Posts tagged Openoffice at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Posts with tag openoffice

OpenOffice.org 3 for Mac Beta is available

Posted May 8th 2008 1:30PM by Steven Sande
Filed under: Software, Open Source, Beta Beat

If you've been cursing the big price tag and lack of VBA support in Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, OpenOffice.org is coming to your rescue. Last September, the OpenOffice.org dev team announced that they would be porting the suite to run natively on the Mac. Previous versions ran under the X11 environment, which not only hogged resources, but didn't have the Aqua look and feel we all love.

OpenOffice.org 3.0 is still beta, but a quick test-drive of the application showed that it is almost ready for prime time. OOo is a full-featured office suite, complete with word processor (Writer), spreadsheet (Calc), presentation package (Impress), drawing app (Draw), as well as database tools (Base) that are sadly lacking in other office suites.

The feature set of OpenOffice.org 3 is impressive:

Imports Microsoft Office binary (.doc, .ppt, .xls) and Office 2007/Office 2008 for Mac (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) files
A solver component for solving optimization problems, something lacking in Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
Spreadsheet workbook sharing
Display of multiple Writer pages while editing
MS Office-like comments in Writer
Limited VBA macro support -- which is still better than no support
Extensibility with Mozilla Thunderbird and Lightning, Sun Wiki Publisher and Report Builder

The price of OpenOffice.org 3 is, as always, free! If you're up to test-driving beta ware that may not necessarily be as stable or fast as your other office suite(s), click here to be transported to the beta site.

OpenOffice coming to the Mac natively

Posted Sep 21st 2007 8:00AM by Mike Schramm
Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity, Open Source

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?

Sun joins OpenOffice Mac Porting Project

Posted May 3rd 2007 12:00PM by Scott McNulty
Filed under: Software, Open Source

Fans of OpenOffice, the open source alternative to MS Office, rejoice! Sun, the company that puts the dot in .com, has just announced that they are joining the OpenOffice Mac porting project. What does this mean? It means that the chances of a Aqua version of OpenOffice materializing has just gone way up. Jim Parkinson even suggests that Sun might port StarOffice (which is the version of OpenOffice that Sun distributes itself) to OS X.

Thanks, Mark.

Windows Office 2007 files not compatible with Mac Office 2004

Posted Dec 5th 2006 12:00PM by Laurie A. Duncan
Filed under: Enterprise, Software

Delayed or not, the next version of Microsoft Office for Mac can't come soon enough for those who have little choice but to stick with Office in corporate environments. Although we have enjoyed reasonable (but still far from perfect) compatibility with our Windows Office brethren for some time now, that all changes with Office 2007 for Windows, which uses a file format incompatible with Mac Office by default. Out of the box, Office 2007 saves documents in "Microsoft Office Open XML." The saved file formats are docx for Word, xlsx for Excel and pptx for PowerPoint.

The good news is that Novell has promised that it will release code for OpenOffice that will support the new file format, but it'll be at least another month or two before that's a viable option for end users, and there are still many corporate users who will be stuck since many of them don't have the option to use or install OpenOffice. Also, just because Novell releases the code to the open-source community, it doesn't mean it will actually get integrated into the OpenOffice suite, although it's a good bet.

Windows users with Office 2003 will, of course, be able to download a compatibility pack that will let them open Office 2007 files, but Mac users are being left in the cold, probably for months, while the Mac Business Unit at Microsoft takes their time in making a similar solution available to Mac users.

I know the comment section will now be flooded with comments about how Mac users should ditch Office completely and use OpenOffice, NeoOffice, ThinkFree, iWork or a host of other Office alternatives, and that's fine and dandy for many people. I encourage people who have the choice to explore other options on their personal or work computers that aren't completely locked down, to do so, with gusto. But the fact remains that the majority of corporate IT departments don't see it that way and since many of them still resent having to support Macs to begin with, these compatibility issues just make matters worse for Mac users in those environments and it makes it that much harder for them to do their jobs.

Give thanks and praise: native OpenOffice arriving next month

Posted Aug 31st 2006 8:00AM by David Chartier
Filed under: Software, Productivity

No, you aren't hallucinating: Macworld UK is reporting that a truly native version of OpenOffice (not the java-powered NeoOffice port) will be shipping next month. OpenOffice's journey to running on Mac OS X in a native format has been a rollercoaster ride over the years, with a post on their site in January of '05 basically nixing a native port altogether.

However, the stars have realigned and the port will see light of day after all. If you need visual proof, one of OO's developers posted some native screenshots on his blog. As far as when we can get our hands on a non-X11 OpenOffice package, we're tossing our chips in with Macworld UK's that we'll most likely see this release at September's OOoCon. Stay tuned.

NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta 3 ready to go

Posted Aug 28th 2006 5:00PM by Dave Caolo
Filed under: Software, Open Source

Pay attention, open source addicts, as this one is for you. The new beta of NeoOffice 2.0 is ready for download. NeoOffice, for those of you wondering, is an open-source office suite (including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and drawing apps) that's based on the OpenOffice project. Go grab your copy and check out the aqua goodness. The current NeoOffice beta requires Mac OS 10.3 or later, 384MB of RAM and 400MB of free disk space.

[Via MacDailyNews]

NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta released with Early Access Program

Posted Aug 1st 2006 3:30PM by David Chartier
Filed under: Software, Productivity

NeoOffice, everyone's favorite implementation of OpenOffice in java, has released a v.2 beta of their suite with a new and improved Aqua-friendly interface. This new version is based on a recent version of OpenOffice (2.0.3), which includes apps for word processing, databases, spreadsheets, drawing and presenting. NeoOffice, however, offers advantages over running OpenOffice on Mac OS X because it doesn't need the X11 Unix environment to run. Moreover, NeoOffice can integrate with the Finder and Mail, which was probably one of the winning attributes that warranted the 'Aqua' addition to the name.

The Early Access Program is, in my opinion, a really cool and clever way to bring in some money for the project's hard work (after all, this entire project is made up of volunteers, and somebody's gotta pay the bills). From now until the 14th of August, users can download a copy of 2.0 Aqua for a mere $25. From August 15th through 29th, the price drops to $10. After that, it goes back to free like it's always been. NeoOffice is also selling Early Access subscriptions for $60, which will offer (what else) early access privileges throughout the course of NeoOffice 2.x releases.

I personally haven't tried a copy yet (I already - unfortunately - sunk money into Office 2004), but I'm willing to bet with some of the java benchmarks we've seen on Intel Macs, this suite will run pretty well if you have Intel inside. This sounds like a good a case as any to grab a copy early and help support a great project.

[via MacNN]

MacDevCenter on NeoOffice/J

Posted Aug 12th 2005 2:00PM by C.K. Sample, III
Filed under: Software

One of our recurring points of discussion here at TUAW seems to revolve around the age old question: If not M$ Office, then what?. Well, Matthew Russell over at MacDevCenter has put together a pretty good answer to that question with What Is NeoOffice/J (and Can It Replace MS Office): "NeoOffice/J is the long-awaited Mac-friendly version of OpenOffice. This open source project provides Mac users with most of the functionality of Microsoft Office, but for free. Is NeoOffice robust enough to serve as your only office suite in a Microsoft-dominated world? Matthew Russell explores. Plus, an in-depth interview with its lead developer, Patrick Luby."

It's a rather thorough 2-page introduction to this Microsoft Office alternative followed by a 3 page interview with Patrick Luby, NeoOffice's Lead Developer. I especially like the list near the end of page 2 noting why someone who already owns Office should take a look at NeoOffice/J. The best answer in the list: "When Microsoft products crash, it reminds you of the days when you used Windows."

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Cory Bohon	89	1
2	Robert Palmer	65	45
3	Steven Sande	59	22
4	Scott McNulty	40	0
5	Mat Lu	40	10
6	Dave Caolo	38	0
7	Erica Sadun	28	2
8	Brett Terpstra	24	0
9	Mike Schramm	20	1
10	Michael Rose	11	32
11	Christina Warren	10	38
12	Joshua Ellis	3	2
13	Chris Ullrich	2	2
14	Lisa Hoover	2	6

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OpenOffice.org 3 for Mac Beta is available

OpenOffice coming to the Mac natively

Sun joins OpenOffice Mac Porting Project

Windows Office 2007 files not compatible with Mac Office 2004

Give thanks and praise: native OpenOffice arriving next month

NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta 3 ready to go

NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta released with Early Access Program

MacDevCenter on NeoOffice/J

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