There is a serious threat to Microsoft here, if everyone starts using AI for generating and updating Office docs. At some point Office will become just a viewer.
The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
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Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just throw some tokens at the problem. I’ve vibed up a Rust Crux hybrid app that runs well on macOS, iPad and wasm and does some pretty complex xml manipulation and other document work. Absolutely smokes electron and you get native UI. Ref: https://redbadger.github.io/crux/
On top of everyone else’s great points, if you make your own “fork” of something, then you have to consistently maintain it. Which can be done with tokens, but an extra cost with something that’s not as user tested.
I’m not talking about forking, but using standard libraries and native frameworks instead pretending electron is a desktop app.
Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure. Someone who hasn't installed the ChatGPT (or Codex) apps yet could confirm this by installing the apps, seeing if that ~/.cache directory exists, then try running a prompt that needs Python or Node.js or LibreOffice and see if it downloads them when needed.
I've never installed the ChatGPT app on my Mac until today. I ran the app, signed in, and I see the same. % ls ~/.cache/codex-runtimes/codex-primary-runtime/dependencies/native/libreoffice-headless libreoffice manifest.json
I have had the Codex/ChatGPT app installed for a few months, and can confirm that there's a 422.9 MB file named LibreOfficeDev.app in the above path.
More notably, I don't use Computer Use or any of the fancy features, just Codex for agentic coding.
Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#74There is a serious threat to Microsoft here, if everyone starts using AI for generating and updating Office docs. At some point Office will become just a viewer.
im stoked for that outcome, standard document tooling should not live behind subscription models anymore. i dont care that microsoft spent zillions bankrolling education systems and companies to fall into this cultural lock in over the decades
whether they like it or not spreadsheets word docs etc are just ubiquitous parts of existing in society at this point you're gonna need to reach for these tools eventually just to apply for jobs or do homework
Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#75There is a serious threat to Microsoft here, if everyone starts using AI for generating and updating Office docs. At some point Office will become just a viewer.
Don't worry, they are ahead of this.
Satya said some time ago that they expect soon to have more agents using Microsoft software than humans, and are working on transitioning their focus from serving humans to serving agents.
https://www.news18.com/business/satya-nadella-announces-micr...
Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just throw some tokens at the problem. I’ve vibed up a Rust Crux hybrid app that runs well on macOS, iPad and wasm and does some pretty complex xml manipulation and other document work. Absolutely smokes electron and you get native UI. Ref: https://redbadger.github.io/crux/
one does not just "throw tokens" at a problem, Ai is not that capable, and we are talking about MS Office file format, likely a NP hard problem
AI is especially good at ports like this where there’s a known and well tested surface area.
Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#77I still don’t understand why with all their cash these companies dont redo their apps in Rust or native. They are all so heavy and dog slow. There are already some very fast cross platform (wasm too!) libraries that can do what poppler does as well as parse and produce various office file formats. Because 2gb is crazy town, these things could be around 100mb, just throw some tokens at the problem.
What makes you think Rust is automatically better? (Also, "Rust or native" is a strange dichotomy. What's not native about Rust?)
Rust or native is objectively more performant and have smaller binaries than these web apps in Halloween costumes…
Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#78The new app is an unbelievable mess. Settings are senselessly organized, too. The whole thing has this aesthetic slickness and then underneath it's like the people who make it have never even used it.
It's not surprising that it's pulled in absolutely massive dependencies, although I'm not sure it's the wrong call on some operating systems. LibreOffice is pretty tried and true.
Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is simonw to blame for somebody else submitting it to HN?
I have a feeling you should learn about Poe's law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law
Anyone quoting Poe's Law is clearly just a Nazi.
...
For those that can't see the sarcasm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law
Re: The ChatGPT/Codex app bundles a full copy of LibreOffice
#80The new app is an unbelievable mess. Settings are senselessly organized, too. The whole thing has this aesthetic slickness and then underneath it's like the people who make it have never even used it. It's not surprising that it's pulled in absolutely massive dependencies, although I'm not sure it's the wrong call on some operating systems. LibreOffice is pretty tried and true.
Personally, I like the 3-pane organization (sidebar, chat, browser). I turned ChatGPT into my bookkeeper and social post writing/kanban space, and it works well for these script+browser workflows on desktop.
However, all of this is confusing:
- the ChatGPT/Codex split on desktop
- Chat/Work split on mobile
- how you remotely access each chat from your phone (some of my most valuable chats are buried in Remote)
- which chats propagate from device to device, and which remain on that device