[discuss] OpenOffice is 99% open
Wm Stewart
OpenOffice is already 99% open, almost perfect with MS formats. It does a
really good job at interoperability. There is no need to debate it - we
know OpenOffice can handle MS formats, because it does such a great job
already. My tests with V3.2 show nearly perfect compatibility.
They key point I'm trying to highlight is that 99% is not enough to reach
the tipping point. Solving the last 1% of interoperability issues with
something as important to users as office documents are all that is keeping
the world back from adopting OO as their office suite of choice.
What I'm arguing for is a laser like focus on that last 1%. We need a
forum for people to send in documents with interoperability issues, and an
understanding that resolving apparently minor issues, say a table's column
alignment does not translate perfectly, are exactly the necessary icing on
the cake that will cause the world to move to an otherwise obviously
superior application suite.
If there is a forum for focusing on this last 1% of interoperability issues
that I'm not aware of, please let me know. Otherwise, I recommend we
establish one as a key initiative required to realize OpenOffice widespread
use. 99% is so close. OpenOffice can win for the long term, but only when
we accept how critically important that last 1% of interoperability is to
the vast majority of the world's office suite users.
On 2/4/2010 3:08 AM, Mike Scott wrote:
> Alan Lord (News) wrote:
> ...
>>
>> Depending on one vendor's closed formats (and docx is not IS/IEC29500)
>> is a sure way to never to achieve your [admirable] objective. Better
>> is to send *your* contacts material in a really open format, such as
>> ODF, and make companies like Microsoft implement these standards
>> properly.
>
> I sort of agree. Except that to many lay people in the 'real world' MS
> /is/ the standard, even to the extent that 'Word' is synonymous with
> 'word processor' and 'Excel' with 'spreadsheet program'. People's
> /perception/ is that if you don't send what /they/ see as standard, then
> it's a problem /you/ have caused. No, I don't like it, but I can't see a
> quick way round it. And it's not helped by academia here - at least one
> university demands essays be submitted in /Word/ format(*): nothing else
> allowed, not even PDF, so thank goodness OOo is up to the mark here!
>
>> But of course their shareholders won't like that much.
>
> Of course not. But that mustn't be allowed to justify unethical business
> practices.
>
>
>
>
> (*) No, they don't say which one :-)
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: discuss-u...@openoffice.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: discus...@openoffice.org
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: discuss-u...@openoffice.org
For additional commands, e-mail: discus...@openoffice.org
Alan Lord (News)
<snip />
> If there is a forum for focusing on this last 1% of interoperability
> issues that I'm not aware of, please let me know. Otherwise, I recommend
> we establish one as a key initiative required to realize OpenOffice
> widespread use. 99% is so close. OpenOffice can win for the long term,
> but only when we accept how critically important that last 1% of
> interoperability is to the vast majority of the world's office suite users.
But that is the point. You can't get to 100%. Microsoft, or whoever else
you want to be interoperable with, only have to change one line of code
in a service pack and bang! everything else gets screwed.
It is in the interests of companies like MS to keep their formats as
proprietary and opaque as possible. That way you have to buy their products.
The only real way out of this mess is to *enforce* truly open standards
and this has to come from the top. Demand that your municipality provide
you with electronic records in public, patent-free & open formats.
Anything less is essentially telling you to go and buy a particular
vendor's product. And that is exclusionist.
Al
--
The Open Learning Centre
http://www.theopenlearningcentre.com
Laurent Godard
I agree with you that improving last interoperability with the closed
office format is an important point
Nevertheless, the title of your mail is wrong, it is not about "open"
but "interoperability"
Laurent
Lars Nooden
> They key point I'm trying to highlight is that 99% is not enough to
> reach the tipping point. Solving the last 1% of interoperability issues
> with something as important to users as office documents are all that is
> keeping the world back from adopting OO as their office suite of choice.
First, OOo already has better interoperability with old MS Office
formats than MS Office itself does, if that's what you are getting at.
Second, the only way to stop using proprietary formats is to stop using
them. Wasting resources on chasing that last 1% does not provide much
of a return on investment. Most legacy documents can be retired through
attrition, the details of these archival strategies were worked out long
ago.
New documents can be brought into the 21st century as ODF.
"The days of proprietary technology must come to an end"
-- Vice Adm. Mark Edwards, US Navy
deputy chief of naval operations for communications
http://fcw.com/articles/2008/03/06/navy-to-focus-only-on-open-systems.aspx
Regards
/Lars
Paul Douglas Franklin
because the vast majority don't use that 1%, but it is critically
important to decision makers. And without the pointy-haired bosses
allowing it, we have an uphill battle.
It is also critically important to those who do need the last 1%.
--Paul
Wm Stewart wrote:
> how critically important that last 1% of interoperability is to the
> vast majority of the world's office suite users.
>
--
Paul Douglas Franklin
Computer Manager
http://www.yugm.org/
/Husband of Danette/
/Father of Laurene, Miriam, Tycko, Timothy, Sarabeth, Marie, Dawnita, Anna Leah, Alexander, and Caleb/
Upgrade to the premier Office package today!
Free download here:
http://www.openoffice.org/
Douglas St.Clair
> OpenOffice is already 99% open, almost perfect with MS formats. It does a really good job at interoperability. There is no need to debate it - we know OpenOffice can handle MS formats, because it does such a great job already. My tests with V3.2 show nearly perfect compatibility.
The quality of OO's ability to read and write MS file formats isn't a true success, in my mind, because at any moment should OO gain traction Microsoft is capable of making a change and rendering the quality of OO's reading and writing to garbage. So that I can't be sure OO is always going to work. Which really isn't a fair criticism of OO and should be a serious condemnation of MS but that isn't the way the world sees it unfortunately :(
Captain Nice
cptn...@gmail.com
"I love my computer, because my friends live in it!"
Gordon
> On Feb 4, 2010, at 8:11 AM, Wm Stewart wrote:
>
>> OpenOffice is already 99% open, almost perfect with MS formats. It does a really good job at interoperability. There is no need to debate it - we know OpenOffice can handle MS formats, because it does such a great job already. My tests with V3.2 show nearly perfect compatibility.
>
> The quality of OO's ability to read and write MS file formats isn't a true success, in my mind, because at any moment should OO gain traction Microsoft is capable of making a change and rendering the quality of OO's reading and writing to garbage. So that I can't be sure OO is always going to work. Which really isn't a fair criticism of OO and should be a serious condemnation of MS but that isn't the way the world sees it unfortunately :(
>
I think they'd have to be VERY careful over that - witness the huge
confusion and outcry concerning the introduction of ooxml and the
inability of Office versions prior to 2007 to read it....yes they
produced a pack for prior versions but even that has it's problems...
Mark C. Miller
> They key point I'm trying to highlight is that 99% is not enough to
> reach the tipping point. Solving the last 1% of interoperability issues
> with something as important to users as office documents are all that is
> keeping the world back from adopting OO as their office suite of choice.
I'd argue that we need to have this discussion about specific components
within OOo. The writer application is at that 99% and needs the final
tweaks.
Impress, however, is way below that 99% and is the long pole in the tent
in my environment. The teachers in my building want to open their old
ppt files in Impress and have them look just like they did originally.
Most times, in my experience, that's not the case. It's especially
annoying with text boxes and music/sounds. For me this is the long pole
in the test.
I don't don't use Calc, so can't speak to any issues with that
component. Calc requires math skills. I teach English for a reason. I
don't do math; we're not even close friends.
mcm
Douglas St.Clair
Microsoft has never been silent about their 'embrace and extend' strategy. The way to do it is to simply add a feature. Prior versions will not be able to implement the feature if people use it they will be binding themselves to current and future versions. To remain 'current' OO would have to implement that feature.
On Feb 5, 2010, at 4:51 AM, Gordon wrote:
> I think they'd have to be VERY careful over that - witness the huge confusion and outcry concerning the introduction of ooxml and the inability of Office versions prior to 2007 to read it....yes they produced a pack for prior versions but even that has it's problems...
Captain Nice
cptn...@gmail.com
"I love my computer, because my friends live in it!"
Andreas Neugebauer
> I don't don't use Calc, so can't speak to any issues with that
> component. Calc requires math skills. I teach English for a reason. I
> don't do math; we're not even close friends.
>
> mcm
>
>
kind of teacher.
--
vivere longum viridis albus
-------
Andreas Neugebauer
Leiter EDV
AZUL Kaffee GmbH& Co. KG
AM Deich 43
D-28199 Bremen
Tel.: +49 421 59 08 166
Fax: +49 421 59 08 108
AZUL Kaffee GmbH & Co. KG
Am Deich 43
D-28199 Bremen
Tel.: +49 421 59 08 - 0
Fax: + 49 421 59 08 - 200
Gesch�ftsf�hrer: J�rg Biess
AG Bremen HRA 14059 * USt.ID. 114 617 193