Download Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.comDownload Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/media/feedlogo.gifDownload Squadhttp://www.downloadsquad.comen-usCopyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Go-OO: Stick a fork in ithttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/30/go-oo-stick-a-fork-in-it/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/30/go-oo-stick-a-fork-in-it/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/30/go-oo-stick-a-fork-in-it/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

screenie

Since before the dawn of time, open source projects have forked more often than Lindsay Lohan cheked into rehab. The Mozilla browser is a great example of a successful fork, it was once based on Netscape, but evolved on its own and eventually rendered classic Netscape obsolete. Many -- if not most -- forks disappear into obscurity. We aren't so sure this one will go so quietly.

Go-OO is a fork of OpenOffice that has quite a few impressive features which really ought to be in official OO, but for some reason or another aren't, such as support for OpenXML, better Microsoft Binary support, and Word Perfect Graphics support. It also boasts significantly better start times -- at least on our poorly equipped test machine.

Long story short, this is a fast, lean beast of an office suite with great compatibilty with Microsoft Office. The price is right at $0.00, but as with any community project you are both welcome and encouraged to donate to the developers for their efforts.

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]]>OfficeOpenXMLproductivityproductivity toolsproductivityappsproductivityproductsProductivityToolsIan Dumych2008-05-30T10:00:00+00:00OpenOffice.org keeps getting slower with each new releasehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/29/openoffice-org-keeps-getting-slower-with-each-new-release/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/29/openoffice-org-keeps-getting-slower-with-each-new-release/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/29/openoffice-org-keeps-getting-slower-with-each-new-release/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

OpenOffice.org speed test
Open source software advocates like to point to OpenOffice.org as a viable alternative to Microsoft Office. It can open, create, edit, and save Office-compatible documents including text, spreadsheet, and database files. It might not have every last bell and whistle of Office, but it gets the job done. But OpenOffice.org also has a dirty little secret: It's kind of slow. And apparently, it's getting slower all the time.

OpenOffice.org Ninja ran a battery of tests and found that with each major release, OpenOffice.org has gotten a little slower when performing common tasks like opening, closing, and exporting documents. OpenOffice.org 1.1.5, for example, launches about 40% faster than OpenOffice.org 2.4. That figure holds true whether you're doing a cold start (loading the program for the first time since rebooting your computer) or a warm start (starting the program a second, third, or 15th time).

The developers have certainly been tweaking the open source office suite to improve performance. But they also keep adding new features, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, sometimes those new features slow down program performance. Of course, if you can't wait 20-25 seconds to load your office suite, you could always just buy more RAM, a faster CPU, and umm... Microsoft Office. Or try an online office suite like Google Docs or Zoho, which load faster than OpenOffice.org if you already have a browser window open.

[via Digg]
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]]>openoffice.orgperformancespeedBrad Linder2008-05-29T15:00:00+00:00Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 will add support for Open Document Formathttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/21/microsoft-office-2007-sp2-will-add-support-for-open-document-for/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/21/microsoft-office-2007-sp2-will-add-support-for-open-document-for/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/21/microsoft-office-2007-sp2-will-add-support-for-open-document-for/#commentsFiled under: , ,

OpenOffice.org documents

Microsoft has announced plans to add support for a several new document formats to Office 2007. The company plans to release Office 2007 SP2 during the first half of 2009, and it will add support for XPS, PDF 1.5, and ODF 1.1 files, among others.

Users will be able to create, open, and edit ODF documents, and save documents as XPS, PDF, or ODF files. The Open Document Format, or ODF is an open source challenger to Microsoft's Office formats. A few years ago the company released an add-on for Microsoft Word that would allow users to open ODF documents. But with the launch of Office 2007 SP2, support for ODF and PDF files will be built right into the applications. No add-ons necessary.

Or you could just use OpenOffice.org today. No waiting until 2009 necessary.

[via OStatic and CNet]

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]]>formatsodfofficeoffice-2007office-2007-sp2pdfBrad Linder2008-05-21T17:30:00+00:00OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta now availablehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/07/openoffice-org-3-0-beta-now-available/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/07/openoffice-org-3-0-beta-now-available/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/07/openoffice-org-3-0-beta-now-available/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta

OpenOffice.org 3.0 is due out in September. But if you just can't wait that long, today the developers released a beta of the open source office suite. Back in March we took a look at a pre-beta version of OpenOffice.org, but the latest build is a bit more stable. And while we wouldn't recommend replacing the software you use to balance your companies books with a public beta, you can just check it out if you're an office suite geek looking for a rush. We won't judge.

So what's new under the hood? Here are some of the highlights:

  • OpenOffice.org 3.0 is the first version to run on Mac OS X (there are also Linux and Windows versions)
  • OpenOffice.org Start Center gives you a one stop shop for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, databases, or templates
  • Support for collaborative spreadsheet editing
  • Improved Writer notes features
  • View multiple Writer pages while editing a document
  • Improved crop features in Draw and Impress
  • Support for ODF and MS Office 2007 formats

Keep in mind, this is beta software. So while it will probably work properly 99% of the time, don't blame us if it crashes your system or goes crazy and starts messing up the formatting of that manuscript you've been working on for the last 10 years. In other words, remember to backup your documents, and think twice about using OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta to create or edit really important files.

[via Slashdot]

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]]>officeopenoffice.orgopenoffice.org-3.0-betaBrad Linder2008-05-07T15:00:00+00:00OpenOffice.org 2.4 releasedhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/26/openoffice-org-2-4-released/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/26/openoffice-org-2-4-released/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/26/openoffice-org-2-4-released/#commentsFiled under: ,

OpenOffice.org 2.4
OpenOffice.org 2.4 final is now available for download. Just not from the official OpenOffice.org web page, which is still offering a choice between version 2.3. 1 and release candidate 6 for OpenOffice.org 2.4. But you can find a download link for the latest version from Filehippo.

There are no release notes available for version 2.4 yet, but you can check out a list of features that are probably included by looking at the feature freeze testing page on the OpenOffice.org wiki. Honestly, most of the improvements seem pretty minor, unless you get really excited about things like:
  • Display both in the data point label: value and percentage
  • Reduce complexity: Remove unnecessary display options
  • Remove GUI option "Automatic file name extension" from File-Save dialog (Office Dlg)
If you want to see where OpenOffice.org is headed, check out our preview of Openoffice.org 3.0.
[via CyberNet]
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]]>openofficeopenoffice.orgopenoffice.org-2.4Brad Linder2008-03-26T12:00:00+00:00Sneak peek at OpenOffice.org 3.0http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/20/sneak-peek-at-openoffice-org-3-0/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/20/sneak-peek-at-openoffice-org-3-0/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/20/sneak-peek-at-openoffice-org-3-0/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta
OpenOffice.org 2.4 may be just around the corner. But if you laugh at stable releases and always want to have your hands on the latest beta software, you can download an early beta version of OpenOffice.org 3.0 today. Just check out the list of OpenOffice.org mirrors, choose a download site, and then find the Developer folder and the DEV300 supfolder and you should be able to download a Windows, Linux, or Mac installer. That's right, there's even an OS X installer. OpenOffice.org 3.0 will be the first version of OpenOffice to feature a native Mac client.

So what else does OpenOffice.org 3.0 have that version 2.3.1 is missing? Well, a bunch of bugs. This is a developer preview, after all. But there's also a ton of new features, including the startup screen you see above. That's what you'll get if you launch OOo-dev without choosing a specific application like Writer or Calc first. Here are a few other changes:
  • Multi-page view in Writer
  • Office 2007 document support
  • New Calc theme
  • Maximum number of columns in Calc jumps from 256 to 1024
  • Multiple users can edit spreadsheets simultaneously
These are just a few of the changes already included in OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta. There are thousands of other tweaks and bug fixes in the works. What features would you most like to see in the next major release? OpenOffice.org 3.0 is scheduled for a September, 2008 launch.

[via OpenOffice.org Ninja]
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]]>developer-previewopenoffice.orgopenoffice.org-3.0Brad Linder2008-03-20T17:00:00+00:00Office 2003 SP3 "blocks" old file formatshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/03/office-2003-sp3-blocks-old-file-formats/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/03/office-2003-sp3-blocks-old-file-formats/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/03/office-2003-sp3-blocks-old-file-formats/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

If you are an Office 2003 user who has recently installed Service Pack 3 who has found it necessary to open up file formats from the pre-Office '97 era, you may have noticed that Office now blocks access to these file formats. According to Microsoft, older Word, Excel, Lotus 1-2-3/Quattro and Corel Draw files are affected, because "...By default, these file formats are blocked because they are less secure. They may pose a risk to you." This isn't pure FUD, as Larry Seltzer points out, file parsing is an easy way for miscreants to attack computers using malformed data files. So rather than patch the holes for these, let's face it, ancient file formats, Microsoft has decided to just disable default access. Yeah, it's lazy - but we kind of don't blame them (even in the corporate or academic environment, when was the last time you access a document created in one of these formats?).

For users who really need to access that old data, Microsoft's Support Site has posted instructions on how to modify the registry so that your program(s) can access the old files. This can be done manually or by running a pre-configured registry script.

Conversely, OpenOffice can be used to open the old file types. In any event, we highly recommend converting your old files to a new format anyway -- it really is more secure (and will help guarantee compatibility with future Office suites by Microsoft or someone else).
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]]>compatibilityfile formatFileFormatlegacy supportLegacySupportoffice 2003Office2003Christina Warren2008-01-03T18:00:00+00:00Five Small Business Tech Resolutions for 2008http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/27/five-small-business-tech-resolutions-for-2008/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/27/five-small-business-tech-resolutions-for-2008/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/27/five-small-business-tech-resolutions-for-2008/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Computer Conferencing for 2008Start out 2008 with a business bang! Get free online tools to help in everyday and long-term technology chores. Here are some suggestions for the best free small business tools available for a 2008 launch for your business.

Keep track of your software licenses
Every time you buy a Microsoft Office or Windows software product, or one from Adobe (like Acrobat) or those expensive graphic suites (like CS3), you get a serial number usually attached to the CD case. After installing the software, does the box (with that critical serial number inside) wind up on a shelf somewhere? Resolve to undertake a software licensing program in 2008 and keep track of your serial numbers with a copy of those numbers off-site, perhaps on a portable USB storage device that is password-protected. Use a spreadsheet and note the software title, date and place of purchase, serial number, on which computer it was installed and where the original or backup copy is. Reasonably-priced shareware is here and some free apps are here. Check out KeyFiler, an online solution.

Continue reading Five Small Business Tech Resolutions for 2008

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]]>teleconferencing, videoconferencing, skype, software licensing,Teleconferencing,Videoconferencing,Skype,SoftwareLicensing,SmallSue Polinsky2007-12-27T12:00:00+00:00Save your OpenOffice.org docs to Google Docs (and vice versa)http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/14/save-your-openoffice-org-docs-to-google-docs-and-vice-versa/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/14/save-your-openoffice-org-docs-to-google-docs-and-vice-versa/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/14/save-your-openoffice-org-docs-to-google-docs-and-vice-versa/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocsIf you find yourself typing some documents up on your desktop and others using the web-based office suite Google Docs & Spreadsheets, you might find it hard to keep organized. With your documents spread all over the place, it's easy for a few things to get lost in the shuffle.

While OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs won't quite let you synchronize your OpenOffice.org documents with your Google Docs, this OpenOffice extension does make it easy to import/export your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Once you download and install the extension, a new toolbar will show up in OpenOffice.org with two options: Export to Google Docs and Import from Google Docs. The export button basically lets you save your documents online so you can edit them from any computer, share them with collaborators, or do whatever else it is you do with Google Docs. The import feature brings up a list of all your documents stored online and lets you open them up one by one. There's no batch import option available at the moment.

We'll repeat, this is not a synchronization option. If you have an older copy of a document on your desktop and a newer version with the same version on Google Docs, it's up to you to resolve the differences. But this is still a pretty handy extension if you prefer using OpenOffice.org on your desktop, but might need to access your documents on the go.
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]]>google-docsopenoffice.org2googledocsBrad Linder2007-12-14T12:00:00+00:00IBM releases updated beta of Lotus Symphony office suitehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/14/ibm-releases-updated-beta-of-lotus-symphony-office-suite/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/14/ibm-releases-updated-beta-of-lotus-symphony-office-suite/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/14/ibm-releases-updated-beta-of-lotus-symphony-office-suite/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Lotus Symphony beta 2
Remember Lotus Symphony? A few months ago IBM launched its open source MS Office competitor based on OpenOffice.org code. We downloaded it, installed it, weren't particularly impressed, unloaded it and forgot about it.

Now IBM is back with a second beta release of Lotus Symphony. The application still runs pretty slow on our Windows Vista test system. There are versions available for Windows XP, Vista, and Linux. A Mac release is scheduled for next year.

Computer World reports that IBM plans to release updates every 6 to 8 weeks. The next version will include support for 23 languages. Right now, Lotus Symphony is only available in English.

As for major changes in Lotus Symphony Beta 2, we didn't notice much in the way of new features. So we're guessing most of the tweaks are under the hood bug fixes.

[via Computer World]
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]]>ibmlotuslotus-symphonyopenoffice.orgBrad Linder2007-11-14T11:00:00+00:00OpenOffice.org + extras = OxygenOffice Prohttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/10/21/openoffice-org-extras-oxygenoffice-pro/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/10/21/openoffice-org-extras-oxygenoffice-pro/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/10/21/openoffice-org-extras-oxygenoffice-pro/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

OxygenOffice Pro
Ever wish OpenOffice.org had more... stuff? OxygenOffice Pro is a modified version of OpenOffice.org. OxygenOffice packs all the same basic features as OOo, including word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications. But it also comes with a bunch of extras like clip art and templates.

OxygenOffice Pro 2.3.0 was released this weekend, and it comes with:
  • More than 3400 graphics including clip art and photos
  • 90 fonts
  • Several templates and sample documents.
  • OOoWikipedia integration
  • Enhanced help menu and user's manual
  • VBA support for Excel documents under Calc
  • Enhaned PDF management
  • Direct export to LaTex MediWiki
OxygenOffice Pro was formerly known as OpenOffice.org Premium. But despite the name, OxygenOffice Pro, like its cousin is free.

[via makeuseof]
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]]>openofficeoxygenofficeoxygenoffice-proBrad Linder2007-10-21T09:00:00+00:00New OpenOffice bug affects Mac, Linux, as well as Windowshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/25/new-openoffice-bug-affects-mac-linux-as-well-as-windows/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/25/new-openoffice-bug-affects-mac-linux-as-well-as-windows/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/25/new-openoffice-bug-affects-mac-linux-as-well-as-windows/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The forthcoming Aqua-native version of OpenOffice.
ZDNet UK is reporting that a just-discovered bug in OpenOffice can victimize versions of the software running on Mac and Linux in addition to Windows. The bug allows an attacker to use malformed TIFF images to run malicious code on the user's computer, ostensibly for the purpose of spreading the malicious code like a trojan. The official explanation of a heap overflow exploit can be found here. (Sounds likes when there's too much garbage in our can.)

OpenOffice's developers have not yet released a fix for the bug (update: the bug does not exist in version 2.3 or newer), but the firm that discovered it is advising OpenOffice users to "be careful" with attachments received from unknown sources. Good advice--whether you run OpenOffice, Microsoft Office, or Wordstar.
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]]>openofficesecurityviruswormTed Wallingford2007-09-25T18:00:00+00:00Native Mac OS X version of OpenOffice.org coming in 2008http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/20/native-mac-os-x-version-of-openoffice-org-coming-in-2008/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/20/native-mac-os-x-version-of-openoffice-org-coming-in-2008/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/20/native-mac-os-x-version-of-openoffice-org-coming-in-2008/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

OpenOffice.org 3 for Mac
OpenOffice.org is finally getting native Mac OS X support. The open source office suit has been available for Windows and Linux for years. And since 2005, you've been able to run OpenOffice.org on OS X, but you needed to install the resource-intensive X11 environment to get it working.

This summer, the development team offered the first alpha of a native version of OpenOffice.org for OS X. In other words, there's a standalone installer and you the applications are themed to look like native Mac apps. But as with any alpha software, install at your own risk and expect many bugs. For example, you couldn't print documents at first. That might be a dealbreaker.

Now the team has announced that they plan to have a fully functional version working for OS X by the time OpenOffice.org 3.0 is released in September 2008. The new version will include support for Apple's Aqua interface.

Of course, if you can't wait that long, you might want to check out NeoOffice, an independently produced OS X port of OpenOffice.org.

[via ComputerWorld]
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]]>aquaneoofficeos-xBrad Linder2007-09-20T15:00:00+00:00Download OpenOffice.org 2.3 a few days earlyhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/15/download-openoffice-org-2-3-a-few-days-early/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/15/download-openoffice-org-2-3-a-few-days-early/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/15/download-openoffice-org-2-3-a-few-days-early/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

OpenOffice.org 2.3OpenOffice.org 2.3 will officially be released on Monday. But if you're the impatient sort, you can download it this weekend. The software has been distributed to download mirrors including OSUOSL a few days early in order to make launch day run a bit more smoothly.

All you have to do is select OpenOffice.org 2.3, choose your operating system and language, and away you go. There are a ton of bug fixes and feature updates since OpenOffice 2.2 was launched. Here are just a few.
  • New export filter for writing Wiki pages
  • Spell check 1 letter words
  • New chart wizard
  • A whole slew of new local data including Jewish holidays in the US, and updated currency in Venezuela
  • Language guessing for unknown text
You can find more updates in the release notes.

[via Ejoh]
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]]>calcimpressopenofficeopenoffice.org 2.3Openoffice.org2.3writerBrad Linder2007-09-15T17:00:00+00:00IBM joins OpenOffice.org developer communityhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/12/ibm-joins-openoffice-org-developer-community/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/12/ibm-joins-openoffice-org-developer-community/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/09/12/ibm-joins-openoffice-org-developer-community/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

OpenOffice.orgIBM has announced that it is joining the OpenOffice.org community. The company will contribute code already developed for Lotus Notes and will assist development in an ongoing basis. From a user perspective, there's no word on what tangible changes we'll see in OpenOffice.org in the near future. But open source development has never been a case of "too many cooks spoil the broth," so we're going to take this as good news.

While OpenOffice.org is open source, the software is based on StarOffice, which was developed by Sun. So IBM is hardly the first major corporation to get involved in developing the Microsoft Office alternative.

The partnership is not one way. While OpenOffice.org applications will likely benefit from IBM's expertise, the open document format is gaining wide acceptance as a standard. The more companies that partner with OpenOffice.org, the better support there will be for ODF in other applications.

[via Once More Unto the Breach]
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]]>developmentopenofficeBrad Linder2007-09-12T11:00:00+00:00How to speed up OpenOfficehttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/08/18/how-to-speed-up-openoffice/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/08/18/how-to-speed-up-openoffice/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/08/18/how-to-speed-up-openoffice/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

OpenOffice speed tweak
From the "if we really thought about it we would have been able to figure this out on our own" department comes a handy tip for speeding up OpenOffice.org -- by increasing its memory use.

The open source Microsoft Office alternative is great if you're looking for a low cost word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation application. But it takes so long to load up, especially if you don't enable the quick start application.

Here's how to cut down OpenOffice.org's startup time:
  1. Start OpenOffice (it doesn't matter which application you load, Calc, Impress, or Writer will all work)
  2. Click Tools>Options
  3. Select Java menu and uncheck "Use a Java runtime environment"
  4. Select the Memory Tab and change the following options:
  • Number of steps: 30
  • Use for Open Office: 128
  • Memory per Object: 20
  • Number of Objects: 20
Next time you start an OpenOffice.org application it should open much more quickly. But it will also eat up more memory. If you have an older computer with less than 1GB of RAM, you might want to just live with a slow load time. Or buy more memory.

[via gHacks]
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]]>memoryopenoffice.orgramspeedtipsBrad Linder2007-08-18T12:00:00+00:00Web 2 Cool for school - A rundown of online applications for studentshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/08/16/web-2-cool-for-school-a-rundown-of-online-applications-for-stu/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/08/16/web-2-cool-for-school-a-rundown-of-online-applications-for-stu/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/08/16/web-2-cool-for-school-a-rundown-of-online-applications-for-stu/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Web 2 Cool for school - A rundown of online applications for students.With some students already in school, and some preparing to enter yet another journey into a new semester, let DLS make your studies that much more organized with a few free desktop and web applications that will make your school life that much more enjoyable.

From free document creation applications, online to-do's and organization applications, users are faced with a decision, go for the costly desktop versions and upgrade every few years, or stay ahead of the curve with free web based applications that are constantly updating with new growing feature sets. The choice has never been easier.

This DLS special feature lists out current tools that are floating around the web as highly competitive alternatives for both students and professionals.

Continue reading Web 2 Cool for school - A rundown of online applications for students

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]]>calccalendarcampuscollegedocsemailmaking moneyMakingMoneynotesonline applicationsOnlineApplicationsopen officeOpenOfficeschoolsheetsspreadsheetstask listTaskListto doToDouniversityWeb 2 Cool for schoolweb2web2.0Web2CoolForSchoolwordwriterChris Gilmer2007-08-16T14:00:00+00:00Switching your family and friends to Linuxhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/05/16/switching-your-family-and-friends-to-linux/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/05/16/switching-your-family-and-friends-to-linux/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/05/16/switching-your-family-and-friends-to-linux/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Switching to LinuxLast weekend at BarCamp Portland, I gave a brief talk on switching family and friends to Linux. I hear you asking, why would you want to do that? Well, for a number of reasons really: cost, principle, maintenance, all of the above, or any reason what so ever. In my case, my father's work PC was a constant source of trouble for him (and me). So, with his agreement (and my assistance), he made the switch to Ubuntu Linux. So far it's been a success, barring a few minor problems (printing envelopes from OpenOffice, for example). It might also be good to note that my own personal affinity for computers does not, to the best of my knowledge, come from Dad (thanks Mom!).

However, I don't want to give the whole story away. Instead I invite you dear readers to take a look at my presentation slides. Do you have family or friends that you have given thought to switching? Have you already switched someone? Let me know your experiences in the comments. I'd also enjoy any feedback or additional ideas that you may have.

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]]>barcamplinuxopen sourceopenofficeubuntuChris Brentano2007-05-16T12:00:00+00:00OpenOffice 2.2 patches up vulnerabilitieshttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/03/29/openoffice-2-2-patches-up-vulnerabilities/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/03/29/openoffice-2-2-patches-up-vulnerabilities/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/03/29/openoffice-2-2-patches-up-vulnerabilities/#commentsFiled under: ,

OpenOffice 2.2While we're still waiting for an official note on the OpenOffice homepage, it looks like version 2.2 is up on their FTP site.

So what's new? Well first off, there's a couple of vulnerability fixes. Users who open untrusted WordPerfect or StarCalc files with OpenOffice 2.1 could leave their systems compromised. And Linux/Solaris users running OpenOffice from a shell terminal could have malicious code executed if they open an untrusted URL. Those problems have all been fixed in OpenOffice 2.2.

Some other changes include improved text display, stability improvement on Intel-based Macs, Impress has improved handling of hidden slides, and Base has improved SQL editing functions.

[via CyberNet]
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]]>openofficeBrad Linder2007-03-29T07:00:00+00:00Open Office goes a courting Dellhttp://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/03/13/open-office-goes-a-courting-dell/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/03/13/open-office-goes-a-courting-dell/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/03/13/open-office-goes-a-courting-dell/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Seizing the momentum (and cache) of being the number two requested item on Dell's Idea Storm website, OpenOffice.org sent an open letter to Dell's chairman asking Dell to consider the possibility of pre-loading pc's with OpenOffice. OpenOffice didn't stop there - they also asked Dell to consider making a financial contribution to assure OpenOffice continues to evolve.

However, If you're pining to see Linux on Dell's desktops, the tea leaves aren't giving many clues. Michael Dell, in a March 7th interview with DesktopLinux.com, cited the various number of Linux distributions and the lack of a clear favorite as being an obstacle to pre-loading on Dell's. However, in a pandering moment, Mr. Dell said if customers want Linux, "Dell will give it to them." Ummm. Isn't that what Dell's very own customer feedback website Idea Storm is saying?

OpenOffice is a free, open source office suite providing a practical alternative to Microsoft's Office.
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]]>Dellopen office.orgOpenOffice.orgDolores Parker2007-03-13T16:00:00+00:00