The developers behind open source office suite OpenOffice.org plan to officially push the next major release on Monday. But if you just can't wait to get your hands on the first stable, post-beta, post-release candidate copy of OpenOffice.org 3.0 you can download it today.

That's because the OpenOffice.org team has already sent out the files to a long list of mirror sites. Just pick one in your region, navigate to the folder marked "stable and grab the appropriate files for your operating system from the "3.0.0" folder.

If you're looking for the Windows version you can also download it today from FileHippo, SoftPedia, or MajorGeeks.

[via gHacks]

There's good news and no news from the OpenOffice.org camp. First the good news, OpenOffice.org 3.0 RC4 is out, which no doubt features some new bug fixes and tweaks and not a whole lot of new features that were absent from RC3. I can't be more specific than that, because while the developers have done a bang up job of creating an open source office suite, they really need to do a better job of documenting the updates in each release.

The release notes page for OpenOffice.org 3.0 RC4 looks an awful lot like the release notes page for RC3. And both are virtually unreadable, because there's no section that highlights the major differences. Rather, each includes roughly a zillion little feature updates and bug fixes that set OpenOffice.org 3.0 apart from OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, the most recent stable build.

With that in mind, there are a few important differences between OpenOffice.org 3.0 and OpenOffice.org 2.4.1, including:

• OOo 3.0 includes native support for OS X
• Support for Office 2007 documents
• New multi-page view in Writer
• Multiple users can edit spreadsheets simultaneously
• Ability to add MS Access databases to Writer

OpenOffice.org 3.0 RC4 is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

AbiWord is a great little word processor for Windows, Linux, and OS X. It can handle DOC, RTF, TXT, and HTML files, as well as a few other other formats. And AbiWord takes up an awful lot less disc space than OpenOffice.org. So it's certainly worth checking out if all you need is a lightweight but full-featured word processor.

Version 2.6 is available now for Windows and Linux. It looks like the latest version of AbiWord for OS X is still version 2.4.6. The latest release includes a ton of updates including:

• GNOME office plugin that allows you to embed Gnumeric charts in documents
• Ability to open files on remote shares using samba, ftp, or ssh shares
• Improved language support
• Experimental collaboration plugin
• Experimental new Office Open XMl import filter
• Native Windows vista menus
• Drag and drop images in and out of Unix version of AbiWord

For a full list of updates, check out the release notes.

[via CyberNotes]

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]

Been so busy reading passport records of presidential candidates that you haven't had time to keep up on the week's geekier news? Not to worry, we've got you covered. Here's a few of our favorite stories you might have missed:

Flipping the Linux Switch: Installing and configuring Linux

This week we had a twofer in our Linux 101 series. First up, we wanted to show you just how easy it is to install Linux. Once upon a time, making the switch from Windows to Linux may have required some technical wizardry, complete with the latest model broomstick, but no more. Modern distros like Ubuntu make installation a breeze. But once you've got Linux up and running, you might notice that there's no support for common file types like MP3s, so you might want to take a look at another part in our series which shows how to do some basic configuration and tweaking of a fresh Linux installation.

Download full version of FairUse Wizard DVD ripper for free

This week we discovered that one of our favorite DVD ripping applications, FairUse Wizard was available for free for a limited time. Normally FairUse Wizard comes in two varieties, a limited free edition, and a full featured commercial version. But if you download the full version now, you can save a few bucks. No telling how long this deal will last, so go ahead and grab it while you still can.

There are dozens of alternatives to Microsoft Word for people who need to create or edit text documents but don't feel like shelling out the cash for Microsoft Office. We're rather fond of AbiWord and OpenOffice Writer around here. Both are full-featured MS Word alternatives that are capable of opening and editing Word documents. And they both come in portable versions which can be installed to a USB flash drive for carrying from computer to computer if that's your cup of tea.

Jarte is another portable word processor. Although you can install Jarte to a Windows PC, you can also download a zip file that contains all the files and settings you need to run Jarte on any computer using a flash drive. Jarte is based on Microsoft WordPad, but it includes a ton of features that you won't find in WordPad including advanced formatting options and a spell checker.

The program also has a rather unusual interface, including tabs for switching between multiple open documents. And while most word processor have a ton of toolbars atop the text field letting you change fonts, colors, or page formating, Jarte has just a few large buttons. You click on these buttons to find submenus with all of those other features, many of which you probably don't use very often. The concept is nice, as it saves a lot of screen real estate. But it's kind of annoying that it takes two or three clicks to perform some functions that take just one click on other word processors.

Jarte is available as a free download. But if you want some of the more advanced features like real-time spell checking, you'll have to cough up $19 for Jarte Plus.

[via Techie Buzz]

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]

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.

OpenOffice.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]

IBM 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]

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.

Linspire is a Linux distribution designed for Windows users looking to switch to an open source operating system. It comes pre-loaded with software to make the user experience as close to Windows as possible. In fact, Linspire used to bear the name Lindows until the big M filed a little trademark lawsuit.

So while Linspire isn't the first Linux company to sign a deal with Microsoft, it's kind of funny to see the two companies working together now.

Microsoft and Linspire plan to work together on the following items:

• Linspire, Novell, Microsoft and other companies are working on improved document compatibility so that OpenOffice and Microsoft Office play nicely together.
• Linspire will license the RT audio codec from Microsoft to allow voice communication between MSN Messenger and Pidgin.
• Linspire will include Windows Media 10 codecs.
• Linspire will license Microsoft TrueType fonts.

Windows Live Search will be the default web search engine on Linspire 5.0. Wait, seriously? Is that legal?

OpenOffice.org has had an interesting journey on Mac OS X. For roughly half a decade, anyone who wanted to use it has had to also download the not-quite-user-friendly X11 environment which OpenOffice had to run in. Long story short: this cumbersome and resource-intensive setup knocked OpenOffice off the lists of almost all but the most resilient and passionate Mac OS X users.

Today, this unfortunate open source tragedy is no more - as long as you don't mind running alpha software.

Slashdot is reporting that the OpenOffice.org project has unleashed an alpha build of a true, native version that will run on PowerPC and Intel Macs using Mac OS X, and only Mac OS X (X11-be-gone!). Users must chose the correct version for their processor (i.e. - it isn't a Universal Binary for some odd reason), and the downloads are being distributed via BitTorrent. Users are also warned, however - in bold red lettering on the OpenOffice.org download page, no less - that this is definitely an alpha. In fact, a full list of known issues with this version is linked from the announcement post, with a few of the big hitters stated to help wary users make the decision to wait for a more robust version at a later date. These issues include:

• You cannot print
• PDF export does not properly work as thetext won't show on the page right
• Starting OpenOffice.org from a shared folder does not work
• Copy and paste does not fully work
• OpenOffice.org will crash after quitting
• Some text is not drawn in places like Impress
• Impress will not recognise multiple monitors

Still, this is a massive step forward to bringing a true version of OpenOffice.org to Mac OS X, and we tip our hats to the project for getting this far. Head over to the announcement post for more details on whether this early build is right for you.

Last 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.

It seems that no list is complete without being labeled as 'Must Have' these days, but we'll let you decide as to how indispensable these OpenOffice extensions listed by Linux.com really are. In the spotlight are extensions that add tabbed windows, a library of maps, more templates, clipart and fonts and even an annotation tool that enhances the suite's built-in Notes feature. For anyone looking to administer a booster shot to OpenOffice, this list is at least a good place to start.

Thanks FreeRhino