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August 24, 2005
OpenOffice has its roots in Sun Microsystems' StarOffice suite of programs. Five years ago, Sun turned its proprietary software into an open-source project. Only recently, however, has the competitor to Microsoft's Office attracted serious attention.
Now Google believes it can help OpenOffice--perhaps working to pare down the software's memory requirements or its mammoth 80MB download size, said Chris DiBona, manager for open-source programs at the search company.
What's new:
Google plans to hire programmers to improve OpenOffice.org, an open-source software suite that competes with Microsoft's Office.
Bottom line:
The move strengthens the search giant's ties to open-source development. But Google also has business reasons to justify its embrace of OpenOffice, which competes directly with a Microsoft product.
"We want to hire a couple of folks to help make OpenOffice better," DiBona said.
Google has shown an affinity for open-source software, which are programs developed in the open and available for free. Many of the company's programmers came of age in the open-source era, so advancing the open-source agenda comes naturally, DiBona said. But the company also has business reasons to justify its open-source embrace.
"We use a fair amount of open-source software at Google. We want to make sure that's a healthy community. And we want to make sure open source preserves competitiveness within the industry," he said.
Earlier in October, Google and Sun announced a partnership to boost several software projects, but released few details. Asked about OpenOffice collaboration, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said at the time only that the search engine power would "work to make the distribution of (OpenOffice) more broad." But OpenOffice, like the other software projects the partners intend to work on, competes directly with Microsoft software--a point that has not gone unnoticed.
As one of the most-watched companies in the industry, Google's involvement has helped Sun draw attention to OpenOffice.org. And there are other reasons the software is taken more seriously as an alternative to Microsoft Office. For one thing, OpenOffice.org 2.0 was just released with a modernized interface and some new features. For another, OpenOffice.org supports OpenDocument, a standardized file format that many endorse as a way to break the lock-in of Microsoft's proprietary formats.
DiBona didn't mention a wider competitive perspective in giving Google's rationale for investing time and money on nonproprietary software. "We were looking for ways to work with Sun and ways to help users. This is a good place to spend some resources," he said.
Google's heavy use of open-source software for its operations has kept its developers in touch with cutting-edge technology, but the do-it-yourself approach has also meant that its employees have technology maintenance responsibilities that most companies leave to others.
Some believe Google eventually will have to settle with a more conventional approach: buying technology instead of building it in-house. Among them is Brian Stevens, chief technology officer of Linux seller Red Hat. He said many customers began with their own versions of Linux before turning to Red Hat for support.
"With most customers, we have a relationship that started that way. Every financial services company, the Department of Energy--almost everyone got Linux in a nonstandard way on their own," Stevens said. But Google probably won't keep its in-house Linux version, he predicted. "That's not where their competence is. They've got a lot of other problems than building Linux distributions."
A peek under the hood
Google is notoriously reluctant to describe the particulars of its search-computing data center, which served the demands of 380 million people in August. But DiBona did discuss some details.
The company uses the Linux operating system for its mainstay search
See more CNET content tagged:
OpenOffice,
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Google Inc.
That'd be nice.
Xwindow system (X11) at OpenOffice.org. Or if you want a native
Mac version you could download NeoOffice/J
(http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php) which is
basically carbonized OpenOffice.
Good luck
Right now OO.o version 2 for the Mac stands at release
candidate status, slightly behind the release schedule of other
versions. The OpenOffice team made an announcement that
they plan to create a native version of OO.o for Mac using the
Cocoa framework, but will take time to implement. There is an
almost native version of OpenOffice 1.1 called NeoOffice/J which
already uses a mixture of Java/Cocoa on the frontend. A very
nice compliment to the X11 version since it supports more Mac
OS X core technologies than the former.
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/2.0.0rc3.html
http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php
That'd be nice.
Xwindow system (X11) at OpenOffice.org. Or if you want a native
Mac version you could download NeoOffice/J
(http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php) which is
basically carbonized OpenOffice.
Good luck
Right now OO.o version 2 for the Mac stands at release
candidate status, slightly behind the release schedule of other
versions. The OpenOffice team made an announcement that
they plan to create a native version of OO.o for Mac using the
Cocoa framework, but will take time to implement. There is an
almost native version of OpenOffice 1.1 called NeoOffice/J which
already uses a mixture of Java/Cocoa on the frontend. A very
nice compliment to the X11 version since it supports more Mac
OS X core technologies than the former.
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/2.0.0rc3.html
http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php
Wow. Just, wow.
I think the logical choice would be AmiagaOS. Great support there!
Wow. Just, wow.
I think the logical choice would be AmiagaOS. Great support there!
alternatives. For example WingZ (spreadsheet) and WriteNow
(word processor) were both much better than MS's offerings, but
they failed to take hold against MS's marketing and the hoard
like masses in the computer world. I think Apple has the code
rights to WingZ (re-branded as Resolve), but WriteNow was
written in assembler. Would love to see Apple re-release Resolve
as a Mac OS X native application . . . PLEASE!
As for a word processor, I long ago gave up because Word
basically killed everyone else, even though Word is a pretty bad
product. So, I just bit the bullet and learned LaTeX! For shorter
work, I use Mellel, which is close to being like WriteNow.
Want a free iPod: http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=22990096
alternatives. For example WingZ (spreadsheet) and WriteNow
(word processor) were both much better than MS's offerings, but
they failed to take hold against MS's marketing and the hoard
like masses in the computer world. I think Apple has the code
rights to WingZ (re-branded as Resolve), but WriteNow was
written in assembler. Would love to see Apple re-release Resolve
as a Mac OS X native application . . . PLEASE!
As for a word processor, I long ago gave up because Word
basically killed everyone else, even though Word is a pretty bad
product. So, I just bit the bullet and learned LaTeX! For shorter
work, I use Mellel, which is close to being like WriteNow.
Want a free iPod: http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=22990096
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/192250&from=rss
Added to these are Microsoft's plans for its "SharePoint" technologies integration and perhaps enhancements to its Communications Server "Live" strategies for Real-Time Collaboration and Communication. These are but a few of the product and marketshare issues that the IBM/Google/Sun Microsystems Partnership would have to contend with against Microsoft!
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/192250&from=rss
Added to these are Microsoft's plans for its "SharePoint" technologies integration and perhaps enhancements to its Communications Server "Live" strategies for Real-Time Collaboration and Communication. These are but a few of the product and marketshare issues that the IBM/Google/Sun Microsystems Partnership would have to contend with against Microsoft!
Threatening the user with loss of information every time time he wants to save in MS Office format is a BAD IDEA!
MS Office file formats should be the default, so that OpenOffice works as a slot-in replacement for the average user.
Then the OpenDocument formats will become a selling point instead of a liability.
And how can MS Office formats be a standard when they change from one release to the next? With OpenDocument, you'll be able to open that lengthy document you created in OpenOffice over ten years ago. Try doing that with a Microsoft product and see how far that gets you.
Since when...must an Open Source take on a PAY-TO-USE software.
IVERY
Threatening the user with loss of information every time time he wants to save in MS Office format is a BAD IDEA!
MS Office file formats should be the default, so that OpenOffice works as a slot-in replacement for the average user.
Then the OpenDocument formats will become a selling point instead of a liability.
And how can MS Office formats be a standard when they change from one release to the next? With OpenDocument, you'll be able to open that lengthy document you created in OpenOffice over ten years ago. Try doing that with a Microsoft product and see how far that gets you.
Since when...must an Open Source take on a PAY-TO-USE software.
IVERY
http://www.megageekonline.com/news.asp?ID=180
http://www.megageekonline.com/news.asp?ID=180
make familiarities with MS office so it would minimize any
reason not to give those products a chance in the market. All
web browsers are pretty much the same look and feel wise; you
have Back, Forward, Reload and Stop buttons, no matter what
browser it is. You say that they copy Microsoft, but don't you
think that Microsoft did the same when trying to compete with
Lotus 123 and WordPerfect back in the day. Look and feel of
office applications has been copied back and forth for years. MS
Office isn't all original look and feel wise, Microsoft borrowed
such from other competitors and competitors borrowed from
Microsoft; it's been happening for years and unlikely to change.
Darn if you do, darn if you don't!
of the ancient Mac desktops to begin with. The
whole PC market was "open" when they
started and the only deviation they could think
of was recycling bin instead of trash can.
But they did keep their simplified internal
system the same since time began though.
Thus the plethora of goofy games and cheap
software available for PCs. And also the
continuing array of viruses, trojans and other
security risks a child could come up with.
So Mac has limited choices in free game
downloads and cheesy clip art. That's ok. We''l
keep the quality graphics, video and music
software instead and leave the big text editing
dilemmas cooling on the window.
I do have to praise SpellCheck though. A
right-brain phonetically impaired person such
as myself would be lost without it.
make familiarities with MS office so it would minimize any
reason not to give those products a chance in the market. All
web browsers are pretty much the same look and feel wise; you
have Back, Forward, Reload and Stop buttons, no matter what
browser it is. You say that they copy Microsoft, but don't you
think that Microsoft did the same when trying to compete with
Lotus 123 and WordPerfect back in the day. Look and feel of
office applications has been copied back and forth for years. MS
Office isn't all original look and feel wise, Microsoft borrowed
such from other competitors and competitors borrowed from
Microsoft; it's been happening for years and unlikely to change.
Darn if you do, darn if you don't!
of the ancient Mac desktops to begin with. The
whole PC market was "open" when they
started and the only deviation they could think
of was recycling bin instead of trash can.
But they did keep their simplified internal
system the same since time began though.
Thus the plethora of goofy games and cheap
software available for PCs. And also the
continuing array of viruses, trojans and other
security risks a child could come up with.
So Mac has limited choices in free game
downloads and cheesy clip art. That's ok. We''l
keep the quality graphics, video and music
software instead and leave the big text editing
dilemmas cooling on the window.
I do have to praise SpellCheck though. A
right-brain phonetically impaired person such
as myself would be lost without it.
Just because their opinion does align with your, does not mean
they have some "emotional" issues. Yeah Word has its pros and
cons; my biggest grief with it has been well hidden features that
I have to keep a cheat sheet in order to find them (at times) and
when using Word during long sessions, it starts to act funny and
crash for no apparent reason. I had to eventually adopt the
'click save' every few minutes to protect from any loss of
productivity and/or data.
..."Your analogy with the car industry is flawed. I don't choose to
drive a BMW because I think Mercedes cars are "pretty bad". I can
actually own the BMW without slamming the competition. Rarely
can that be said of Mac advocates, Linux advocates, and open
source advocates. Those guys do more to alienate others than to
gain support."...
Reread my car analogy, it only states the desires of the car
buyer, whatever that may be. And as for Windows advocates;
they are as bad as any other advocate of any computer platform,
so why single them out of the lineup for your rational discussion
here? Your bias shows through and through!
Just because their opinion does align with your, does not mean
they have some "emotional" issues. Yeah Word has its pros and
cons; my biggest grief with it has been well hidden features that
I have to keep a cheat sheet in order to find them (at times) and
when using Word during long sessions, it starts to act funny and
crash for no apparent reason. I had to eventually adopt the
'click save' every few minutes to protect from any loss of
productivity and/or data.
..."Your analogy with the car industry is flawed. I don't choose to
drive a BMW because I think Mercedes cars are "pretty bad". I can
actually own the BMW without slamming the competition. Rarely
can that be said of Mac advocates, Linux advocates, and open
source advocates. Those guys do more to alienate others than to
gain support."...
Reread my car analogy, it only states the desires of the car
buyer, whatever that may be. And as for Windows advocates;
they are as bad as any other advocate of any computer platform,
so why single them out of the lineup for your rational discussion
here? Your bias shows through and through!
and applications is atleast 5 years ahead of the overall
functionality and appication availability (from both MS and
others) then Mac or Linux."...
I (as well as many others) would beg to differ on that front. The
amount of applications means a hill of beans if most are
redundant in their respective categories of the computer
software market. As for functionality, Windows is behind the
curve in regards to Mac OS X and that's been pretty much the
case throughout the history of the two operating systems. Even
Linux is making inroads to Windows on functionality and ease of
use.
..."If and when there is a compable OS around that is either
cheaper or better then Windows I will be the first to make that
switch."...
Well, indulge yourself; because cheaper and better already exists
in many flavors!
I am not a gamer but this is just one of categories where other OSs are at least "5" years behind. So for now I will "indulge" myself with Windows.
and applications is atleast 5 years ahead of the overall
functionality and appication availability (from both MS and
others) then Mac or Linux."...
I (as well as many others) would beg to differ on that front. The
amount of applications means a hill of beans if most are
redundant in their respective categories of the computer
software market. As for functionality, Windows is behind the
curve in regards to Mac OS X and that's been pretty much the
case throughout the history of the two operating systems. Even
Linux is making inroads to Windows on functionality and ease of
use.
..."If and when there is a compable OS around that is either
cheaper or better then Windows I will be the first to make that
switch."...
Well, indulge yourself; because cheaper and better already exists
in many flavors!
I am not a gamer but this is just one of categories where other OSs are at least "5" years behind. So for now I will "indulge" myself with Windows.
Hell, NTFS is still decades behind other file systems, and that won't be available until at LEAST 2007. When was the last time you had to defrag anything other then FAT or NTFS?
MS are the ones constantly behind others. And in the few cases they have features others don't those "features" normally amount to unused bloat and security issues.
With all the effort CNET put into making each page on this site as cluttered as possible, couldn't they have put the effort into an edit function?
- Really?
-
by Bill Dautrive
November 1, 2005 4:32 PM PST
- Then why is the upcoming versions of IE and Windows a copy of what others have released already, in some cases years ago. Even when Vista is released it will still be behind others in stability because of MS's insistance of sticking with their registry. Which is the main reason windows OS's degrade over time, when others do not. In fact, Windows is the only OS that degrades over time.
-
Reply to this comment
-
-
- Whoops
-
by Bill Dautrive
November 1, 2005 4:34 PM PST
- The above comments were meant for the post title "cut the crap".
-
View
reply
-
See all 118 Comments >>Hell, NTFS is still decades behind other file systems, and that won't be available until at LEAST 2007. When was the last time you had to defrag anything other then FAT or NTFS?
MS are the ones constantly behind others. And in the few cases they have features others don't those "features" normally amount to unused bloat and security issues.
With all the effort CNET put into making each page on this site as cluttered as possible, couldn't they have put the effort into an edit function?