its sales figures.
One element that will remain missing is a rival to Microsoft's industry standard
email app, outlook.
"For years, there have been talks of including Mozilla's Thunderbird and
Lightning (calendar) application with OpenOffice.org. However, not much has
come of it yet. Perhaps with the financial resources of the new Mozilla Messaging
Corporation, the Mozilla Calendar will get the boost it needs," says the
author.
It's also apparent that OpenOffice 3.0 appears to be modelled on a layout one
generation behind Microsoft's Fluent interface, which admittedly not everyone
has taken to .
Others maintain that the whole model of deskbound productivity applications
is obsolete, foreseeing a future in which businesses and individuals instead
use lightweight online applications such as Google's Docs . It is likely, however,
that all models will flourish in their own way-- desktop behemoths such as Office,
alternatives such as OpenOffice, and online apps -- being embraced by users
for different purposes.
» posted by abennett
Techworld.com
Symantec Backup Exec 12 and Backup Exec System Recovery 8 deliver industry leading Windows data protection and system recovery. Download this whitepaper to find out the top reasons to upgrade and how to get continuous data protection and complete system recovery.
Data and system loss — from a hard drive failure, malicious attack, natural disaster, or simple human error — can happen anytime. Don’t leave your business vulnerable. Make sure you have a secure recovery strategy in place. Symantec's latest backup and system recovery technology can efficiently restore critical applications, individual emails and documents and even restore your entire system in minutes in the event of a loss.
Businesses face a growing challenge to ensure that the IT environment is properly protected. Backup Exec 12 integrates with other applications in the Symantec family of products, to complement your current data protection strategy, keep your data securely backed up and make it recoverable when you need it most.
VMware ESX Server in the Enterprise
By Edward L. Haletky
Published Dec 29, 2007 by Prentice Hall.
Enter now! | Official rules | Sample chapter
Green IT
By Toby Velte, Anthony Velte, Robert C. Elsenpeter
To be published Oct. 10, 2008 by McGraw Hill Professional
Enter now! | Official rules | About the book
