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OpenOffice 2.3 Released

Posted by Zonk on from the yay-free-software dept.

ClickOnThis writes "Surely I'm not the only one who noticed that OpenOffice.org has announced the release of version 2.3! From the website: 'Available for download now, OpenOffice.org 2.3 incorporates an extensive array of new features and enhancements to all its core components, and protects users from newly discovered security vulnerabilities. It is a major release and all users should download it. Plus: It is only with 2.3 that users can make full use of our growing extensions library.' You can download it but be kind and use a P2P client instead, such as bittorrent."

9 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. I wonder by Virtual_Raider · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When will they focus on usability and speed rather than adding features. It may or may not be feature-complete (whatever that is) but it certainly is not yet quite as easy and streamlined to use even as some early nineties suites... Just my $0.02, don't bite my head off =)

    --
    +Raider of the lost BBS
    1. Re:I wonder by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

      You must be the other guy who used AmiPro back in the 90s. Man, now that was a good word processor!

    2. Re:I wonder by clarkkent09 · · Score: 5, Funny

      When will they focus on usability and speed rather than adding features.

      "they" being every software developer who ever existed

      --
      Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
    3. Re:I wonder by the_womble · · Score: 5, Informative

      Have you tried turning off Java and increasing memory usage?

      Doing that makes OO on Linux run about as well as MS office on Windows on a P4 with 1Gb (I know, I know, but its the only comparison I have).

      It is still slower than Gnumeric or Lyx, which start up instantly and are never sluggish, but that is not an altogether fair comparison either.

      Of course Oo are still at fault for using defaults that MOST people would be better off changing.

  2. Error bars - woohoo! by Goonie · · Score: 5, Informative
    Openoffice's charts have been pretty much useless for any scientific work because they don't support proper error bars.Apparently the new charting tool will have full error bar support.

    With any luck, I won't have to fire up MSOffice ever again...

    --

    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
    --Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
    1. Re:Error bars - woohoo! by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

      Openoffice's charts have been pretty much useless for any scientific work because they don't support proper error bars.

      Then don't make errors ;-P

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  3. As a Gentoo user... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am deeply troubled by this announcement.

  4. Source Code Cleanup by mdm42 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What I really, really want from OOo is a cleanup of the code to the point where merely-mortal developers like myself can actually do something useful with it. As it is, the codebase is just this great big hairy ball of stuff -- completely unapproachable unless you have someone willing to fork out a paycheck for you to bang on it full time.

    Far too many open-source projects miss the point that one of their major "features" is clean code, design and architecture documentation; a big part of the "user base" are the people who might want to live (sometimes) inside the code. That means you have to keep the barrier to entry low for the programmer who is a noob to your codebase. (We could talk about how some OS projects lack developers who are clued enough to actually write clean code or design decently, but we won't go there ;-)

    Until a real and deep codebase cleanup happens OOo is "open-source" in name only as far as I am concerned.

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    New mod option wanted: -1 DrunkenRambling
  5. Re:British English. by Corporate+Troll · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, you're not the only one... However, the language settings are part of the "Character format". Which makes sense... Include it in your styles (e.g. "Body Text French", "Body Text English" and it becomes way easier than in Microsoft Office... Where it really seems to be document-bound (Tool->Languages->Set Language).