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OpenOffice Vs. Google Apps
jammag writes "Both OpenOffice and Google Apps are free, so the choice is purely down to which is better. Bruce Byfield, after looking at both, concluded, 'comparing Google Apps to OpenOffice.org is like clubbing a staked-out bunny — Google Apps is so far behind that the whole exercise seems like an exercise in pointless cruelty.' Ouch, that hurts."
Google Apps gives me what I want: A browser-based place to write stuff and make spreadsheets and store the documents where I can access them whenever I like.
Thus, Google Apps is fine for me.
I use OpenOffice at home for documents I want to keep secure (for the most part, I detest cloud computing) but for documents that can be out in the open, I prefer GoogleDocs simply because I can access them from any computer available to me and make a quick change.
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
Does anyone expect a web app to come close to a heavy hitter like Open Office? It serves a different purpose; it will edit documents from any decent web browser at any location. The computer doesn't need access to my files as long as Google has them and it doesn't need any special software, either.
Google docs isn't special because it's a great office suite; it's special because it's convenient.
Open Office kicks seven kinds of Hell out of Google Apps in terms of functionality. Google docs offers online sharing of documents / collaborative working. You know what Open Office is doing with your data (f' all) and you don't know what Google is doing with it. Choose a product according to your requirements. Simple enough.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
Because that's what it is, right ?
A locall?y running suite to an online suite...
I mean, I'm all for opensource and stuff, but this...
Let's compare my wallet to my bankaccount...
Wallet wins hands down because I can pay a cabfare with it...
I will work to elevate you, just enough to bring you down
Apples and Oranges, people...
GoogleDocs, for example, is merely a quick, easily accessible and SHARABLE online tool.
OpenOffice is a full suite of office software with an actual footprint on a single existing computer.
Not even worth comparing at this point. Not until we get more into a blur of web-based software and installed software.
While we're on car analogies, I like to think about it as using one's own vehicle(OO) vs. using public transportation(Docs).
This is one of those articles that probably started out as an interesting idea, but then immediately was like 'oh, a bit of a waste of time'. I suppose the idea is that they are both popular and free to use, and thus was born the idea.
As everyone has (and will) pointed out, they serve different purposes. It's like comparing the OS on my phone to the OS on my laptop, and then saying 'wow, you can do so much more with the laptop OS'. Duh, mofo.. shortage of article ideas this month?
And don't mean to sound so harsh, just too much coffee I'm thinking.
I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
Is there something wrong with using both?
If I have net connection, it's Google.
If I'm offline, it's OpenOffice.
We live in a time of extreme opinions. Ever tried expressing a liking for two supposedly opposing products in a room full of geeks, or here? I have, it ain't pretty.
I use OpenOffice, MSOffice 2003, and Google docs. I think MSOffice is better, but I like OpenOffice for my Linux laptop, and Google docs when I'm away from my main machine.
I also like and routinely use both Windows and Linux. I'm an open source developer of six years standing, coding for both platforms, and I STILL get blasted by clueless f**ks who think that just because they've commented on a slashdot story they are fully able to preach 'though must prefer open source and hate Microsoft' to me.
It does grate some times, I have to say.
A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
Ummm... no. One is free of charge only, the other is both free of charge and free as in freedom. One stores your data on computers you have no control over and leaves you at the whim of unexpected feature changes by a publically-traded company whose customers are their advertisers and whose product is your eyeballs; the other leaves you firmly in control over your own data and your own software. These are serious considerations.
"Google Apps are a new paradigm in software, having commonly used applications entirely on a server so that multiple users can use them."
You are being funny right?
This is the very old way of doing things. Anybody that worked on a PDP-11, Vax, 360/370, Model 38, AS400, or any number of other mini or mainframes would tell you the same thing.
Google Apps are really a great example of. Good enough.
They are good enough for most people.
As to Convenience. No network no programs, no data as well.
The internet isn't everywhere yet so if anything Google Apps are less convenient than carrying you data on a USB drive.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Some new paradigm indeed. What you describe is how computing was done before (servers and terminals) before PCs got powerful enough for software to become decentralized, which until recently, was viewed as a major advance in computing.
Nowadays, people seem to think it's such a great idea to go back to the past, but I suspect it's a concerted effort by software companies to go back to the days where they could control everything and charge everybody anything they please through centralized server.
I think this says it all.
"But if Stallman's observations aren't enough to stop you from using network apps, a comparison of a leading example like Google Apps with free and open source software (FOSS) such as OpenOffice.org should be."
I really like OpenOffice. Version 3 is very good but this is clearly based on an agenda.
Google Docs are.
1. Good enough for most people. Guess what folks if a program does what you need it too any other features are meaningless.
2. Stores your data online. Great for anything that isn't extremely private. Even better because Google will probably do a better job of backing it up than you will.
3. It works most every where. No need to install it or keep it updated.
4. Works with many common file formats just like OO.org.
If you need OO.org than Google docs will not work for you. But then if you need a feature in Microsoft Office that OO.org doesn't support then you need Office.
But for a lot of people Google Docs are great.
But since both are free as in beer. You might as well use both.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
"The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know."
-Harry S Truman
If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt
I haven't seen anybody hit my own personal reason to use Google's applications: collaborative editing. If I'm working on my own document, I want it right here under my control, so I'll use OpenOffice. (Actually, I'm more likely to use vi and latex.) But if I'm working with someone, who may not even be in the same country as I am, I'm going to go to Google. My alternatives are to email copies back and forth and manually deal with merges, or to set up a revision control repository of whatever flavor I like. That's more of a pain in my work day than I like.
This also isn't something where OpenOffice can improve. It requires having the infrastructure in place to conveniently share documents, and that's just not part of the OO paradigm. Sure, a repository makes it possible, but I don't want to run a repo, I want to work on documents! Google can do it "out of the box."
--Somebody infect me with a
Computing site shocked to discover that FlickR performs poorly in comparison to photos stored on hard drive. FlickR declared backwards-ass waste of time.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Why spend resources on that when there are far too many other CMS systems out there already.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Given the extremely rudimentary functionality of Google Apps, I can't for the life of me figure out how there's even a discussion around it's potential use in business.
We use it all the time. Not for polished docs we're going to hand off to a client, but certainly for internal stuff. We share out docs with staff so application testers can submit comments, saves us writing a custom app to track change requests. For developing content quickly and gathering input from multiple users, it's really nice.
No, the formatting options may not be particularly deep, but I can dash off a quick letter and it looks fine. And that's particularly helpful when I'm starting it here and finishing at home. Saves me an rsync operation and version problems.
If there are cheaper, easier and more convenient ways to solve these problems I haven't found them. GoogleApps works for us.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
After all, they are still in Beta. :)
Yea, I noticed that. Whenever I have more than one app open, they will fight until one of them dies. It really sucks because it'll take my machine down with them.
From the article:
Because it's online. I work with people across the country and across the world. For many of these people, attaching a document to an email is asking a lot. Not to mention the version control headaches (documentA.doc, documentA2.doc, etc) that inevitably arise in document-sharing situations. Google Docs stops this kind of suffering. I've used it with technologically illiterate people to great effect.
In a quantitative comparison of features, yeah, OO has more. Clearly. *cough*. I don't think that was ever a question. If you're a power user, or you're trying to write complex documentation or something, then yeah, you probably need OO. But for sharing simple docs across geographically dispersed people, Google Docs wins hands down.
The question isn't proprietary vs FOSS vs web-based vs desktop. It's "what do you want to use it for". A Blackberry isn't a replacement for a laptop, but if all you want is mobile email, it's probably fine.
...for any kind of regulated business unless you plan to do due diligence on the security, confidentiality and availability of data held by Google.
Can you guarantee that Google won't pass your customers' personal data to a backup site that's not in your home country? Can you be certain that no Google admin will pass your confidential downsizing proposals to the media? Does Google offer guarantees that important correspondence is available within the timescales required by a regulator? Does Google guarantee to delete obsolete data in accordance with local data protection laws? Is the answer to these questions supported by an enforceable contract?
Google apps has its place for personal correspondence. But if your using the cloud to store corporate or customer data without answering questions like these, you're professionally negligent.
Google Docs sometimes has a nasty habit of badly formatting tables.