March 28th, 2007 Benjamin Horst
NeoOffice 2.1 was released yesterday.
This derivative of OpenOffice.org for Mac OS X has some nice features not available in the OpenOffice.org X11 variant, including a native Aqua interface, the ability to read and write Microsoft’s new “docx” file format, and to run Excel macros.
(Amazingly, Microsoft Office on Mac will not be able to read its own new docx file formats until the second half of this year or later, and it will not ever be able to run macros, as that feature has been dropped from the Mac version.)
NeoOffice can be downloaded from the project site. Please make a donation to the developers, they are doing terrific work here!
Posted in Mac, Open Source, OpenOffice.org | Comments Off on NeoOffice 2.1 Released
February 3rd, 2007 Benjamin Horst
Solveig explains why MS Vista is being ignored by educators. No surprise, really: the high cost, upgrade headaches, and lack of compelling features form the biggest trifecta since George W. Bush’s (audio plays at this link).
Solveig writes, “One public organization with 3,000 employees is saving 2.8 million dollars over the next six years, just by switching to OpenOffice.org. That’s a lot of money.”
She also quotes a piece by Wesley Fryer that delves into the same questions and concludes that Mac OS X or Linux, running OpenOffice.org, provide better value propositions.
Posted in GNU/Linux, Mac, Open Source, OpenOffice.org | Comments Off on Educators Ignoring MS Vista
January 24th, 2007 Benjamin Horst
Louis Suarez-Potts posts a translation of an interview with Eric Bachard, manager of the OpenOffice.org Mac porting project.
The original interview in French is available here.
The title given to the interview reflects the growing confidence of the OOo project, and the growing confidence of its expanding userbase: “Is 2007 the year of OpenOffice?”
From this and other media attention, the consensus is that 2007 will indeed be a year for rapid growth in the adoption of OpenOffice, on the Mac and other platforms, in major markets around the globe.
I personally expect that OpenOffice.org and NeoOffice‘s combined marketshare on Mac OS X will soon match and then surpass Microsoft Office’s share. This will have ramifications for Mac users but will also accelerate interest in OOo on Windows as they see Mac mavens migrating to the new tool.
Posted in Mac, OpenOffice.org | Comments Off on MacGeneration Interviews OpenOffice Mac Project Lead
January 7th, 2007 Benjamin Horst
The NeoOffice project reports downloads of 500,000 copies per month.
Meanwhile, Apple announces there are 15 million active users of Mac OS X.
Roughly calculating from these two figures, it appears that 40% of OS X users have downloaded NeoOffice in the past year. (Ed, one of the NeoOffice developers, has a significantly lower estimate. But neither he nor I have hard evidence to say which figure is more likely to be correct. For the sake of argument, I’ll continue with the higher number.)
The real point of the article linked above is not the number of downloads NeoOffice has counted, but rather that a new version to be released in the first three months of 2007 will be able to read and write Microsoft’s OOXML format, at least six months before Microsoft Office for Mac will be able to read the company’s own format! (MS has suggested the last few months of 2007 for its product release.)
Existing momentum plus this new blockbuster announcement could put NeoOffice over the top — it may overtake Microsoft Office on the Mac this year; a major victory for open source!
Perception can be more important than reality in software adoption, hence the effectiveness of FUD over the years. But FUD can work against Microsoft, just as it has worked for Microsoft so many times in the past.
To see OpenOffice and its derivatives push the mighty Microsoft Office from its dominant perch on Mac OS X will resound through the world of software. Users’ faith in Microsoft’s core products will be shaken by this, and it will affect more than just the market for office productivity software on the smaller Mac platform. It will propel OOo’s growth on Windows too, as those users see the mavens and connectors (who mostly run OS X and Linux), have begun to migrate to OpenOffice and NeoOffice. (The same way the iPod and iTMS grew to dominance by starting on Macs.)
On the other hand, Microsoft seems to be slowly pulling back from writing software for the Mac. It has already given up on VirtualPC, Media Player, and Internet Explorer (in each case, because a better competitor emerged). Microsoft is less committed to the Mac than to its own Windows platform, perhaps planning on strategic retreats as competition grows on all fronts.
But, because of perception, this will be a major mistake. When Microsoft Office disappears from OS X, the resulting press attention will be different than it would have been several years ago. Instead of focusing on the damage this would inflict on OS X, the press will actually question Microsoft’s strength and market staying power.
One of Microsoft’s two flagship products defeated in one of only two places it once thrived. The media will ask, “If NeoOffice can rout Microsoft Office on Mac OS X, can OpenOffice rout it on Windows, too?” Microsoft will be seen to be weakened, and its reach cut back. It will also have been thrown on the defensive, meaning that existing competitors will step up their efforts at the same time, only furthering its troubles.
Permanent change will have been wrought: OpenOffice/NeoOffice will have two strongholds–Linux and OS X–both populated with loyal, influential and connected people to use and promote it. Microsoft Office will have no further ground to give, and pressure from outside and in will threaten it will possible extinction even on its strongly-defended home turf.
Posted in Mac, Open Source, OpenOffice.org | Comments Off on NeoOffice Mac Marketshare Hits 40%?
December 1st, 2006 Benjamin Horst
Google is hosting the second meeting for developers porting OpenOffice to Mac OS X at their Hamburg offices on December 2 and 3 (tomorrow and Sunday).
Eric B writes:
“The main developers of the Mac OS X port for OpenOffice.org project meet to work together over a weekend
– show, analyze, work on current development version,
– share our knowledge in workshops (e.g. for debug )
– define tasks and objectives
– meet, collaborate and have fun coding.
If you are interested in attending and developing OpenOffice.org for the Mac please contact : ericb@openoffice.org
The minutes of this meeting will be public, and available shortly after the event.”
From several of the mailing lists, it seems to me that OpenOffice is already very popular on Mac OS X. As it improves, through efforts like this, the userbase will grow even more quickly.
I expect OOo to displace Microsoft Office on Mac OS X before it does on Windows, but its future majority marketshare on Mac will certainly help fuel its growth on Windows as well. (Remember that the mavens are already mostly Mac and Linux users. They’ll be promoting OpenOffice to their friends on Windows directly and through increasing global usage of ODF files.)
Posted in Mac, Open Source, OpenOffice.org | Comments Off on OpenOffice Mac Porters’ Meeting
October 9th, 2006 Benjamin Horst
This is old news by now, but still a handy reference. Mark Pilgrim has listed his most-valued applications for Ubuntu Linux.
Pilgrim was a Mac developer and blogger until he decided to switch fulltime to Ubuntu. (Not sure if he stuck with it or not, though.)
I plan to remain dual-platform, focusing on both Mac OS X and Linux (Ubuntu, in particular). I use Windows when required, but never by choice. Aside from the occasional (and ever more rare) application only written for it, Windows has no advantages and some major disadvantages when compared to Linux and Mac. (Viruses, high price, awkward UI, etc.)
In any case, the list of applications Pilgrim prefers is informative and very interesting (and many of them are cross-platform).
Posted in GNU/Linux, Mac, Open Source | Comments Off on “Ubuntu Essentials”
September 19th, 2006 Benjamin Horst
The “Impulsive Highlighters” blog has a preview copy of Mac OS X Leopard, and has discovered TextEdit will include support for the OpenDocument Format (ODF).
From searching around online, no one yet seems to know how deep OpenDocument support will be in Mac OS X Leopard, but the screenshots at the link above showing TextEdit’s ODF support are a promising start.
Posted in Mac, ODF, Open Source | Comments Off on ODF Support in Apple’s TextEdit
August 9th, 2006 Benjamin Horst
Apple announced a new hosting site for open source Mac-related projects at www.macosforge.org.
Of most interest to me at this moment are the Wiki Server project mentioned yesterday and the CalDAV-based Darwin Calendar Server. It’s touted as working with all standards-capable clients, like iCal, Mozilla Sunbird, Chandler, and more.
(Meanwhile, Apple has moved a number of its projects, including Darwin Calendar Server, to the Apache 2.0 license.)
Posted in Mac, Open Source, Wiki | Comments Off on Mac OS Forge and Darwin Calendar Server
August 8th, 2006 Benjamin Horst
Apple is jumping into the world of wikis with its announced “Wiki Server” for Mac OS X Leopard (server version).
They’ve taken a step beyond most of the wikis available for intranet use now: “…the Wiki provides access to a shared calendar, mailing list and blog for communication and podcasting.” These features are very interesting!
Also, they seem to have made it entirely WYSIWYG: “No syntax or markup knowledge is required — the Wiki Server comes with full drag-and-drop support.”
To recap: “Once you create a Wiki website and give access to members of the workgroup, everyone will have the same capability to contribute to the site. And it’s not limited to just text and images — you can also access a group calendar to track meetings and deadlines or send messages to a mailing list to keep others informed. There is a blog feature that’s perfect for brainstorming or commenting on work. And there’s an option for subscribing to a podcast — so if anyone missed that important conference call they can catch up on the news.”
Posted in Mac, Wiki | 1 Comment »
May 16th, 2006 Benjamin Horst
It’s a good day for both Mac and Maemo users!
Apple released the much-anticipated MacBook today, to replace the iBook and 12″ PowerBook. It sports a 13.3″ widescreen, Core Duo chips, great software (of course), and is available in white or black.
Nokia updated the 770‘s OS to Internet Tablet 2006, which includes the jabber-based Google Talk and support for additional SIP-based VOIP programs in the future (specifically mentioned was Gizmo). It also includes a new on-screen keyboard for better text input, and some behind-the-scenes improvements to the OS, too.
Posted in Mac, Maemo, Open Source | Comments Off on New MacBooks and 770 Software Update