SuSE Linux will run Microsoft Office

PizzaFace writes "SuSE Linux is developing a desktop Linux distribution that will allow Windows users to continue using (some of) their Windows applications, including Microsoft Office. The SuSE Linux Office Desktop will be available for $129 in January, and will include Acronis OS Selector for disk partitioning during installation and Codeweavers CrossOver Office for Windows API emulation."

Comments

Conversion in process

[Deton8]

Half of my engineers just switched to Linux plus StarOffice for their day-to-day communications. So far, so good. If these emulators get good enough to run OrCAD, Modelsim, and the FPGA development packages, then we can lose Windows completely from our R&D operation.

Re:Conversion in process

[Lumpy]

Why OrCAD? Have you looked at Eagle CAD? It's pretty darn close to ORCAD and is a helluva lot cheaper.. (an a large number of companies are using it now) plus it run's under linux as they sell a Linux version along with their windows version. I gave a copy (free student version that allows only 2 layer boards) to one of our design engineers, he was tickled after a couple of months and asked if we could purchase it for here. I guess the scriptable backend to automate many processes makes his job easier. I'm betting that Modelsim and the FPGA stuff will run under wine.... have you tried?

Umm

[Mr_Silver]

I don't want to be the miserable sod but this is just Suse including Crossover Office in their distribution rather than getting you to download it seperately.

It's not exactly earth shattering news. Whats next? Slashdot reporting that that distibution Blah is going to come with WINE already pre-installed?

Or am I missing something major entirely?

Re:Umm

[garcia]

I think the point is that a typically "easy to use" distribution is going to come w/Office working out of the box.

It's just one step closer to what SOME of the Linux community want, easy to use desktop, easy transition from Windows, full Office support.

Downloading a product, installing said product, and getting it to work, are not the easiest things for most to do. This is what you are missing.

Re:Umm

[fatbitch]

everytime I read comments relating to linux and the desktop/business world I am frustrated by the short sightedness of some posters.

What SuSE are doing here is making the process of utilising Linux *easy* - I feel that there is a group of posters to slashdot that are extremely stubborn and opposed to this notion.

I own a car, I am not a mechanic, when I buy a car or take it to the garage I don't want to be told - 'sorry you can only drive on x type of road, to drive on y you have to replace the gearbox and upgrade the tires - we can give you the instructions but we won't do it for you' - I want to hand over my money and have a working vehicle I can drive on the majority of the roads availble to me. I don't care how it is done - I want it to work.

My father on the other hand is a mechanic - he wants to be able to modify his car as much as he wants, and to be able to drive on all the roads in the world - he would be dissapointed if he could not and probably wouldn't buy a car which would not allow him to do this.

This analogy can be applied to both Linux and Windows:

Linux satisfies the mechanic in that he can strip the car(OS) down to it's nuts and bolts and build it up in any way he wants - however (without such efforts as described in this story about SuSe) if a home user wants to mod the car(OS) so it can drive on a different type of road(run office) it is possible however without the knowledge and tools(Crossover) he cannot do it - instant dissatisfaction with his purchase.

Windows makes an effort to satisfy the home user - it can do a bunch of wizzy things - but it's pretty unreliable and can also be quite complex to setup (albeit easier that Linux) - however it can never satify the mechanic as you can't look under the hood

Linux has the ability to satisfy both types of person - in a far more complete manner that Windows could ever do. It is efforts like these that should be applauded. If SuSE bundle windows compatability with their distro does it prevent the mechanic playing with the inner workings of the OS ? no he not restricted in any way. Does it help the home user that they can install and run Office without finding out what an .rpm is ? yes
(o.k it may not be *this* easy but you get the idea)

The Linux world has some of the most talented programmers working for it - the 'mechanics' of the world are more that catered for, however home users are sadly neglected by both Linux and Windows. The work of Suse, Lycorix, Lindows, Debian is all a step in the right direction as usability and simplicity is the key to Linux succeeding.

Re:Umm

[Gerein]

Or am I missing something major entirely?

I think so. The point is, that SuSE is developing a new version of their distribution aimed at the corporate desktop. Crossover Office is just one special component, that'll differ from their normal distribution. There will be other stuff to make the transition from windows easier and probably no more server installations.

Second thing you miss is this. "Now for only $54.95"... CrossOver Office is not free. You can't just "download it seperately" for your normal SuSE distribution.

Reality

[e8johan]

It is sad, but this is probably the best way to get into the desktop business. The ability to run Office is often a requirement when companies aquire OSs.

It seems that they have realized that the transition has to be smooth "SuSE Linux Office Desktop combines the technology and user-friendliness of SuSE Linux 8.1 with proven tools that facilitate the migration from Windows operating systems and applications".

And the biggest advantage of this solution is also brought up the the press release: "SuSE Linux Office Desktop seamlessly enables the continued use of existing data".

The Linux distros must realize (and seems to have realized) that the average desktop user does not care for open source or extra choices. The average user simply wants a productive desktop that is easy to use and works they way they expect it to.

Re:Crossover

[Angry White Guy]

How many geeks are going to buy a desktop OS? None. How many people want to try Linux but can't give up their Office(tm)? Suse apparently is banking on lots.

This is not for geeks. Maybe for geeks-in-training, but not for geeks!

Interresting problem for Microsoft...

[Max Romantschuk]

I wonder how Microsoft is going to respond to this one... Earlier today I learned that Microsoft is trying to force users to upgrade their OS with Office 11... This is an option they obviously would not like their users to have.

Re:Interresting problem for Microsoft...

[Unipuma]

Could this perhaps be that with Windows 2000 SP3 or Win XP (which are required for Office 11), they can have different API calls that have not been made available in Wine/CrossOver?
I can imagine that by changing the software to make calls to the newest APIs, there's a smaller chance that these have already been made available to Linux users through Wine/CrossOver, and thus users would find their Office 11 not working on this SuSE version.

Re:Crossover

[rseuhs]

Because SuSE will offer a complete solution without hassles. (no downloads, no extra installs, no extra budgets)

That said, no it's not for everybody. But a lot of users (especially corporations) will find it useful if it is preconfigured so that installing and using Win32 apps is easily and fast done.

Ease of installation is what counts

[ites]

The 'just download package X' syndrome is one of the main barriers for simple folk using Linux.
Actually, even for experienced users, it's a relief when we get something like Debian's apt.
What SuSE are doing here is to provide a distro that will run MS-Office with no tuning or tweaking or HOWTOs.
This is at once banal, and important. Seamless compatability with Microsoft products is a key tool in the fight to move users off Windows.
And this news is a sign that SuSE have understood this. That's worth saying.
(Just to give another example, we spent several days trying to make Oracle 9i work with Debian, and RedHat, and finally tried SuSE... it came with the necessary (trivial) user accounts preconfigured, and Oracle 9i installed and ran almost at once.

Great...

[Calomnious Awkward]

...now I can finally run NortonAV on my Linux box too. (or was that 'have too')

Windows 98 won't run MS Office

[delphi125]

http://news.google.com/news?num=30&hl=en&ie=UTF-8& filter=0&q=cluster:www%2ebetanews%2ecom%2farticle% 2ephp3%3fsid%3d1035914045

I'm surprised this isn't on the /. main page already!

Too expensive for non-geeks

[TheLinuxWarrior]

Why bother with SuSE for $129, when you can get Xandros (which has the same office functionality) for $99.

And of course Xandros is based on Debian, which I hear has a package management system that is the cats ass.

Pffft

[bogie]

Just keep piling on that proprietary code into the core of your distro. We all know thats the key to making the linux desktop successful. Just keep adding more and more proprietary code until you've created another windows.

Hell the GPL just exists so that companies can pay lip service anyway. Right? I mean that's the trend now. Make your distro mostly GPL and then tack on some proprietary stuff?

Everyones doing it, so it MUST be the right thing to do.

I can't wait until every linux distro is in some small way proprietary! Won't that be great! After all it IS how linux made its name.

Office 11 EULA

[earthforce_1]

So what is to stop microsoft from slipping something into the EULA prohibiting Office 11 from being used on a "potentially viral" GPLed OS?

Mac Office on Linux?

[alistair]

If running Microsoft Office on Linux is such a requirement, why is there no effort to run Mac OS X applications on Linux?

Microsoft Office X is far nicer then office 2000/XP and can read all these file formats. Microsoft make good money out of this port so aren't going to stop producing it any time soon. Because Microsoft don't own the underlying OS they are restricted in the number of changes they can make to Office X to break emulator compatability, unlike with WINE.

Yet OS X is based on Free BSD, so a binary compatability layer should be far easier than emulating Microsoft Windows. I realise this wouldn't give us Visio and possibly not Access, but I would take this option up long before running a heavyweight WINE install on my box, plus we would get the nice Mac plugins which ae generally every bit as good as their Windows versions.

Re:Mac Office on Linux?

[GauteL]

Because x86 Linux is more widespread and important than PowerPC-linux.

WINE is not an emulator, it's just an implentation of the WIN32-api. Running Office X would also require emulating a totally different processor architecture.

Running OSX-apps on PowerPC-Linux might be possible if someone implement all the APIs necessary (perhaps GNUStep might work in the future to run cocoa-apps).

There are however LOADS more developers for Linux/BSD on x86 than on PowerPC.

Um, and how do I win here?

[occamboy]

OK, so here's the selling proposition:

For $129 I can get an OS that runs Office (but doesn't include it, as far as I can see) and which possibly runs other Windows apps, and which definitely runs Linux apps.

Or, for much less than $129 I can get an OS (Windows XP), that absolutely runs MS Office and which definitely runs vrtually all other Windows apps.

Linux is useful and fun for us nerds, but is a bit of a sell to non-nerds, and I don't see the above selling proposition as favoring SUSE for desktop applications -- Linux has no inherent appeal to non-nerds.

If one really wants or needs to run MS Office, XP makes sense. If one wants Linux on the desktop, I'd go with Redhat 8.0 (with its out-of-the-box non-sucking fonts, except in Mozilla) along with Open Office (excellent free replacement for MS Office) and other software that is designed for Linux use.

Re:Great news!

[esarjeant]

Maybe. Does anyone else remember IBM OS/2? Excellent Windows compatibility was included all the way to OS/2 Warp and yet it didn't turn out to be the Windows killer.

IMHO, the inclusion of emulation layers is the first sign that your system is somehow incomplete or incapable. For that matter, take a look at the entire NT architecture -- the foundation of the Microsoft system is emulation. It can be an OS/2 machine, Win16 or even -gasp- NT....

It could be a nice tool for attracting users with applications that currently only run on Win32, but I'm not sure MS Office is the best example of this. The real issues are going to be legacy apps without Linux counterparts (client/server programs that require ODBC/OLEDB, accounting software, POS, etc.), especially those that support an existing database or proprietary firmware devices. If Crossover can successfully support these, then I think it will have done it's job.

Meanwhile, for those considering a move to Linux they should take a good look at OpenOffice, KOffice, AbiWord and any of the other myriad authoring solutions for UNIX (Emacs, TeX, etc.)

Better uses for $129

[nagora]

Get yourself a copy of RH/Mandrake/whatever and send the 129 bucks to OpenOffice.org. Why rely on software with no source code? It doesn't make any sense.

TWW

Re:I'm a little tired...

[mccalli]

Face it, people... you DO NOT NEED ANY Microsoft programs anymore. Unless you are a hard core gamer, you don't even need Windows.

OK then...just find me full-featured replacements for:

• Quicken (UK)
• Cubase Audio
• Premier
• Acrobat (full thing, not the reader)
• Exchange Server (calendaring, LDAP/IMAP does rest)

and I'll agree. Got any? The Ksomethingorother Quicken-a-like isn't there yet, neither is GnuCash. Cubase Audio? Hmm. Premier? Nope. Acrobat? Not that I'm aware of, though I imagine this has the best chance of having an equivalent. Exchange Server? Nope, that's why the Kroupware project exists.

Nope, sorry. I play zero PC-based games, and I still need Windows. Not even a Mac will do - still no UK version of Quicken (my constant cry...).

Cheers,
Ian

Re:'Open' Wine?

[BoBG]

Codeweavers is/has already (and presumably will continue to) live up to this promise. Their enhancements to WINE have been submitted (and accepted) into the main WINE tree.

I have sat down and beaten the freely available WINE into running Office, and IE, and Quicktime. I had the benefit of an installed crossover plugin/office to compare config files, etc and it still took me a couple of hours. What you get for your money is a pretty installer and all of the time you would otherwise spend config'ing to do other things. Well worth it to me. IMNSHO, Codeweavers is a company well deserving of my money and support.

Yeah, but...

[FearUncertaintyDoubt]

...I have a lot of Word documents with macro viruses. Will these run properly on SuSe?

Why oh Why!!!!???!!!

[GweeDo]

Why are these linux distrobutions doing this? It seems every day we hear about another linux distro including some form of Wine to allow people to keep using license encumbered bad software (mostly MS Office). I am thankful that Redhat has not done this (I run Redhat 8.0) but has instead chosen to include OpenOffice.org a great office suite that I have had no problem importing and exporting (rather complicated stuff even) from Office97-XP formats. Please, all of you that happen to head up some linux distro....DON'T DO THIS!!! Support the better open standard!