I can see the conversation now:

Open Source Advocate 1: 'So, dude, we really should do something about this Godawful UI. I mean we tried our best to imitate Microsoft but it just... isn't working out.'

OS Advocate 2: 'There must be some other way... some way we can avoid paying any kind of skilled user-interface master to actually develop a sweet-ass interface.'

OS Advocate 1: 'I know! I KNOW! WE'LL MAKE A MOUSE! A homebrew mouse with enough buttons to map EVERY function to it! We'll simply do away with the usual interface! GENIUS!'

OS Advocate 2: 'Er... OK. Stop waving your Perl manual around like that. You're starting to scare me.'
...

Slashdot are reporting that OpenOffice.org has a new mouse -- the succinctly-named OpenOfficeMouse. Manufactured by WarMouse (the awesome naming never ceases), this behemoth has 18 buttons, a scroll wheel and, get this, an analogue joystick. You couldn't make this stuff up. It has macro support, storage for up to 63 profiles... 63!

I know what you're thinking: OpenOffice can't possibly fully-utilise this beautiful piece of (patented) technological mastery. This thing is for gamers.

OpenOffice.org includes a word processor, spreadsheet application, database utility, presentation application, and several other programs. Version 3.1 comes with a number of bug fixes, improvements, and new features. Here are just a few:

• Anti-aliasing for improved graphics
• Easier dragging of graphics
• Improved file locking to prevent other users on the network from overwriting your changes to a document
• Support for overlining as well as underlining
• Ability for different editors to "reply" to comments in a Writer document
• Rename Calc sheets with a double click
• Zoom slider control in the Calc status bar similar to the one in Writer

You can find a complete list of changes in the release notes.

Want to check out OpenOffice.org 3.0 but don't want to download the 142MB installer just to see if you like it? No problem. You can run it in a web browser thanks to Ulteo.

Ulteo takes an interesting approach to online desktop and office suites. Unlike other online desktops that offer some storage space and a few simple, browser based apps, Ulteo offers access to a virtual Linux-based operating system complete with a desktop and full Linux apps like OpenOffice.org. In other words, you get a lot more features from Ulteo than you do from Google Docs, Zoho Office, or EyeOS.

On the other hand, Ulteo relies on Java, takes a while to launch, and has a freemium model. You get 1GB of storage space for free, but sessions are limited to 25 minutes. If you want more storage space or more time per session, you have to pony up some cash for a subscription.

I first looked at Ulteo last year when the company began offering access to OpenOffice.org 2.3. While it's nice to see that Ulteo is continuing to develop its technology, some of my initial complaints still stand. It's a bit awkward to switch between program windows. And it takes too long to load. But if you're just looking for a way to check out OpenOffice.org 3.0 before you download it, Ulteo will let you do that. Or if you want to be able to access OpenOffice.org and your saved documents on any computer with a web browser and Java, Ulteo may be for you.

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.

The first release candidate of OpenOffice.org 3.0 is out. The next generation of the open source office suite has been in beta for months and is slated for a full release later this month.

So what's new in OpenOffice.org 3.0? First you get a nifty little launcher as seen above that lets you choose the application you want to use. You can still launch Writer, Base, Sheet, or another application without pulling up the unified launcher if you want to. But you can also just launch OOo for a list of available tools.

The latest release also includes a ton of features and bug fixes not included in Ooo 2.4.1 including:

• Sheet names can contain almost any character
• You can now add MS Access databases to Writer
• There's a multi-page view for Writer
• Support for Office 2007 documents
• Multiple users can edit spreadsheets simultaneously

You can find more updates in the release notes. OpenOffice.org 3.0 RC 1 is available for Linux, Solaris, Windows, and OS X. This is the first version of OpenOffice.org to include native support for OS X.

IBM has put the finishing touches on Lotus Symphony, a free Microsoft Office competitor based on OpenOffice.org. The company pushed out version 1.0 of the office suite which has been available as a public beta since last year.

Unlike OpenOffice.org, Lotus Symphony is not open source software. While IBM is providing it for free, Lotus Symphony is based on OpenOffice.org 1.1.4, which is the last version of OpenOffice.org that had a license allowing developers to modify the code and keep the changes private.

According to Linux.com, IBM hopes to target the enterprise market with this software. The goal is to provide Lotus Symphony as a free alternative to Microsoft Office, while charging $25,000 per year for support. Of course, if you know how to use word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation applications, you probably won't need to spend the money. But you also might not find much in Lotus Symphony that isn't already available in its open source cousin, OpenOffice.org.

So what's new in Lotus Symphony 1? Here are a few highlights:

• Critical crash and freezing issues have been fixed
• Improved performance when creating new documents, spell checking presentations of spreadsheets, redrawing a presentation page, saving PPT files, and performing other actions
• Improved interoperability with Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org, and SmartSuite documents
• Added support for 4 more languages, bringing the total to 28

Lotus Symphony is available for Windows and Linux. While the only supported Linux platforms are SUSE Enterprise Desktop 10 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, you can install Lotus Symphony on other distributions. You just might run into a few errors here and there.

thanks Hessel Olijve!

Trying to figure out whether to see Indiana Jones or Sex in the City this weekend? Why not just skip the movies and catch up on some of the week's best software news?

• Windows 7 says hello world, then runs and hides away
  After months of speculation, Microsoft has finally lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding Windows 7. And by lifted the veil, we mean one tiny little corner. We now know that Windows 7 will feature multi-touch capabilities. And that's about it.
• Flipping the Linux Switch: Banshee learns to sing
  While Microsoft is busy keeping secrets, the open source Linux media player Banshee is free for anyone to use. The latest beta version adds a ton of features, allowing you to play MP3s, rip CDs, organize your music collection, burn discs, aggregate podcasts, or even connect to your Last.fm account.
• Mozilla - They're unbeWeavable
  Mozilla launched Weave last year as a way to keep your Firefox settings synchronized across multiple computers. But for some reason Mozilla left out one of the most useful features: password synchronization. Fortunately, this week an updated version of the Mozilla Weave browser plug-in was released, which lets you synchronize your bookmarks, saved form data, cookies, and passwords.
• Bubbles single-site web browser updated, adds extensions
  Before there was Mozilla Prism, there was Bubbles, a tool that lets you launch pretty much any web site in a stripped down web browser. Bubbles has been around for a few years, but the developers recently relesed a new beta version that adds support for user-generated extensions that give you more control over how the browser interacts with web pages. Extensions include a Gmail notifier and a Facebook chat application.
• OpenOffice.org keeps getting slower with each new release
  Free and open source office suite OpenOffice.org has a dirty little secret. It's slow. Like, you have to wait 20+ seconds to open a document sometimes slow. And it keeps getting slower. It turns out that OpenOffice.org 2.4 opens documents slower than version 1.1.5. And OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta is even slower still. But you can't beat the price.
• Adocu: Nanoblogging gets even nano-er
  Twitter took the world by storm by launching a blogging platform that limits your posts to just 140 characters. So it stands to reason that the only way to beat Twitter is to launch an even more limiting service, right? Adocu lets users post just a single word.

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]

Well, we've done it again. We've squandered away another perfectly good hour week... wait, no. That's something else. But if you haven't squandered away your week on Download Squad, here are some of the stories you may have missed.

• Wanna write for Download Squad?
  If you haven't heard, we're hiring. If you've always wanted to try add "professional blogger" to your business cards, now's your chance. Be the envy of your friends. Your very, very geeky friends. Click the link to find out how to apply.
• Flipping the Linux Switch: Cairo-Dock is pain free eye candy
  Want to run Ubuntu, but like the look of OS X? Cairo-Dock is an OS X-like dock for Linux.
• Microsoft: Think twice about IE7 before upgrading to XP SP3
  We're going to go out on a limb and assume this doesn't affect a lot of people. But if you want to upgrade to Windows XP SP3 and use Internet Explorer 6 (because you're only cutting edge when it comes to operating systems, not web browsers), here's a tip: You will not be able to downgrade from IE7 to IE6 unless you install IE7 after SP3.
• Filemail: Email files up to 2GB
  We're always on the lookout for new ways to get around the 10-20MB file attachment limit imposed by most free email service providers. Filemail is a new service that lets you upload files up to 2GB to share via email. You can also adjust a variety of settings, or pay for a premium account if you need to upload even larger files.
• OpenOffice.org 3.0 beta now available
  The next major OpenOffice.org release isn't due out until this fall. But you can download a public beta of OpenOffice.org 3.0 today. The new version includes a handful of new features, a bunch of bug fixes, and a native OS X client.
• Hahlo 3.0: Twitter freak's new best friend
  Hahlo 3.0 might just be the best Twitter client we've seen for the iPhone. It's fast. It's pretty. And it supports practically every Twitter feature you could want in a mobile client.
• Puppy Linux 3.0 released: Linux for your flash drive
  Puppy Linux has long been one of the most popular "portable" Linux distributions. You can install Puppy to a flash drive and carry it with you to use on practically any computer that can boot from a USB device. The latest version includes a new theme, better hardware support, and some shiny new applications.

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]

When we last left our favorite evil geniuses at Ulteo, they were diligently plugging away at making OpenOffice.org applications accessible through a browser. Now, they've taken their plans for global domination one step further with Ulteo Application System Beta 1 (codename "Sirius"). For those of you wondering what exactly an "Application System" is: Think operating system.

Yes, Ulteo's Sirius is a Linux distro designed to integrate nicely with the online applications they provide. For instance, saving a document to a specific folder "auto-syncs" with the Ulteo servers online. It's then accessible from other computers through your Ulteo web account.

Of course, that isn't all of Ulteo's new tricks. Allegedly all upgrades, patches and bugfixes for installed applications will be automatically downloaded and installed on your system. You know, without any human intervention. We'll be the first to admit that it's our all-too-human intervention that mucks up a lot of our software, but not always. Somehow, we're just a little uneasy not knowing exactly what our machine is plotting against us with each new update.

Still, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially for people who use their computers for dedicated office work fewer than twenty-seven hours a day and don't want to bother learning Linux (or Windows, or Mac, for that matter). It'll be nice to see this project unfold and emerge from beta.

Been busy spending the past week telling the press about your extramarital affairs, history of drug use, and misuse of campaign funds? Here are a few stories you might have been too busy to read.

Adobe Photoshop Express Beta launches

After months of hype, the big day finally arrived. Adobe launched a free, online version of Photoshop, the industry standard in image editing. You won't find all the bells and whistles that come with the desktop version of Photoshop. After all, Adobe does still want to sell you software. But Photoshop Express will definitely give existing online image editors like Picnik and FotoFlexer a run for their money.

8 steps to a more professional Blogspot blog

Look, we know that most folks think it's blasphemy to use the words "professional" and "blogspot" in the same sentence. But hear us out. Google's blogging service offers free web hosting, unlimited bandwidth, and a surprisingly tweakable template. We've gathered 8 or so of our favorite tips for making your Blogspot site look as good as good as any WordPress blog.

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.