Submitted by “OpenOffice.org 3.0 is 167 days away, but who’s counting? Maybe the software developers are counting because they have a whopping 2,278 issues targeted for this release. Even though OpenOffice.org 2.4 is not yet out the door, let’s see how far they’ve come with OpenOffice.org 3.0.”
And an update system that’s still stuck in the stone age meaning many users will never get to see this new version.
OpenOffice is sowing a security nightmare by having an incredibly lax and painful upgrade experience, it’s just as bad as Firefox 1, where you’d get a totally unnoticeable toolbar button that would require you to download the whole app again and reinstall it for every minor point update. I am getting tired of upgrading customer’s machines to try keep them up to date.
Add no other feature except Firefox2-like updates and you will have solved your no.1 problem.
Add no other feature except Firefox2-like updates and you will have solved your no.1 problem.
I don’t think it’s the number one problem for OO.o but it is a significant one. We really need delta updates, it’s such a huge package to download on a slow connection. And I have frequently experienced problems with instability and broken features do to a failed upgrade, and have found it necessary to delete my OO.o profile directory and install from scratch.
Now, one important feature is missing: TABS. This new version will keep clogging my taskbar.
Ya know, I was just thinking the same thing. AFAIK, not even MS Office has tabs. It’s like Office suites are allergic to tabbed documents.
OpenOffice.org with tabs and a MUCH improved sidebar control that is much better than the Office 12 “ribbon”:
http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/products.jspa
OpenOffice.org with tabs and a MUCH improved sidebar control that is much better than the Office 12 “ribbon”:
Hmm. I have to agree with you there. The sidebar looks much nicer than the ribbon widget. What is Lotus Symphony? It is OpenOffice with custom tweaks from IBM?
2,278 issues in 167 days Er, I’m thinking there will probably be a scheduling adjustment in the not too distant future. Seems like a lot of work to stabilize.
Edited 2008-03-22 00:53 UTC
Download tab extension here:
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Framework/WorkInProgress/T…
Yeah, I know this extension, it was developed during the summer of code if my memory doesn’t fail me. The problem is that it’s…An extension. I don’t imagine Firefox with a “Tabs” extension. That would be terrible. These essential features have to come standard. And the tabs at the bottom are…Weird.
First, the developers are still soliciting comments on the best way to implement tabs. Second, the response from the community shows little demand.
I don’t imagine Firefox with a “Tabs” extension.
Guess what, the tab feature for Firefox is based on the Multizilla extension for the old Netscape 6 Suite now known as Seamonkey. Originally the browser had no tabs. It was added by the Multizilla extension and so many users/developers liked it they added the functionality. It is funny how old Netscape 6 stills lives on in code in Firefox. Read some of the XUL files and you will find original Netscape engineer comments. Ah, such an interesting history. Who remembers Phoenix? The predecessor to the Firefox browser. Here is a funny comment I found in the XUL Firefox 2 code: “XUL sucks!” It is good to see they have a sense of humor about their legacy technology.
Edited 2008-03-22 02:02 UTC
2 very good ideas that would make OO.
Must throw them at the developers and try to get something implemented. I hate having to download the complete OO suite to just update the thing.
Tabs would also be great especially if you could have tabs running different aspects of OO i.e. writer/calc/presentation all from within the same window and with cut and past abilities between them. Would be great.
That and good collaberation tools.
I like the split-view mode. Very nice for wide monitors. The sidebar displaying notes is also quite useful. Should be a nice upgrade when it is final. I downloaded and installed the tab extension someone posted a link for. It is also pretty cool. I didn’t even realize OpenOffice had an extension manager similar to Firefox. Cool.
I cannot believe that OpenOffice continues to evolve at a major rate. OpenOffice 2.0 was a major increment over previous version and OpenOffice 3.0 seems to do the same.
…but seriously PDF import and export is fantastic.
I don’t care for greeters in programs, they are a waste of time.
They should kill the quickloader too. Everyone wants their computer to boot slower–not. All the code should be removed. If every program had a quickloader, your computer would never start.
The twin-page in Writer is a good idea.
I hope the PDF import makes it into the final version, but Adobe wouldn’t appreciate that.