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LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

computerworld.com

161–170 of 227 posts

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#161
post #105

It's probably also related to the geopolitical context. The US has threatened war at least against Canada, Europe, Panama and China, while clearly eyeing an alliance with Russia, which would in turn threaten many countries bordering Russia. That's a pretty large number of users who don't feel safe using US products anymore.

This could be checked by someone with access to country level sales numbers (or download numbers for libreoffice). Absent that, the recent price rise to pay for AI that most people don't need (since there are currently free of charge options elsewhere) is a more plausible explanation at a time when cost of living is a big topic in multiple countries.

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#162

MS office has been removing features, ruining the UI and adding bloat. No wonder people are jumping ship.

This has been the story for 20 years now. It's a case study in what happens when a product has a guaranteed revenue stream and the company has 0 incentive to innovate or improve anything. However, managers still need to have "launches" and leave their grimy fingerprints on the UI so they can pat themselves on the back and advance a rung on the career ladder. From a would-be user's perspective it appears this dynamic…

> This has been the story for 20 years now.

Even longer. I remember in college in the '90s we would pack two things away over the summer to make sure the next year would go well: 1/4 oz weed because it took so long for the market to pick back up in the fall, and a floppy disc holding Word 5.1 since Word 6.0 for the Mac was such garbage.

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#163
post #44

Given the number of people who still right align texts with spaces or tab if they are professionals I think for mist people programs like Word and LibreOffice Writer are overkill

These people need an multimodal AI assistant that does geometrically correctly OCR of the page s screenshot and then determines the appropriate number of spaces and sizes for the spaces to accurately right-align the text.

I think that is in copilot but it will cost you one AI credit from your o365 subscription

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#164
post #105

It's probably also related to the geopolitical context. The US has threatened war at least against Canada, Europe, Panama and China, while clearly eyeing an alliance with Russia, which would in turn threaten many countries bordering Russia. That's a pretty large number of users who don't feel safe using US products anymore.

This could be checked by someone with access to country level sales numbers (or download numbers for libreoffice). Absent that, the recent price rise to pay for AI that most people don't need (since there are currently free of charge options elsewhere) is a more plausible explanation at a time when cost of living is a big topic in multiple countries.

That's a sensible response that seems to not be informed by recent buying trends in countries that are now grappling with sudden U.S. trade policy shifts. The sentiments are very strong, and need to be examined seriously by folks in the U.S. who will suddenly be feeling the negative effects. This is the world today, and it is taking a decidedly anti-U.S. tone for buyers and shoppers in other countries. To wit:

https://www.newsweek.com/kentucky-bourbon-boss-bemoans-canad...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7vjlv7pzdo

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/danish-viking-bloo...

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#165

Google docs doesn’t work?

It has the worst commenting and track history I've seen. My company went to Google docs about 5 years ago and I have steadily walked the work product of engineers go downhill because of it.

It's far better than Office 365's though in my experience.

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#166
post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

The actual phrasing I've heard was much harsher and I was trying to keep it more neutral for a public forum. Feel free to substitute.

"Elbows up" isn't rude, so is suitable for fora, and for one country whose sovereignty has been directly threatened by the country where Microsoft is based, captures that attitude perfectly.

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#167
post #2

If I'm evaluating a potential application whose core functionality does not require external resources/servers (Dropbox for example) and they don't at a minimum offer some kind of perpetual fallback license (aka the Jetbrains annual subscription model), then I straight up bounce. Examples of good alternatives - Pixelmator > Photoshop - Davinci Resolve > Premiere - Reaper > Audition I have no interest in renting my to…

You actually can still buy Office. It's quite expensive though. I suppose it always was. https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=2113574&CLCID=0x10...

My go-to strategy still seems to hold up: https://www.g2a.com/search?query=microsoft%20office

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

There is a tide turning, and it has been especially strong in the places mentioned in the parent comment to yours. People at large there are actively label-watching to sort out the U.S. products in favour of others. It is real and it is happening, so I'm led to believe that your exposure to popular sentiment from those places is low. Its not too late for you and others who would wave away international discontent wit…

[flagged]

Re: LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could be checked by someone with access to country level sales numbers (or download numbers for libreoffice). Absent that, the recent price rise to pay for AI that most people don't need (since there are currently free of charge options elsewhere) is a more plausible explanation at a time when cost of living is a big topic in multiple countries.

That's a sensible response that seems to not be informed by recent buying trends in countries that are now grappling with sudden U.S. trade policy shifts. The sentiments are very strong, and need to be examined seriously by folks in the U.S. who will suddenly be feeling the negative effects. This is the world today, and it is taking a decidedly anti-U.S. tone for buyers and shoppers in other countries. To wit: https:…

Trump wants to disrupt global trade so people making their own small disruption is an odd way to protest that, although I understand the sentiment. Shipyard Brewery are not my enemy and I hope I will continue to be able to buy their beer in the UK.
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