OpenOffice 1.1 - Is anyone using it or tried it? Sun Systems is installing it

[Greg B]

Hi All,

I was wondering if any of you had seen the new OpenOffice 1.1. It is basically FREEWARE and has been designed and tested by the general computing public as a rival for MS Office. Sun Systems will be installing it on all of their new systems and many schools and community groups are adopting it. The Northern Territory (State in Australia) is chnaging over ALL of it's schools to this software as it is FREE and WORKS. Here is the website blurb:

When OpenOffice.org 1.0 was released, no one could believe that software this good could be free. An estimated 16 million+ people have downloaded the software; many more have installed it from CDs or were passed copies by enthusiastic users. Community members produced translations in over 30 languages.

The OpenOffice.org community listened to users' comments, fixed their bugs, and is now proud to announce OpenOffice.org 1.1. More powerful, more compatible, more international, more accessible, more open than ever1 - and best of all, this world class software is still free!

A new approach to office productivity software
OpenOffice.org 1.1 gives you everything you'd expect in office software. You can create dynamic documents, analyse data, design eye-catching presentations, produce dramatic illustrations, and open up your databases. You can publish your work in Portable Document Format (.pdf), and release your graphics in Flash (.swf) format - without needing any additional software. OpenOffice.org 1.1 is now available for more users than ever, with support for complex text layout (CTL) languages (such as Thai, Hindi, Arabic, and Hebrew) and vertical writing languages.

If you're used to using other office suites - such as Microsoft Office - you'll be completely at home with OpenOffice.org 1.1. However, as you become used to OpenOffice.org 1.1, you'll start to appreciate the extras that make your life easier. You can of course continue to use your old Microsoft Office files without any problems - and if you need to exchange files with people still using Microsoft Office, that's no problem either.

What's in the suite?
WRITER Is a powerful tool for creating professional documents, reports, newsletters, and brochures. You can easily integrate images and charts in documents, create everything from business letters to complete books with professional layouts, as well as create and publish Web content.

CALC is a feature-packed spreadsheet which can turn boring numbers into eye-catching information. Calculate, analyse, and visually communicate your data quickly and easily. Use advanced spreadsheet functions and decision-making tools to perform sophisticated data analysis. Use built-in charting tools to generate impressive 2D and 3D charts.

IMPRESS is the fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations. Your presentations will truly stand out with special effects, animation and high-impact drawing tools.

DRAW will produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects.

The Database User Tools give you all the tools you need for day to day database work in a simple spreadsheet-like form. They support dBASE databases for simple applications, or any ODBC or JDBC compliant database for industrial strength database work

You can find it at www.openoffice.org

I'm going to trial it this weekend.

Greg B

[Claes Gefvenberg]

Originally Posted by Greg B

Hi All,

I was wondering if any of you had seen the new OpenOffice 1.1.
...
I'm going to trial it this weekend.

Greg B

I have not tried it, but the rumor hat it that it's pretty good. I'm looking forward to your verdict. If nothing else, it may be a good alternative for use at home.

/Claes

[Randy Stewart]

The only drawback I've heard is that most of the documents created in MS word, excel, works, etc. will not transfer over. Our IT guys were playing around with OpenOffice last year and they gave it mixed reviews. Maybe they have corrected the compatability issues with MS Office by now and it will be a great package to have at home.

[Mike S.]

Being a dummy, I have a hard time figuring why a very skilled person/people would write such complex software and give it out for free. Is it good advertising for their other products or services, or do they sell advertising on it, or what?

I look forward to Greg's review.

[Bob_M]

I think I'll download it at work, take it home and test it out. I've heard of it before, but I'm not going to download it at home on a dial up! Work just got a Full T1 so downloading is much faster now! We're also updating to Win2k on some computer so using a keychain usb drive is possible now.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by Randy Stewart

The only drawback I've heard is that most of the documents created in MS word, excel, works, etc. will not transfer over. Our IT guys were playing around with OpenOffice last year and they gave it mixed reviews. Maybe they have corrected the compatability issues with MS Office by now and it will be a great package to have at home.

Randy,

It is MS Office compatible and they say it can also transfer between Operating systems.

Greg B

[Randy Stewart]

Thanks Greg,
It sure is a lot cheaper than Office!

[David Hartman]

Originally Posted by Greg B

You can find it at www.openoffice.org

I'm going to trial it this weekend.

Greg B

Greg,

Were you able to trial this software? If so, what was your impression of it? Instead of sending Billy-Boy a couple hundred American for a newer version of MsOffice (I currently have Office `97), would I be better off moving to OpenOffice?