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KDE Joins ODF Alliance

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the more-ground-troops dept.

UseFree.org writes "The position of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) was strengthened today when the free & open source K Desktop Environment (KDE) announced that it has joined the ODF Alliance. KDE developer David Faure has been instrumental in developing the OpenDocument standard, which is already implemented in KOffice, KDE's office suite. Faure says: 'The fact that KOffice provides an independent implementation of the OpenDocument file format, and was able to take part in its specification, proves that OpenDocument is actually a standard, not just a rubber stamp on Sun's OpenOffice file format. What makes an open standard is not merely approval by a committee, but independent implementations.'"

5 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Safari? by jadavis · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would really like to see ODF become more popular.

    Could this mean that Safari, which is based on Konqueror, might be able to at least view ODF files?

    I think ODF could take off if Macs could effectively use them. I don't see any disadvantage to Apple at all to include KOffice or OpenOffice so that Apple users have something to use even if they don't buy (or more likely, pirate) MS Office.

    Also, Google/GMail should support this format! Why not? They allow viewing of MS Word documents as HTML, why not an .odt? That would help a lot.

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    1. Re:Safari? by roger6106 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Also, Google/GMail should support this format! Why not? They allow viewing of MS Word documents as HTML, why not an .odt? That would help a lot.

      If you want to suggest this to Google you can send in a suggestion.

    2. Re:Safari? by SydShamino · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sadly, IBM's announcement that Lotus will include ODF read ability is the biggest boost I've seen. This means that, eventually (after my company upgrades), everyone here will be able to read ODF files. I had to give up on openoffice.org writer early last year because I was sending out garbled .docs.

      (Sadly, because I'm not a Lotus fan. I usually cheer when we move tools out of Lotus.)

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  2. Apple Says goodbye to AppleWorks, Hello to... by 9mm+Censor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Open Office? If you noticed, none of the Intel Macs have Apple Works, could the successor be open?

  3. Re:KOffice is growing up by GreatBunzinni · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It is true that KOffice is pretty much "the most comprehensive office suite in existence" and the direction it is going is really exciting. Yet, as it is right now KOffice is too buggy to even consider using it in a semi-reliable way. It has improved a lot but it still has a lot of annoying and painfully obvious bugs which get in the way of simple work like making a simple spreadsheet.

    So yes, KOffice is going the right direction but it still has a whole lot to do to become a decent office package.

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