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ZDNet Reviews KOffice

Posted by timothy on from the doesn't-kill-makes-stronger dept.

Spotted over at dot.kde.org -- this review of KOffice. The review isn't overwhelmingly positive or negative -- seems like a rather balanced picture of both what's up to par, and what's still missing, for mainstream acceptance in the Normal Workplaces of the world.

3 of 268 comments (clear)

  1. Yeah but the price is right! by Robber+Baron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    M$ Office: $200-300
    K Office: N/C (comes bundled with various distros)

    That in itself is an important feature...

    --

    You're using her as bait, Master!

  2. Good Article by krmt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I thought the article was very fair. It didn't seem to expect the world out of KOffice, and made the point that it was a volunteer effort.

    Having recently fired up KOffice for the first time since the 1.1 release, I've got to say I'm really happy with where it's going. The team has done a great job on getting component embedding working (although it crashed on me when I started pushing it around a bit) and I really think this will shape up to be an incredibly powerful suite.

    Of course, these things don't happen overnight. It took Linux about 8 or 9 years to start gaining more widespread acceptance in the server area. KOffice is a tremendous project, and it'll take a long time to get to the point where it can compete with MS Office. Remember, software like this doesn't just happen overnight, it has to evolve. MS Office has had over a decade to get to where it is. I have a feeling we'll start seeing KOffice as a real alternative to MS in a few years.

    --

    "I may not have morals, but I have standards."

  3. Exchange: More than EMail by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 4, Insightful


    What about sendmail (or many others) instead of Exchange server, and KMail instead of the MS email client?


    Exchange does something other mail servers don't do. And it does it well.


    I was going to say "groupware". But that's a bit of a misnomer. It does have various groupware functionality - but its specifically scheduling that it does well. Other groupware aspects are almost a brief afterthought.


    Sure - there are other scheduling competitors out there. But I watched Cisco Systems gravitate towards Exchange despite their heavy investment in a Unix mail infrastructure and the problems a diverse desktop OS user base causes for functionality with Microsoft products (Cisco endorses Win2k, Solaris, and Linux as supported desktop options for their employees).


    Its a shame that Exchange forces one to pick up all the usual MS bagage along with an otherwise top tier product.