April 27, 2004
eWeek OpenOffice review
Here's my take on eweeks latest Ooo review.
OpenOffice.Org 1.1.1
Cons
# File-format compatibility issues Although OpenOffice.org does a good job of handling Microsoft Office file formats, small formatting inconsistencies will require reworking of complex documents.
Agreed - this is due to proprietary microsoft formats. Its not really a con - Its a problem of Microsoft Lock-in.
# Lack of traditional support Office suites typically do not require much vendor support, but the fact that OpenOffice.org is an open-source project means software support must come from the community, generally spread out across various Web sites and newsgroups.
Disagree - There are several vendors offering support. For purchased support Sun as well as Redhat and Suse.
# Interface differences OpenOffice.org is similar to Microsoft Office in its design, but users will need some time to grow accustomed to differences between the two.
Disagree - this again isn't a downside of the product, but rather a product of Microsoft Lock-in.
My cons:
* Ooo's gui is not pretty enough.
* Would like to see integrated addressbook/email
* Wordperfect + Lotus 123 filters
For a list of the bugs in 2.0
Office 2003
Pros
# Familiarity Most knowledge workers use some version of Microsoft Office already.
Disagree - this again isn't a downside of the product, but rather a product of Microsoft Lock-in.
# File-format compatibility Microsoft Office file formats are de facto standards.
Disagree - this again isn't a downside of the product, but rather a due to Microsoft Lock-in.
# Advanced features Office 2003 has more features and capabilities than competing suites. Although many users do not require or use much of this functionality, advanced users, particularly of spreadsheets, often find it vital.
Agree - thats why you can still find Lotus 123 users around. For statistical calculations gnumeric is the superior spreadsheet.
Cons
# High licensing costs Microsoft Office licenses
Sure.
# Advanced features require latest versions
Sure - you need to upgrade your whole office if one person is using that feature.
A bigger issue is that that the XML format that Office uses is proprietary. Opening it in anything other that Office could put you in jail.
I believe I forecasted this a couple of years ago....
A more recent openoffice 2.0 review I wrote
Posted by Anthony at April 27, 2004 02:14 PM | TrackBack