Thought Patterns

Finally got around to installing the new OpenOffice.org 3.0. With us going out of town (had fun with the kids and got to take Mom and Jim to lunch) and other stuff going on, I decided to wait until we got back.

Installing was the same as always. OpenOffice likes Java although I'm never really sure just how it uses it. I think it uses the Java "platform" but not Java itself. Not sure on that one. Anyway, got it installed and opened it. Got the usual "user information" screen. I decided to register this time. Usually I don't since I'm a long time user and should already be marked on the books but with this being the new one and all that stuff, I decided to register again. OpenOffice is not exactly a Sun product. More like Sun is a big sponsor, I think. Anyway, registering this time meant registering with Sun. Not too happy about that but we'll see what bacn shows up in my mailbox.

After registering (and realizing my OO.org user stuff wasn't valid) I got down to checking out the new version. This is what I got when I opened the program (vs opening a direct component such as Writer).

(larger version of the opening image)

Plenty of choices on what to do next as well as access to add-ons and the like. The icons on the bottom right are: "Get more templates…"; "Add new features…"; "Register…"; and "Get more information….".

I selected "Open a document" and opened "Exodus and Genesis" (my possible NaNo project). The document opened in the same window so I had to resize it. It looks as if the add-ons I'd installed in the previous version transferred over and the color scheme (migraine specific) is still intact. Even the customization of the toolbars is there, although moved around. There's some new ones in place (like hyperlinking) that I'll get rid of. My custom dictionaries/spelling lists are still there.

I clicked the little X to close the document and was shown the window again (vs a blank). I chose "Spreadsheet" this time. Looks the same. So, basically, at first glance, the only obvious difference is the opening window.

I'm going to ask some writer friends who use Word to send me a commented document to see if my OpenOffice and their Word can communicate now. I hope they can! Any volunteers?

Way. Freakin'. Cool.

OpenOffice.org 3 is out. And so many people tried to download it that the main site crashed. Ain't that cool? I mean, I'm sorry the site crashed, but it's cool so many people are using it. I love OpenOffice. I use it for spreadsheets and documents, mostly. I've also used it to view and create PowerPoint files and database files. As a writer, I need a dependable, flexible, user-friendly data processing program. OpenOffice is all that and, better yet, it is FREE.

email from Louis Suarez-Potts, head of OO.o:

All,

We must apologize. OpenOffice.org 3.0 is proving immensely, staggeringly popular. And our site is down as a result. While we fix things, we urge you to be patient and try again later on tonight, tomorrow, this week. It will still be there.

Oh, by popular, we mean it: figure hundreds of thousands of users, mostly Windows users, but also Mac OS X and Linux and Solaris users, all trying to download it all at once…..

Cheers, and thanks for your patience,
Louis

What other folks are saying:

Google News list of articles

What OpenOffice site crash means

This is good news and bad news. The good news is we have more proof of the popularity of Open Office, which continues to seize market share from Microsoft Office and reduce the monopoly rents that company earns. The bad news is it will take some time, and some money, for the open source group to scale-up. I know they can speak for themselves, but it's time that companies which benefit from OpenOffice step up to the plate. If you're an enterprise standardizing on OpenOffice, or a company that competes fiercely with Microsoft, you have a stake in this. It's time for you to step up and support OpenOffice. Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of the software.

OK, now OpenOffice is definitely good enough

OpenOffice.org is not a clone of Office 2007 (good call, Sun). It's a full-featured suite that gives us everything we need from MS Office and the world of productivity software while keeping the bottom line quite a bit more reasonable (you don't get any more reasonable than free). Yes, OO.org has been good enough for a long time; the latest release should leave little doubt for any users who had been on the fence.

PS I just tried to do the upgrade from OpenOffice itself and it can't make a connection. I am currently downloading the huge 142.37M file. While the new modem is working great, Charter's download speeds are not what they say they are. The download has yet to top 42Kb/sec.

From Wired News:

MS Fights to Own Your Office Docs
By Scott Gilbertson

As Microsoft prepares the biggest update ever of its ubiquitous Office software suite, it is once again fending off charges of using hardball business tactics to muscle out competitors.

(snip)

Much is hanging in the balance, and some critics allege that Microsoft is once again rigging the game to ensure customer loyalty.

At stake in the current round of criticism are the file formats created by office productivity software, such as word processing and spreadsheet applications. Government agencies in recent years have grown increasingly reluctant to use Microsoft's current Office products, which use proprietary formats, in favor of alternatives that use open-source formats, notably the OpenDocument format, or ODF.

Microsoft's Office 2007 has won some positive reviews. But the update will debut with a new open-source file format, Office Open XML, or OOXML, a move that OpenDocument supporters say will create a new and unnecessary format war — all to support Microsoft's business plans. Significantly, OOXML will not work with older versions of Microsoft Office, which alone could motivate some to upgrade.

link to full article

For what it's worth, I use OpenOffice.org (OO.o). I love it. I recommend it. I have to keep M$Word due to exchange of information between my publisher and my editor. Otherwise, I'd delete the thang and save well over 400MB of disc space.

A new version of OpenOffice is out. It is now up to 2.0.4.

I love OO.o and almost any other open source software. OpenOffice can do almost everything M$Office can do, only for much cheaper (as in OO.o is free). OpenOffice has Writer (Word), Calc (Excel), Base (Access), Draw (?), Impress (PowerPoint), and Math (?).

So far, the only time OpenOffice has let me down was when Jane and I were doing edits. I had to use Word since OpenOffice hasn't mastered the fine art of compatible comment tracking and display. Other than that, I've not had many complaints.

OpenOffice can save and open in many formats (including .pdf) although there will always be some crossover problems, mostly due to the other program not understanding OO.o, rather than the other way around. But either way, the support is great.

Okay, done plugging.

In an email from OpenOffice.org (OO.o):

There has been press comment recently about a "proof-of-concept macro
virus" affecting OpenOffice.org and reported in a blog at an anti-virus
company.[1]

Macros are a useful part of any office suite, allowing users to automate
repetitive tasks. These tasks include potentially destructive actions
such as modifying and deleting files, which is why macros are of
interest to virus writers.

The "proof-of-concept macro virus" showed that it is possible to write a
simple "virus-like" program using OpenOffice.org's macro language. This
is a known risk with any capable macro language. To mitigate against
this risk, by default OpenOffice.org detects if a document contains
macros, displays a warning, and will only run the macro if the user
specifically agrees. This behaviour conforms to industry best practice.

The OpenOffice.org engineers take the security of the software very
seriously, and will react promptly to any new issues. This "proof of
concept" virus is not new information, and does not require a software
patch. Technically, it is not even a virus, as it is not
"self-replicating" - with OpenOffice.org's default settings, it cannot
spread without user intervention.

However, the OpenOffice.org community repeats the consistent message
from security experts that users should never accept files from unknown
sources. For any security issue, please visit OpenOffice.org's Security
Team page [2] and send a note to security@openoffice.org.

[1] http://www.viruslist.com/en/weblog?weblogid=187738337
[2] http://www.openoffice.org/security/

- The OpenOffice.org Team

Just saw this in an email from ZDNet News:

Stardust virus lands on OpenOffice

Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have spotted what they believe is the first virus for OpenOffice, the open-source rival to Microsoft's Office productivity suite.

The virus, dubbed Stardust, is capable of infecting OpenOffice and StarOffice, which is sold by Sun Microsystems, a Kaspersky Lab researcher wrote on the Russian company's Viruslist Web site on Tuesday.

"Stardust is a macro virus written for StarOffice, the first one I've seen," the researcher wrote. "Macro viruses usually infect MS Office applications."

full article

I use OpenOffice.org and love it. It is a wonderful program. I can save and open MSWord documents, PDF files, Excel and Powerpoint documents. I think it is a good thing that someone wrote a virus for it. Kinda like when Mac had their first.

Just completed entering in the potential agents into an OpenOffice.org database.

I have used various databases before. Heck, I've used Lotus as a database in the distant past. But most recently, I've played some with Access.

Before I started the official table, I mucked around with several fake ones beforehand. It does what I want it to do in a way I think it should do it. That's a good thing.

The only thing I wish it would do is allow me to change the order of the fields as they appear in the the table. I can change that order in the report and query, but not the table itself. Bummer but hey, I'll deal with it.

The Tutorials for OO.o haven't added Base yet, which is still quite buggy. I expect the more it is used, the more the bugs will be found and fixed. I went to the OO.o Forums and found the answers I needed.

I also found a website that offers 'portable OO.o'. Meaning, I can put this version and my WIPs onto a memory key, go elsewhere, say to my brother's up Nawth, and I can then access my OO.o documents WITHOUT installing OO.o. It works off the flash drive instead. Cool beans, eh? I haven't tried it since I can't find my memory key. That's a bad side to those tiny things. My next one I'll keep on my keyring or attach it to something big. Oh, and the website has portable versions of other software too, including Firefox and Thunderbird.