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OpenOffice.org For Mac OS X
Chris Coleman writes "Move over Microsoft, OpenOffice.org is starting to take hold on Mac OS X. To facilitate this, we at Daemon News have put together a CD set that makes it really easy to install and use. We are also donating part of our booth space at Mac World Expo to the OpenOffice.org group to help spread awareness."
Maby a dumb question, but does it still require x11 installed? either way, cool.
Support Objectivism and the United States,
Ayn Rand
i dont use macos but as the sooner there is a free office alternative running in every OS the better. :P
lets kill the standarts that only work on 1 OS(ok 2 since it also runs on mac, i think)
Smile... tomorrow will be worse.
So the installer has the Aqua interface, but what about the app? Screenshots anyone? I wonder if those memos and Emails of hysteria are flowing through Micorosoft this morning.
The packaging for OpenOffice looks very professional, very attractive, though I hope the box is really large with lots of manuals. People want to buy a box with heft, you know, lots of weight, like it has big manuals in it. Maybe put a ream of inkjetpaper and a script on the back in big letters that creates a manual. People will like that. I'm going down to my CompUSA to ask that they stock this. It looks like it will cost over $500, with all of that weight, so I'll have to save up. This is bad for Microsoft. Now they will have to spend more money designing a heavier package for Office.
So says this page.
"The 1.0 sources build for Quartz (Mac OS X native). OpenOffice.org doesn't work there yet, but the program compiles and links, a large first step towards beginning our Quartz and Aqua tracks. If you're a developer, find out how to build and help us get the Quartz version finished and move onto our Aqua redesign effort! Special thanks to Dan B. and Dan W. for helping to push this along!"
I don't care if the interface is "Aquafied", but it's a non-starter with me unless it runs without X11. I have XDarwin installed and use it pretty regularly, and it kills any real multitasking, either by slowing everything else down in rootless mode, or requiring a full desktop shift. It sucks, and I use it as little as humanly possible.
So thanks, but no thanks. I'll certainly try it when the actual port gets working, but until it runs without X11, it might as well not exist.
as long as they don't adopt the aqua interface, I doubt that they'll grab any serious marketshare. Mac is all about look & feel. About interface (you know, the lickable one...)
Currently openoffice runs only under X, which is butt-ugly and completely windows oriented. Not exactly what 'switchers' have in mind IMHO.
here is a screenshot that shows the diff between X and aqua (MS Ofifce in background). The price difference not withstanding, MSOffice is hands down the winner here.
When will I end this grieving ? When will my future begin ?
Screenshots comparing OpenOffice.org with Office v.X show quite how far it has to go. It simply looks ghastly.
more detailed schedule found here
Still a long way to go, but if they get it aquafied, MS might eventually get hurt. Offcourse, they'll change doc format faster than you can say 'blub'...
When will I end this grieving ? When will my future begin ?
But I JUST installed XDarwin!!!
Ah well, Basilisk is fun. Imagine.. all three Mac OSs running on one computer..
This is great though, looking forward to seeing it made available as a free download!
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. it's the only thing that ever has.
I know that the X11 primary selection is somehow bridged to the system clipboard, so you can select in an X11 application and paste in an OS X application and vice versa, but does this interface handle styled text or graphics? I use the clipboard for moving styled text, Unicode text, and images around all the time, and not being able to do that to and from my word processor would kill me.
Anybody know what the deal is here?
I write in my journal
There is already an OOo port the is 100% Aqua (no need for X11!!!).
www.neooffice.org
www.neooffice.org/flaming_yeti_screenshots.html
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Here are some screenshots for the latest public build of NeoOffice (prototype Aqua version of OpenOffice) http://www.neooffice.org/flaming_yeti_screenshots. html
I've been using OOo on Linux for about a year now. Yeah, it's competent, I guess. But it's not good, and it's office compatibility is not all it's cracked up to be.
Look, for instance at their own screenshots. Here the fonts are completely different, causing line breaks to take place in the wrong place, page breaks to do the same, orphaned half paragraphs and assorted shit that I'll have to go through and fix before I can print the bloody thing. Don't ask what happens when I forward the document to a colleague who uses word.
Sure, it's 99% there, but that's not enough. It's another demonstration of the "saving money by pushing my car around town" effect.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
I haven't looked at the source code for OpenOffice but I tend to think this is the wrong approach to get this software onto the Mac. I'm sure the development team is very excited to see their baby can walk, but why not take the longer road and get it right? What's kewl for geeks is not always kewl for end users.
Assuming the program is written using intelligent design the data model and I/O controller should be almost completely isolated from the display code. If this is so then the bulk of work should consist of putting a decent Aqua interface on it, putting the menu bar where it belongs, and using Quartz for the text rendering.
Could it be that there's a limited supply of Mac-savvy open source developers available?
-- thinkyhead software and media
With lies like "amazing product that will soon give Microsoft a run for its money", free software doesn't even need enemies. Please do not promote free software to the general public until it is ready.
This installer is useless until someone ports a talking paperclip to openoffice.
go to fink.sf.net, install icewm, and then edit .xintrc to this:
/sw/bin/icewm &
#twm &
for some reason, on my ibook, when i run even oroborosx, it doesn't immedaitely pick up mouse clicks. in gimp, i have to click twice to switch from one window to the next. not so in icewm. it's lite and fast and is actually fairly feature rich. there is nothing wrong with X11. i have only 256MB on my 700mhz ibook. i run X and aqua concurrently and have no problems. the biggest gripe about OO.org is it takes forever to load. they trashed the desktop, but they still kept the apps tied. if i load writer, i don't need the calc and impress libs loaded too. msoffice is "integrated" yet each are distinctly different apps. OO.org needs to do this.
My problem? I was perfectly gruntled, until some numbnuts came by and dissed me.
What is the reasoning behind adding Abiword to the CD set? Does OpenOffice lack confidence in their own word processor? It just seems like an odd move to say that they have a complete Office Suite, but then throw in an additional word processing program with it.
The OpenOffice.org team will be at MWSF sharing a booth with Daemon News. Come by and talk to us if you have questions.
Dan from the OOo Mac team
I've been using Office v.X heavily since it was released and it's never crashed or failed on me yet
I do Mac support for the college I work at, and MS-Office-X has worked well for people (better than earlier MS-Office products on the Mac, for the most part). But one user had some infuriating font problems trying to use just TWO FONTS in a document (arial and symbol), and I spent many hours of reinstalling things from scratch, adding all the latest updates, re-arranging font folders, and reading web-site articles before I managed to get it so the problem did not reappear.
I would love a viable alternative to MS-Office, but of course that is only if I won't run into problems like this that take 30-40 hours to work around.