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More Light Shed on Project David

Sun writes "Flexbeta.net received from Specops Labs screenshots "proving" that project David (previously covered here) is a real thing. The demo.... Office 2000 install. This is something both Wine and CrossOver Office know how to do for quite some time. In a discussion on wine-devel some people noticed evidence inside the screenshots that project David is a CrossOver Office ripoff."

4 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. The evidence by Chris_Jefferson · · Score: 5, Insightful
    For those who can't get to wine-devel's mailing list: Look at this pic for the words /etc/wine and /usr /bin/wine in the previews of one of the files.

    this pic for references to an install of wine.

    Finally, for those who know lots about these things, on this picture notice how the on the right and bottom of the page the scroll bar and status bar are clipped. This is a bug in crossover office but is fixed in the latest wine, so they appear to have basically made a crossover varient and not even bothered merging the latest release of the offical wine in. poor.

    --
    Combination - fun iPhone puzzling
  2. Re:Show me something recent... by gnu-generation-one · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It seems a little ironic that the screenshots presented show-off all the best features of Windows applications.

    Just about to agree to the EULA of Microsoft Office

    Windows needs to be restarted to continue this installation

    MS-Word asking you to register

    Tell me again, why do we not use OpenOffice?

  3. Re:That's the new way to start a company by jd142 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, that is the problem with open source. If the companies are also releasing the code to the purchasers, then the companies aren't violating or "ripping off" the open source apps.

    What these companies are doing, in theory, is providing the support and services that Free/Open Source/Libre software supporters have always said is the way to make money.

    So while you may see it as "ripping off" open source, these companies are doing exactly what the developers intended when they released their software under that kind of license: some very knowledgeable people can get the source and compile it themselves and do all the troubleshooting or someone who just wants a product that works and a support number to call when it doesn't can pay for the packaged solutions.

  4. Re:Show me something recent... by gnu-generation-one · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Okay, I don't mind the joke becoming a debate, but if it does, can I ask about this one:

    "[OpenOffice.org] lacks an email client, evolution does the job fine but not everyone agrees"

    Now, everyone says this, I hear it all the time, and it makes no sense. Is there someone here who could explain

    Why does an office suite need an email client?

    No, really. Why? I mean, I've used email for years and I've used office-suites for years, and I've never even once had the urge to say "send this document by email" from a spreadsheet menu. And as yet, my email client has never had any problems with handling spreadsheet attachments in whatever's the default application, no integration required.

    In fact, I'd prefer not to have office software integrated with email, because when you send email, you have to stop and think about what the recipient might want, what's the best file format to use, and how best to reduce the size of the attachment, nevermind double-checking you're not sending something confidential in the file headers.

    But people are always on the OpenOffice support lists wishing that it had an email client. Why?

    Surely it's a barrier to using new software? If OpenOffice.org had an email client, you'd have to swap email clients as well as office suites to use it. Maybe you like the email client you've already got. Maybe it would cost a lot to change email clients.

    It's not as if I don't have these tools available. At work I have Outlook and OfficeXP (please don't send viruses, my company probably couldn't handle them). But I've never once used the two together in any way more complex than double-clicking an attachment and the operating system will decide which program to use. I use these programs all the time, and you'd be hard pressed to find some way in which they "integrate". In fact, Visio looks more integrated with MS-Office, and it's not even a microsoft product until recently.

    What is it? Is it just convenient to buy them at the same time? Do people actually use the "Save and email this file" menu? Can you preview emailed spreadsheet attachments in a tiny little Excel window? Is there some sort of email collaboration feature that I haven't seen but would change my life if it worked?

    What is it about email clients that people want them to be part of an office suite?