IBM to release free office suite?

Quoting:Watch out, here comes IBM with its Microsoft Office killer.

This is just OOo and if it was going to kill MS Office, we would have seen it already.

MS has a huge momentum and the application to kill MS Office hasn't been written or not finished yet.

The difference here is the leverage IBM has in the enterprise to advocate OOo and rob some of that momentum and slow MS some.

Unless MS makes some sort of agreement with IBM, which is not likely, I believe we are going to see more of the same from IBM now they almost have the SCO suit behind them and they intend to shrink MS market.

When you couple it with Sun bundling OOo with their Windows Server installations, it's still pretty cool. But, yes, it is a little hyped. I am curious to see how much it is "only" OOo, and how much they tweak it to make it "theirs". Having never used Lotus Notes, I could not compare the two. Perhaps someone else would be so kind.

Quoting:I am curious to see how much it is "only" OOo, and how much they tweak it to make it "theirs"

I think they already indicated that, whatever they develop will be included in OOo. So all in all, it is a very genuine good thing.

I look forward to playing with it. For the most part, anything I do or write is done in a simple text editor, but I like to play so I can recommend things to clients and friends.

Quoting:Having never used Lotus Notes, I could not compare the two. Perhaps someone else would be so kind.

I used Lotus note some time ago (7 8 years), didn't like it, found it clunky and rather unfriendly to use, but it may have improved since then.

> but it may have improved since then.

Well, we're still using 6.5, so I can't speak to versions 7 or 8. However, there were few improvements from version 3 to version 6. It still takes forever to start up and eats memory like there's no tomorrow. The passwords are still stored locally instead of on the server. They have finally required you to enter your password on startup, rather than when you connect to the server, so you do need a password to access locally stored data now. That was a huge security hole in the 3.x days. So, has it improved? Not really, but at least it's not the virus magnet Outlook/Exchange is.

I used Notes on my previous job. Both Notes 5 and Notes 6. It's a mess indeed. The worst thing is that there was no POP or IMAP interface (maybe there was, but then out sysadmins disabled it) so I couldn't even switch to a decent e-mail program like Thunderbird. Plus, it had a very crappy HTML engine. I wrote a web app there that sent out e-mails in HTML format (certain automated reports with graphs et. al.) It took me forever to get those to display nicely in Notes.

Lotus 7 at the office here. It's really really truly infuriatingly bad. Plus it insists on using irritating "office-friendly" lingo... the button to compose a new email is titled "New Memo", for example.

> ...is that there was no POP or IMAP interface (maybe there was, but then out sysadmins disabled it)

I haven't looked at it recently, but Notes did include pop support at one time. It wasn't enabled by default though, so most places didn't use it.

A quick Google search indicates that it still does have pop and imap capability, but it's still probably not turned on by default.

Let's not hype things up?

WHY THE HECK NOT?????

In case you've forgotten, Microsoft has a new version of Office out now that requires a learning curve from users. It's like moving to a whole new package.

This is a great time to hype OO up, especially OO with both IBM and Sun behind it.

Quoting:WHY THE HECK NOT?????

So we don't slack off developing OOo and other office apps!

So we don't end up disappointed!

So we leave some hype and excitement for the fire works when we do really kill the monster!

>So we don't slack off developing OOo and other office apps! Hyping what you've got does not require slacking off current development. Truth is, those who are best at hype and those who are best at development are rarely the same people. Maybe a little hype-a-thon might drawn in some hyperbolic newcomers, hype-otheically speaking.

> So we don't end up disappointed!

It's not about "we", it's about the folks who haven't yet tried OO. Frankly, I don't think they will be disappointed.

Quoting:It's not about "we", it's about the folks who haven't yet tried OO. Frankly, I don't think they will be disappointed.

OK, May be I should have said "let's not hype it TOO much"

>OK, May be I should have said "let's not hype it TOO much"

There's something to be shouted from the rooftops with a big brass band in the background for that.

I think we're perfectly entitled to hype OOo: what most of us here don't realize is how abject the quality standards are for most Windows users, how little they really expect. On that yardstick OOo is just great. Yes, we see its weaknesses, but it doesn't matter.

And it's true as Dino says: Office is being replaced too. People are going to have to re-learn everything anyway. Why not at the same time -- as the argument should be -- extract your testicles from the bench screw?

>extract your testicles from the bench screw?

Now, now, Martin. We don't want to pass judgment on anybody's fun.

First thing: OpenOffice needs to be FASTER -- FASTER, DAMMIT. Is it all the Java?

Give me AbiWord with the option to turn on "smart" typographical quotes and em dashes and I'd never, ever, never never need OpenOffice again.

But like most people, I write so much for the Web, I'm either using the Web portal for whatever site I'm writing for, or I'm using a plain ol' text editor (Mousepad and Nano in Linux, EditPad Lite in Windows, TextEditor -- or whatever the thing is called -- in Mac OS).

I also actually use Google Docs, but lately I've been doing much of my writing on the Palm Tungsten E with infrared keyboard. Then I sync it with Evolution or J-Pilot in Linux, and the regular Palm Desktop app in Windows and Mac, and then move it into whatever app is necessary.

Quoting: Palm Tungsten E with infrared keyboard.

I have a Palm T|X that I just got, and I am getting the keyboard soon. As long as your eyesight doesn't suck, it's a (IMO, only) better laptop than a laptop. I don't do much with the contacts, etc, I keep it more for the documents and using it to read ebooks. I save all of the docs to the card and throw that in the workstation at home in the evening and back things up that way. Cool stuff.

I got the keyboard on eBay for about $20. For ALL Palm stuff, check eBay before paying full retail for ANYTHING. There are great deals to be had.

For bad eyesight, hit the menu icon at the bottom left of the screen, then select a larger font size with the menu -- it can make quite a difference.

The T|X is excellent. It's better than the LifeDrive, which Palm discontinued. I hope they continue developing PDA-only devices, but I'm not holding my breath. I'd love to get a T|X -- it has built-in WiFi. I don't know if it has Bluetooth, but that would be a nice addition to the Palm. The wireless keyboard is infrared, and while it works pretty well, I'd like the additional freedom of a Bluetooth connection to the keyboard that doesn't need to be line of sight.

Yes, the T|X has Bluetooth.

My company is playing with the new Treos for field usage...they are just too blasted small, particularly the screen, suffering for PDA usage and not really appropriate for phone usage. Garbage for my uses. I love this T|X and I also hope they continue to make PDA devices. As I wear them out, I will be quick to purchase a new one now. I wish I had known how great they were before, I would have had one years ago.

And thanks for the tip about the keyboard on eBay.