Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity, Open Source
OpenOffice coming to the Mac natively
Our Weblogs, Inc. buddies at Download Squad bring us this news: OpenOffice is going to be able to run natively on the Mac in 2008.The OpenOffice suite is getting pretty impressive-- while Writer, Impress, and Calc might not be necessary when you have Pages, Keynote, and Numbers around, OpenOffice's Math, Draw, and Base will probably be welcome additions to a few Macs out there. And don't underestimate compatibility-- back when I had to use a PC at work, OpenOffice was a constant tool, and using the same program at work and home has its advantages for people who are forced to co-OS.
If you can't wait another year, there is still an alpha version available of the native port, and you might be waiting even longer than 2008 anyway-- we were promised a native port a year ago that apparently never showed up in full form. And don't forget about NeoOffice, either-- it's a very nice branch of the OpenOffice code that already natively runs on the Mac. Why wait for OpenOffice to get in gear when those folks have been punching out a native app for a long time now?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chris Coleman said 8:22AM on 9-21-2007
Seriously? We've been hearing this for at least five years, and it never seems to happen.
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5cents said 8:36AM on 9-21-2007
NeoOffice is decent but flippin slow. For me the biggest bonus of a native OO port would be speed enhancements.
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Thayne Miller said 8:42AM on 9-21-2007
I've been using NeoOffice for quite some time now, and while I do like it more than M$'s products, I still prefer apple's own iWork Suite. Now with Numbers, and Google Docs, I don't see any reason at all to keep NeoOffice on my machine. OO, you're too late.
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Maddles said 8:55AM on 9-21-2007
If you've got the RAM NeoOffice can be 100% faster than MS:Office 2004. Having 1.5GB I know firsthand. Virtual memory is also important as it swallows 1.2GB just sitting there.
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pt said 8:55AM on 9-21-2007
This would read a whole lot better without the negative stabs. Maybe contribute a little and do some positive reporting, rather than firing shots from the sideline?
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Flyboybob said 9:48PM on 9-21-2007
Occasionally I have to modify a Word or PowerPoint document that was created on a PC at work and NeoOffice is a great tool. However, the NeoOffice version of PowerPoint is still not 100% compatible with PowerPoint presentations that were created in MS Office 2003 on the PC. That would be a great addition.
Also, IBM announced that they are releasing their version of Open Office on the PC as Lotus Symphony. The first integrated 'Office" type software program was created in 1986 by the original Lotus Development Company for the Macintosh platform. I have a copy, which I used on my 512 Fat Mac for several years until I bought a Performa 6300CD which came with Claris Works. Symphony still works great on the old Fat Mac.
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Rhywun said 10:38AM on 9-21-2007
> Why wait for OpenOffice to get in gear...
Why indeed. That's why I bought the new iWork and I'm glad I did. I understand the enormous effort that goes into OpenOffice and all its variants but frankly it's just not any kind of pleasure to use--not when it mimics all the worst traits of MS Office (bloat, terrible UI).
@5Cents:
NeoOffice is already a native port. There's no guarantee OpenOffice is going to be able do it any better.
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Johnny Thrash said 10:41AM on 9-21-2007
Until you can view 2 pages on the screen at the same time, I'll never consider OO or NO. Personally I think they are both extremely ugly applications and I don't really care for an All-In-One office suite. But that's just me.
Pages allows me to view 2 pages side-by-side and comes with the fantastic new Numbers... I don't need anything extra. =)
But to each his own. /cheers It's Friday!
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Steve said 10:52AM on 9-21-2007
Um... NeoOffice is not what I'd call "native". It's a Java app, and IMO all Java apps are lousy: slow, non-standard UI elements (especially file browsing), etc.
So basically you choose between X11 or Java. Neither is close to a true "native" i.e. Cocoa app. I'd rather use a Carbon app like MS Office, or even better iWork 08. As other posters have said, with iWork 08 why use something that looks and feels so much like a bad port?
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Todd Bradley said 11:07AM on 9-21-2007
Yes, I'm running NeoOffice on my MacBook Pro this very moment, and it's working fine for me. I appreciate their efforts to make OpenOffice run on the Mac, but what's taking so freaking long? I read an announcement about this several months (a year?) ago. Where's the beef?
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noza said 11:32AM on 9-21-2007
NeoOffice is terrible. Seriously, just resizing a window makes it flash so bad it almost gives me a seizure. I can easily type faster than it can render text. It's slow and painful, and I have a Mac Pro with 4GB of RAM, so don't tell me I just need more memory or a faster machine.
I'm anxiously awaiting the full Aqua port of OpenOffice.org. The alpha versions are already quite good.
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hohonuuli said 11:45AM on 9-21-2007
@Steve
"NeoOffice is not what I'd call "native". It's a Java app, and IMO all Java apps are lousy: slow, non-standard UI elements (especially file browsing), etc."
Hello, 1999 called and it wants it's java memes back...
"slow"...um, no. Java is fast. Do a search yourself for references.
"non-standard UI elements"...What does a standard UI element look like? Native mac apps can have one of about 4 different L&F's. Today people use online web-apps...none of which have a 'standard L&F". Current JVM's have very good fidelity to a 'typical' L&F on the host platform.
NeoOffice uses Java and Apple's (now-deprecated) java-cocoa bindings for some some graphics drawing and configuration. See http://neowiki.neooffice.org/index.php/NeoOffice_and_Aqua for details. Many of the UI elements are native.
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Manny said 11:57AM on 9-21-2007
I've used OOo on Macs, Windows, and Linux boxes...every one of them ran just slightly faster than pond water. I wish the developers would streamline OOo and stop trying to be just like Microsoft bloatware.
Lemme plug my favorite word processor...Abiword! Its quick and simple...and works on Macs
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David Sparks said 1:13PM on 9-21-2007
I never could get serious about NeoOffice and while I sometimes use M$ Word (when I absolutely have no choice), I've found the the latest rendition of iWork to do the job in most cases (along with an occasional foray into Scriviner). Regardless, OO may be too little, too late.
http://www.macsparky.com
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sherivan said 5:11PM on 9-22-2007
I've tried to use NeoOffice for Mac. The learning curve is extremely steep, the interface is not intuitive (for me), and it feels like a PC app. But I keep trying, because it's FREE (donations are accepted).
For a word processor, though, I LOVE Nisus Writer Pro (www.nisus.com), and only use NeoOffice Impress, Calc, and Base (really hard to learn, that one), as a substitute for apps that cost money.
In my experience, open source apps tend to be a little less "Mac-like" in their UI or in their operation. (For example, The GIMP, an X11-based app, actually uses the Ctrl key instead of the Command key for open, save, etc.)
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tevetorbes said 4:45PM on 9-21-2007
Until EndNote plays nicely with anything other than Word, I (and many of my colleagues) are stuck with the duo.
I would LOVE to use OpenOffice or NeoOffice or anything else, but without EndNote its just not possible.
Oh well- guess I'm stuck with my crappy non-universal app still :(
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clark Goble said 6:41PM on 9-21-2007
I'm not fan of NeoOffice but it isn't a Java app. The developers posted on Slashdot last fall when the "native" OpenOffice was released and they said the main reason for the speed problems was from when Apple's text handling routines were put into replace the X11 ones. They strongly suggested there was no real way around this and that when OpenOffice got to that stage they'd have the same speed problems. I've no idea if this is true. If someone's really energetic I'm sure they can find the quote from Slashdot.
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adrian said 4:04PM on 9-22-2007
I have to respect the Open Office team for what they have done so far because at the end of the day this powerful application is free. However if they are serious about taking taking on Microsoft in all areas of Office they are going to have to get there arse in gear and get this native Mac version sorted. It may be small market to the OO team but it still counts.
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Macskeeball said 4:13PM on 9-29-2007
I like storing my data in a format that is an open standard. NeoOffice (and OpenOffice) uses the OpenDocument format, and that's why I use it.
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Dave said 9:28AM on 9-30-2007
You can use OpenOffice with X11 coding on Macs now.
I have been using it for almost 2 years on 2 Macs:
PPC 1 GHz G4 powerbook and dual core 1.83 GHz iMac.
My wife's 2.2 GHz C2D macbook runs it even better.
Those who complain of speed from OOo are loons.
This app worked better than Office 2007 then...
OOo 2.2 has been out for almost a year, 2.3 soon!
You don't have to wait for the native Mac version.
Go to openoffice.org and see for yourself.
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