Here’s some good news for Linux users and Open Source advocates everywhere. The folks who make Open Office have just released the first public beta of OOo 3.0. The big thing this brings to the table is support for the new file formats introduced in the latest versions of Microsoft Office.
I know some people (Hi, Nelson) think I’m a Microsoft junkie, but I use Open Source products pretty often. I’ve been an Open Office user since version 1.0 so I’m very interested in the new version.
From what I’ve seen so far, and I haven’t had time to really dig into it, the interface seems fairly similar to Office 2.4. The biggest visual difference is that there’s more of a three-dimensional look to the icons. They don’t look as flat as before.
This is still in beta, so I wouldn’t use it in a production environment unless I had to, but it already has a very polished feel. If you’re used to Open Office there won’t be much of a learning curve, which is always good news. It also retains support for existing Open Office extensions, so if you’ve already customized your existing installation this will let you keep working in the manner you’re used to.
I’ll try to write a more complete review once I’ve had more time to play with it. In the meantime it looks like a great product, and best of all, it’s free.
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