It’s been a while since I heard something from the office applications front lines. And today, while catching with news in my Google Reader, here is what I saw (or almost what I saw, since I am reading in Expanded mode, and not in List):
Three articles in a row, and all are about the office applications. Either it’s an unlikely coincidence, or TechMeme is doing something wrong, or … the office wars are back and that’s the most exciting and hyped about topic in the tech industry right now. Which one do you think it is?
P.S.: Here are the links to the articles: one, two, three.
Possibly wars are back.
I hope it'll motivate someone to start proper office suite under free license. Linux world still lack office tools. Surely, we all can use Google, but it isn't the best solution for businesses. Do not even mention OOo. It never was good an will be killed by Oracle soon.
Nothing will ever kill Open Office. It's free and it's "good enough" for a lot of people. Plus many people already use. And it's open. These all factors are important enough to guarantee a very long life for Open Office.
As for Oracle, they are well known for their "enterprise" approach and prices that will blow your mind. I know, cause I had to deal with their proposals for different systems.
It's not just good enough, it's bad enough. Have a look at koffice, or at google docs. They both are better in different ways. Koffice supports ODF only, but does it well. GDocs supports many formats (all?), has collaboration, version control, sharing, publishing and platform independent. What's the point for ugly ooo to develop ugliness further? Why not design completely new oss office platform from scratch, offering all new features, collaboration @least?
OOO is bad, always was bad and, I afraid, will remain bad. Many have enough motivation to learn it, but it even reduced users cognition to bad practices. I had also motivated myself to use it and used for years unless I was forced to try new office technologies offered by Microsoft(sic!) and Google. And, man, they are at the bleeding edge, and open source is not. All my desire to see OOo dead comes from the statement that it never was good. Project itself started badly, and remained badly. Now it's to big and too old to change it's course, so it should die.