Corel is targeting disaffected Microsoft customers with discounted ‘upgrade’ offers for those who switch to the new WordPerfect Office X3. Corel on Tuesday announced an updated version of WordPerfect Office, its rival to Microsoft’s dominant Office suite. The new program adds the ability to import and export its files to Adobe’s PDF. The software also has a new interface and promises better support for multilingual characters and an easy way to strip out metadata from a file. ZDNet has a review too.
support of ODF?
No.
Curious to see how it looks like
After the mention of “exceptional Microsoft Office compatibility,” I was hoping for more analysis in the review. The only file compatibility they talked about was with pdf. As much as they talked about the pdf support, I’m quite disappointed that the review didn’t even cover the support of MS Office file formats.
Corel lost war definitively. Corel could be explored the market for linux/unix office suites but now even this market have openoffice.
If Corel still want to fight, it should make linux, unix and mac versions and adopt OASIS file formats.
Corel could be explored the market for linux/unix office suites but now even this market have openoffice.
Corel DID explore the market for Linux office suites – there was a Corel Office 8 suite for Linux! I was a beta tester, I used to have the CD somewhere, now misplaced…
For a beta, it was fairly good. They decided to drop it, though, I don’t exactly know why.
For a beta, it was fairly good. They decided to drop it, though, I don’t exactly know why.
Corel got into economic problems. MS invested in them. Serious support of WP for Linux stopped. The Corel Linux distro was divested to become Xandros. The complete Corel Linux strategy was dropped.
In other words MS paid them to stop supporting Linux.
Yeah right.
I was working in the Corel office in Dublin (98 – 2001). Around the same time that Corel stopped working in linux, Corel reduced the Dublin office (European HQ) from around 250 employees to about 14 (tech support only, maybe a sales guy too). Did Microsoft pay for that too? Around the year before that they invested hugely in linux, with the Corel version of linux and the conversion of their apps to linux. This was in the dot com days. If anybody mentioned the word linux their share price went up $10. Our shares went up to around $60 (that could be Canadian I think). I remember, because we had employee options but were in a blackout period and we weren’t allowed sell. By the time the blackout period ended the shares were around $14 (I sold them then). A month or two later they were around $3.
So maybe it’s a vast Microsoft conspiracy to stop Corel from producing linux apps or maybe it was a company that decided to refocus on the apps that made their bread and butter.
So maybe it’s a vast Microsoft conspiracy to stop Corel from producing linux apps or maybe it was a company that decided to refocus on the apps that made their bread and butter.
I repeat what are simple facts:
1. Corel got into economic problems.
2. MS invested in them
3. The complete Corel Linux strategy was dropped.
You can draw your own conclusions.
“You can draw your own conclusions.”
I could conclude it was a big money loser and ill fated venture in the first place. When you are in financial trouble, you don’t continue to feed a project without profit coming in the door as a result.
Corel’s foray into Linux products might have been what got them into financial trouble in the first place.
Okay now change point 2 or add a point after 1.
– Corel’s Linux business was not profitable
So some simple facts would be.
1. Corel got into economic problems.
2. Corel’s Linux business was not profitable
3. The complete Corel Linux strategy was dropped
You draw your own conclusions.
Yes, I used this beta version but it was not a native version for linux but the windows version of Corel Office 8 running with winelib.
Misteriously, all linux products from Corel were droped after MS money injection on Corel…
Even though I’m sure this is a very nice product, I sort of wonder who they think will buy it.
They have always had strong supporters among the lawyers, but even in the law suit happy US, that sounds like a small user base.
People that need to communicate using word processor, and spread sheet documents would have a much easier life if they go with Microsoft, and if the price is a problem there is OpenOffice around the corner as an even less expensive alternative.
It is true that OpenOffice lacks some of the parts that you get in the new WP suit, but it is quite easy to find free alternatives even for these parts, and more are likely to follow once KDE is ported to windows as a result of the new licens for QT4.
From what I can see it will not support ODF. This is probably a big mistake. If they had supported it they could have positioned themselves as a natural upgrade for OOo users. Now they will be squesed from both sides.
The Massachussets debate have made it more and more clear to users that a standard is needed for this kind of documents. That closest you can get to such standards are ODF and the other competing XML format from Microsoft. That leaves very little room for a closed set of WP file formats.
WP likes to see themselves as the second bigges office suit maker, and I suppose they are in terms of money, but in terms of installed copies I have a strong feeling that they are beaten by OpenOffice and in this game the network effect is very important. That doesn’t look good for the future.
Edited 2006-01-19 05:36
They’re in the same position as Microsoft, they have a loyal userbase (although considerably smaller) that they do not want to open to competition by supporting an open file format, which is disappointing.
If they were confident enough in their product’s superiority, it wouldn’t be a problem, but apparently they’re taking the safe road.
It’s sad. I remember when Wordperfect ruled the desktop for word processing. I used it as a text-based app even when Windows 3.1 was becoming uber-sexy. I still miss “Reveal Codes” as an option.
They could have taken the high road and decided to suppport ODF by providing a superior product that could compete with IBM/Sun’s commercial offerings as well as provide a compeling commercial option to OOo2. The fact that they won’t, despite being a founding member of the comittee, tells me they’re not that willing to stand behind their product on merit alone and need to rely on lock-in for their existing base.
Too bad.