- #Libreoffice vs microsoft office 2017 software#
- #Libreoffice vs microsoft office 2017 code#
- #Libreoffice vs microsoft office 2017 license#
- #Libreoffice vs microsoft office 2017 free#
In my view, making a serious effort to meet users’ needs is better than any amount of pseudo-religious frothing. Both saw Microsoft as a mortal enemy, and their main marketing proposition was that, regardless of how bad the product was, it wasn’t Microsoft. This is a striking contrast with the ethic that infused the old, which was controlled by Sun and IBM. But the LibreOffice programmers have added features, improved compatibility with Microsoft and Apple file formats, and introduced Windows-specific improvements such as the ability to work with Microsoft’s Active Directory.
#Libreoffice vs microsoft office 2017 code#
Both organisations have obviously had to spent a lot of time trying to make OpenOffice’s code smaller, less buggy and less crashy. LibreOffice is trying to look slick and professional, and to attract users by providing a more polished product. LibreOffice also seems to have more of a customer focus: just compare the two websites. This should mean that LibreOffice develops faster and attracts more users, which will attract more programmers. Apache OpenOffice has no release schedule, but will release new versions when they are ready. LibreOffice is now the default office suite in the majority of Linux distributions, and it’s aiming to release two versions a year, to match Ubuntu. Since LibreOffice seems to have many more active programmers, and since Apache’s programmers are inevitably contributing to LibreOffice, I don’t see how Apache OpenOffice can keep up. (In fact, both versions got it from the same source: IBM’s Symphony.) Indeed, Apache has had to replace OpenOffice code that was copyleft-only, but when it introduced a big new sidebar, LibreOffice was able to incorporate it immediately. It means that LibreOffice can take code from Apache OpenOffice (that’s the point of permissive licences) but Apache OpenOffice can’t take code from LibreOffice (that’s the point of “copyleft” license)s.
The difference in licences puts Apache OpenOffice at a disadvantage.
#Libreoffice vs microsoft office 2017 free#
Not everybody wants to write free code for somebody else’s benefit. However, OpenOffice has changed from a “copyleft” (GPL) licence to a permissive Apache license, which means anybody can use the code for commercial purposes. “Copyleft” licences try to ensure that the code contributed by open source programmers can only be re-used on the same terms.
#Libreoffice vs microsoft office 2017 license#
LibreOffice is being developed under two “copyleft” licences: GNU’s LGPLv3 and the Mozilla Public License (MPLv2).
#Libreoffice vs microsoft office 2017 software#
Indeed, Christian Schaller, a software engineering manager at Red Hat, recently wrote An Open Letter to Apache Foundation and Apache OpenOffice team to suggest that they “re-direct people who go to the website to the LibreOffice website instead.” But then IBM pulled out as well, giving its Symphony code to Apache.Īpache looks determined to continue the development of Apache OpenOffice, but without Sun, Oracle or IBM programmers, and without the sort of community support that powers LibreOffice, it’s hard to see the point. IBM needed the code for its own office program, Lotus Symphony, which was another OpenOffice fork.
It laid off the programmers and gave the code and trademarks to the Apache Software Foundation, under Apache’s liberal open source license.Īt that point, a handful of IBM employees were doing the majority of OpenOffice programming. After LibreOffice came out, Oracle released one version of Oracle Open Office before deciding that the project wasn’t worth the effort. Sun Microsystems was also failing, and it was taken over by Oracle, the database software company. Dissatisfaction with Sun’s stewardship eventually prompted most of the open-source developers – along with backers such as Novell, Red Hat, and Canonical – to defect, and they forked the code to create LibreOffice. As a result, it never developed much of a community. Much of the programming was done by Sun staff, and open source contributors were obliged to give Sun rights to use their code in its commercial version of Star Office. OpenOffice was born when Sun Microsystems bought a failed German program, Star Office, and made it open source. This includes faster development, better distribution, a slicker website, and a greater focus on meeting customers’ needs. Third, LibreOffice has a better marketing strategy. Second, LibreOffice’s choice of open source licences gives it an advantage. First, LibreOffice has many more programmers and far more community support. There are three reasons why I think LibreOffice will win.
0 kommentar(er)
