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Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

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Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#41

Post by jnbiche »

david-given wrote: post #36
okket wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everybody is using LibreOffice, except a poor few that get misguided by search services to the Apache OpenOffice website. IMHO there is no sane reason why Apache OpenOffice still exists. Edit: Looks like there are a lot more OpenOffice users out there than I thought, sorry. I really thought the world would have moved on, at least since 2013/14, see https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/St...

My father's been a happy Ubuntu user for years (and a fairly resentful one for a few more years --- he still misses the old GNOME user interface and loathes Unity). He mainly uses it for Gimp and LibreOffice. When he had to switch from OpenOffice to LibreOffice he was pretty close to packing it all in and using something else; his argument was: why should he trust a package produced by an organisation that can't keep…

> and a fairly resentful one for a few more years --- he still misses the old GNOME user interface and loathes Unity

Why doesn't he use Mate? Ubuntu Mate is readily available on the Ubuntu website. Is he aware that it's a continuation of the old Gnome (Gnome 2)? And well-maintained to boot.

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#42

Post by [deleted] »

type0 wrote: post #39
1ris wrote: post #32

I think the document foundation should get the brand, instant of Apache squatting. It's still far better known that libreoffice.

Maybe Libre Office could take over the branding, making "0pen Libre Office" (OLO for short, not to be confused with LOL). That way even ppl searching for Open Office would find a good free Office suite.

[deleted]

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#43

Post by type0 »

hasch wrote: post #13
yoodenvranx wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> libreoffice I hate that name. As a German I have no idea how to pronounce it and it's even harder for my non-techy friends. The name "Open office" has a very nice flow and everybody knows how to pronounce it, but "libre office"? They should have selected an easier name for that project.

FlossOffice? even stranger, and make sure to use it at least once a day :-)

Sounds good to me! What we really need is school teachers that would nag their students to use it at least once a day, maybe then we as a society hopefully get rid of the pesky MS Office someday.

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#44

Post by vog »

LoSboccacc wrote: post #27
jacquesm wrote: post #20

Simplest instant solution: 301 every page about openoffice to a page about libreoffice.

aaaaauuuurrrrgh that's sound in principle but placing 301 on a domain like that is really, really bad.

Indeed, it should be 307 instead, just to keep the decision revertible.

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#45

Post by babayega2 »

evacchi wrote: post #26
davidgerard wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In English I just say Lieber-Office, as in Beiber-Office. I have had zero people confused at this pronunciation in the last six years. (edited to clarify)

so, neither? Edit to reflect parent: I do think that's probably easier to pronounce for English-speaking people than both French and Spanish

But libre mean "free" in French whereas there is no such word in English. Why would it not be more easier for us French speaking peoples?

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#46

Post by harry-wood »

davidgerard wrote: post #25
okket wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everybody is using LibreOffice, except a poor few that get misguided by search services to the Apache OpenOffice website. IMHO there is no sane reason why Apache OpenOffice still exists. Edit: Looks like there are a lot more OpenOffice users out there than I thought, sorry. I really thought the world would have moved on, at least since 2013/14, see https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/St...

This is horrifyingly incorrect. AOO still gets a shitload of downloads. It wasn't until last year that LO overtook AOO alone's download total. You would be amazed. Ordinary people know MSO sucks and want a free alternative. "OpenOffice" is the name they've heard as their exit. The project is entirely trading on the goodwill that FLOSS activists built up for the name "OpenOffice" from 2002-2010. That brand is still po…

You might be interested in my impressions as somebody who hardly ever uses office software, but an open source enthusiast and keeps up with some tech news.

I was aware of the OpenOffice/LibreOffice split of course. I knew this would mean some confusion until the dust settles. My vague impression was that LibreOffice might be a better choice for supporting openness versus corporate ownership (and so I'd plumbed for that myself) but at the same time I worried that OpenOffice might end up being better managed and maintained than LibreOffice. I was not aware until I read this, that the dust was settling so comprehensively on the side of LibreOffice. More than just OS idealists buying into it, it's actually being maintained a lot better.

This is good news. The situation seems a lot clearer than previously, but yes the message needs to get out. Hopefully apache will shut down, redirect and facilitate re-merging the brand names.

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#47

Post by cyphar »

type0 wrote: post #39
1ris wrote: post #32

I think the document foundation should get the brand, instant of Apache squatting. It's still far better known that libreoffice.

Maybe Libre Office could take over the branding, making "0pen Libre Office" (OLO for short, not to be confused with LOL). That way even ppl searching for Open Office would find a good free Office suite.

Now that's doubly confusing -- it implies that Libreoffice is a separate project which is proprietary, as well as being redundant.

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#48

Post by type0 »

jnbiche wrote: post #41
david-given wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father's been a happy Ubuntu user for years (and a fairly resentful one for a few more years --- he still misses the old GNOME user interface and loathes Unity). He mainly uses it for Gimp and LibreOffice. When he had to switch from OpenOffice to LibreOffice he was pretty close to packing it all in and using something else; his argument was: why should he trust a package produced by an organisation that can't keep…

> and a fairly resentful one for a few more years --- he still misses the old GNOME user interface and loathes Unity Why doesn't he use Mate? Ubuntu Mate is readily available on the Ubuntu website. Is he aware that it's a continuation of the old Gnome (Gnome 2)? And well-maintained to boot.

MATE is really a better GNOME2, some ppl don't want to believe it. There is somehow a parallel to OpenOffice and LibreOffice. Many non techy ppl don't know what forking is (for them it sounds as fornication). It adds to the confusion and we end up with a lot of users hesitating to try a better software.

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#49

Post by NetStrikeForce »

davidgerard wrote: post #25
okket wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everybody is using LibreOffice, except a poor few that get misguided by search services to the Apache OpenOffice website. IMHO there is no sane reason why Apache OpenOffice still exists. Edit: Looks like there are a lot more OpenOffice users out there than I thought, sorry. I really thought the world would have moved on, at least since 2013/14, see https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/St...

This is horrifyingly incorrect. AOO still gets a shitload of downloads. It wasn't until last year that LO overtook AOO alone's download total. You would be amazed. Ordinary people know MSO sucks and want a free alternative. "OpenOffice" is the name they've heard as their exit. The project is entirely trading on the goodwill that FLOSS activists built up for the name "OpenOffice" from 2002-2010. That brand is still po…

MSO is closed, proprietary, whatever, but it's actually a fine piece of software especially compared to OO and LO. Word, PowerPoint and Excel are so good that people end up overusing them for stuff they're not intended to. Others like OneNote or Visio are extremely useful, too. They might not be the best on each category, but together it's a very powerful suite.

Plus, MSO is multiplatoform on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. I'm unaware of mobile versions of OO or LO.

Everyone I know, including myself, that uses OO or LO is because it's free (as in freedom for some, as in beer for others) and can read/write MSO files to an extent.

Re: Contemplating the possible retirement of Apache OpenOffice

#50

Post by rincebrain »

JulianMorrison wrote: post #8

Apache should never have accepted this hot potato from Oracle in the first place.

Why do you think so?

It's not clear that they could have known this would not be sustainable at the time, and I don't see how the hot potato staying with Oracle would have been a better option.

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