NeoOffice 2.0 Alpha 3 Released

ndansmith writes "NeoOffice, the port of OpenOffice.org to Mac OS X, has made their 2.0 Alpha 3 release available for download. From NeoOffice's site: 'This release is based on the OpenOffice.org 2.0.2 code and includes all of the new OpenOffice.org 2.0.2 features,' including the utilization of Open Document formats. Currently only the PowerPC version of the software is available publicly, but users can download the Intel version by purchasing a membership."

Comments

really?

[geoffspear]

Normally I hate the people who complain that a new version of some random piece of software isn't really news, but come on. It's a new alpha release.

Re:Intel binaries

[Trillan]

The subscription stuff is a very small window. According to their site, the release will be free starting July 1st. That's only two weeks away.

Not sure why alpha 3 is news exactly, but...

[VValdo]

I think when NeoOffice goes beta, THAT will be news. Why? Because the current plan for beta includes an aquified version.

Take a look at how this is progressing here. Pretty amazing, especially when you consider that NeoOffice has two developers. TWO. And they aren't even full-time.

Also, a new graphics, file icons, splash screen, etc. are in the works for 2.0 beta. Check out the forums.

And FWIW, I've had absolutely no problem with the alpha series so far.

W

hope this is great

[ChristTrekker]

I broke down and bought MS Office (for the third time, once for every major architecture/OS combo of the Mac) a little over a year ago because nothing else on the Mac was quite "prime time" enough for my wife to use, and using Office98 in Classic was flaky. I was willing to go along with a few nonstandard UI decisions, or jump an extra hurdle of file incompatibility, or deal with X11, but inflicting any of those on her practically amounts to spousal abuse. After all, I'd just gotten her to "switch" from her slow/glitchy old PC, and just having things be in different locations was hard enough on her.

Now, I've heard good things about MS Office running with Rosetta, so maybe it won't be an issue at all whenever I upgrade to a x86 Mac (the 4th combo). But I really hope that NeoOffice 2 is sufficiently "prime time" by then so that I don't have to be reliant on proprietary packages. I'd prefer to use open standards.

In some ways I wonder if NeoOffice is really the best route to take with regards to porting OOo. It seems like an awful lot of work. I'm no expert in these matters, but wouldn't it make sense for OOo to use the wxWidgets framework? Compile against the platform-appropriate wx implementation (wxGTK, wxCocoa, etc.), and boom, you're done. Obviously, switching frameworks at all would be a big effort, but once it was done it would be easy for everyone going forward, and the Mac version wouldn't always be lagging behind.

Re:Intel binaries

[static0verdrive]

Way to subvert their attempt at coming up with funding for development. This project is maintained by a only few people, and developed mostly by only one person, who does it full-time. The actual release will be free to download, but they do the "Early Access Subscription" program to attempt to raise funds because they have over 2 million downloads a year and are still losing money just keeping the website up. This project needs our help to keep going, and it is a great project. Installing X11 and using OOo is acceptable for some, but the NeoOffice suite is all about being native - fully standardized Mac Aqua menus and no need for X11. The way to go for grandma and other mac-only users and/or newbies.

If you don't want to support the project, that's your choice, but recommending ways to circumvent their request for donations (for the alpha alone, no less) makes you look greedy, and is precisely why the main developer may not be able to continue development full-time if he can't afford to. I pay the linux distributions I use and like to show my support, and I fund open source projects I use frequently with donations of anywhere from $25-$50 to help them out, considering all they do for us.

Re:Just use the X11 Build, avoid NeoOffice

[supremebob]

I'd like to agree with you, but:

* The X11 version of OpenOffice requires Apple X11 to be installed before it will launch. The install isn't horrible, but it is still far more difficult than the "drag and drop" installers that Apple users have come to expect.
* The launch time and overall performance of X11 OpenOffice is horrible compared to a native Macintosh app.
* Compared to a native Mac application, the X11 OpenOffice interface looks like crap and the integration with other applications leaves a lot to be desired.

Honestly, X11 OpenOffice isn't up to the standards that most people expect from well polished Apple software. It's not like F/OSS isn't up to the challenge, either... Just look at Firefox for the Mac.

Re:Alpha, but usable

[Oopsz]

Neooffice is unusably slow on my G3 iBook. Office X runs very well, and Office 2004 is fast enough to be usable. At this point, $300 (More like $150) for Office X is well worth it, compared to ~$1200 for a new laptop.