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OpenOffice 3.0 beta Released for Mac OS X

by , 3:15 PM EDT, May 9th, 2008

OpenOffice.org has released the first beta of OpenOffice for Mac OS X. This version doesn't need to run in the X11 environment as version 2.x did; instead it runs natively on the Mac.

"The cool thing is, while the market leading office suite vendor dropped VBA support and the Solver feature, OpenOffice.org recently introduced limited VBA support and includes a powerful Solver component.

"In addition, OpenOffice.org integrates well with the Mac OS X accessibility APIs, and thus offers better accessibility support than many other Mac OS X applications. Finally, people like OpenOffice.org 3.0 for Mac OS X because of its very good stability and performance. Reportedly, some Mac users have switched to OpenOffice.org just because of its extremely good stability, OpenOffice.org said.

The announcement also pointed out that not only is read and write support included for Microsoft binary file formats (.doc, .xls and .ppt) but OpenOffice can also open files created with Microsoft Office 2007 for PC or Office 2008 for Mac (.docx, .xlsx. and .pptx)

The full feature list and download page are at the OpenOffice.org Website. The Mac file size is 167 MB and is for Intel Macs only.

The OpenOffice.org group has said that they estimate the final release to be in mid September, 2008.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1933 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Subject:

So you're telling me that the Mac version of OpenOffice actually RUNS ON A MAC now??

Wow. Maybe I can start suggesting this to my friends and family, unlike before.

Explaining the X11 environment to my grandmother just wasn't something I wanted to take on.

Close Name:Mikuro Posts: 444 Joined: 15 Jun 2002
Subject:

I know what you mean, Small White Car. Every time I mention Gimp or OpenOffice to my brother and I say 'X11', I get a distrusting groan. And even though I CAN use X11 personally, I certainly don't WANT to — it's just not a good Mac experience.

That's why I've always recommended NeoOffice, despite its annoying flaws (general slowness, clunky interface, overly-aggressive update notification). I look forward to giving this new OpenOffice a try. Hopefully it will be good enough to replace NeoOffice. Edit: Oh, it's Intel-only, so I can't. Doh!

View Name:Guest
Subject:
Close Name:burrito Posts: 176 Joined: 07 Aug 2005
Subject:

it's a damn shame that openoffice.org sucks. i nootched a download of the beta to see if it's gotten any better.. still feels like an X11 app, even though it's not.

i know the free software people will hate me for this, but my money is on iwork.. it may not be as full featured as MS office, but it's at least a joy to use.. but i'll tell you what.. if i wind up a billionaire someday, i'll fund my own free and open-source office suite that will kick ass. firefox-style.

View Name:Guest
Subject: That's a promise
View Name:Guest
Subject: OpenOffice 3.0 beta Released for Mac OS X
Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1933 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Subject: Ok, Not Really

Ok, I tried it and ...

[EDIT] -- RETRACTED - SEE MY NEXT POST BELOW



Last edited by Small White Car on Sun May 11, 2008 8:38 pm; edited 1 time in total
Reply | Quote
View Name:Guest
Subject:
Close Name:Small White Car Posts: 1933 Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Subject:

Quote
Guest wrote:
Small White Car: Are you sure you tried the 3.0 beta?


Thank you guest, yes, you are correct. I really thought I had 3 but you guessed correctly.

Ok, so ignore my earlier review, I just erased it.

Close Name:David Nelson -   TMO Staff Posts: 5266 Joined: 11 Jun 2001
Subject:

I was pleasantly surprised by this version. There is still work to be done to make it feel more native, but it's certainly an improvement over the X11 version.

NeoOffice seems slightly slower to launch (possibly because it's based on OpenOffice 2.x), but its icons are more Mac-like. Aside from these differences, the two apps appear to be neck-and-neck right now.

I do appreciate the hard work done by the NeoOffice people, but hopefully things will improve at an ever faster rate now that OO.o officially supports a native port.

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