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OpenOffice.org for Mac Delayed Two Years
Athyra writes "According to their Mac porting page, OpenOffice.org will not release a native version of their software for Mac OS X (not counting the X11 version) until 2006. According to the project timeline, no real development can happen again until OpenOffice.org 2.0 hits Windows, Linux, and Solaris in 2005. Looks like Microsoft's got a cozy ride ahead on the Mac side of things for a while."
But if enough people buy OSX Macs and then start helping out on the OpenOffice 2.0 project, then it could come out first on the Mac. Two years is a lifetime in this industry. And I expect SCO's life to be up right around then...
The reason why macs are overlooked so often is simple. It's called money. You make more money programming for windows than anything else. Bigger user base = bigger end profit.
Companies look out for their bottom lines, not their customers. Everything else done is just another way to increase the profit number.
If enough people really want a native Aqua version, they can create it. It seems OO.o couldn't find them.
Kiwaiti
Member of the Legion Of Microsoft Haters
Why do folks pirate software?
If it is good enough to use, pay the price for it. If it is not good enough to pay the price for it, don not use it.
Anyways, its a shame that OOo isn't ready for the Mac. My wife who does the church bulletin has been using MS Office 97 (she tried OOo 1.0.x and it didn't cut it) just tried out OOo 1.1 and was very impressed. Starting soon she plans on switching over.
I bet once OOo is ready for the Mac they will be in for a real treat.
Norris/Palin 2012
Fact: We deserve leaders who can kick your ass and field dress your carcass.
I think the reasons for leaving it out may lie with the philosophy of OOo production
It's open, and it's a competitor/replacement for MS Office. That means the way to create the most use for all people needing an office suite is to replace the majority of office installs, so Windows gets preference there. That makes a quick easy fix to get people away from MS
Now as a secondary goal being open source advocates, if OOo aids towards getting more than just an Office suite switched over to open source, but also an entire OS, then that option has to be there; hence, the unix/XFree86 version needs to be sitting in the wings waiting and ready to help those who want to use the open software philosophy.
Macs end up left in the dust. They don't have the massive market share to need switching like with Windows users, and as a replacement for windows they're still "another proprietary system" in the eyes of open source defenders. Better to have the linux version ready and waiting instead of Yet Another Company's OS.
Still, it'll come eventually.
eye candy.
Sure it works, but It looks so ugly.
Not everything is about functionality.
What is wrong with caring about something looks?
Considering that the Word document file format is evolving into a different kind of beast altogether, I'd say you're really stretching the meaning of the word 'patch.' Apple would have to implement an entirely new parser (though in Core Foundation they've already got the underlying infrastructure to do it relatively easily).
Those who can, do. Those who can't, write technology blogs.
Actually this is not so big a deal - it didn't work natively under Aqua/Quartz, so we haven't lost out on much.
That being said, there are existing commercial non-Microsoft solutions. Mariner Software has decent word processor and spreadsheet software available for a reasonable price. Redlers has a nice little word processor for a shareware price.
The thing is, Mac users have (or used to have) a tendency to monitor what's available for their platform. It comes from being treated like the bastard stepchild of the neighboring axe-murderer by the rest of the computer community.
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
On their site, OOo says the X11 version is for the "Unix-Savvy" user, and I thought that maybe I was savvy enough a while back and tried it. I couldn't even get all the components installed correctly, which told me that I probably should be messing around as root in X11, lest I royally screw my machine.
The point it, I could make very good use out of a native version of OOo (wouldn't it be nice to abandon MSOffice completely!), but am simply not l33t enough to safely and comfortably get around in X11 and run that version.
To reign is to serve.
I am quite amused by the fact that a proper Mac OS X port of OpenOffice quite literally could pay for itself... buy 20 developers some nice refurbished 1.25GHz G4s and OS X 10.2/10.3, and then charge $100 a copy for OpenOffice Pro while providing a slimmed down 10mb OpenOffice Express...
If Microsoft can make a lot of money from Macs, why wouldn't/couldn't OpenOffice?
GPL Deconstructed
Yeah, I can afford a computer, but I have to steal to keep food on the table. Nope, you lose.
Computers are not a requirement for life.
Norris/Palin 2012
Fact: We deserve leaders who can kick your ass and field dress your carcass.
Yes, it's business politics (also known as 'competition'). Apple would have to have major chutzpah to actively & publicly contribute to OOo on MacOS. Knowing their track record and specific software strengths, how good would an Apple-ized version of OOo turn out? It would be kick-ass, and immediately popular (see: Safari, iTMS, etc). In the ensuing paid office suite market meltdown, MS would drop Office for the Mac market faster than you can say "legally definsible reasons for doing so - Thanks Apple!" How would this then bide for Mac market position? Cue waves of articles with words like 'beleaguered' and 'abandoned', and this time they may have some merit.
That's not to say that the company isn't savvy, and could wisely be working on an Office replacement (OOo-based or otherwise) just in case MS decides to throw down the gauntlet one day. They have done this in the past (eg. Marklar), but you'd never hear them announce projects such as these publicly.