Mittwoch Februar 14, 2007

Microsoft does not rule out native ODF support for Office!?
I just found the following:

"Microsoft Australia's new platform strategy manager, Sarah Bond, said there is a place for standards as it drives competition and "it drives that desire to be more innovative".
...
Bond said while she is not aware of any initiative within Microsoft to provide native ODF support in Office, she did not rule out the possibility if the market demand was there."

I guess the ISO contradictions are a good indicator that there is real market demand for native ODF support in Office!

The full article can be found here.
( Feb 14 2007, 10:41:57 AM CET ) Permalink Kommentare [1]

Freitag Dezember 08, 2006

ECMA Office Open XML tough to implement?!
According to this blog entry and the Microsoft blog entry it refers to (here), implementing ECMA Office Open XML seems to be a tough job.
( Dez 08 2006, 09:37:21 AM CET ) Permalink

Freitag Dezember 01, 2006

"MA Governor-Elect Names MS Anti-ODF Lobbyist to Technology Advisory Group"
Interesting news from Andy Updegrove:

"That person is Brian Burke, the Microsoft Regional Director for Public Affairs, and if that surprises you, it surprises me as well, given the degree of acrimonious debate and disinformation witnessed in Massachusetts over the last 15 months involving the Information Technology Division's transition to ODF.

What does that bode for the future of ODF in Massachusetts? On the one hand, it turns out that both Deval Patrick and Brian Burke were part of the Clinton administration, and their acquaintance presumably stems from that time period rather from than a recent introduction. On the other hand, it is my understanding that it was Burke who led the lobbying effort on Beacon Hill against ODF, and also urged legislators to introduce the amendment intended to take away much of the ITD's planning power generally, and as regards standards specifically, and hand it to a task force made up of political appointees."

The full blog entry can be found here.
( Dez 01 2006, 03:39:46 PM CET ) Permalink

Donnerstag November 30, 2006

Smart Computing recommends StarOffice
"Whatever the reason, we wish it hadn’t happened. Instead of sporting the traditional menus and toolbars that we have grown accustomed to using, Office 2007 features unfamiliar components such as tabbed ribbons and a quick-access toolbar nestled in the upper-left corner of the program window. We know we will eventually learn how to use the new interface, but it serves as a source of constant frustration in the meantime.
...
The productivity suites profiled in this roundup provide broad functionality and easy usability. Of course, most users will continue to invest in Microsoft (and, to a lesser extent, Corel) software simply out of habit. We encourage users to consider alternatives such as Sun’s StarOffice 8, which earns our Smart Choice designation once again. Why spend $150 or $300 when you can get top-of-the-line capabilities for less than $75?"

The full review can be found here.
( Nov 30 2006, 07:25:55 PM CET ) Permalink

Mittwoch November 22, 2006

Sharepoint alternative released by O3Spaces
"O3Spaces announces the immediate availability of its document collaboration and management environment that tightly integrates with the open source office suite OpenOffice.org and its commercial sibling StarOffice. “Up until now OpenOffice.org lacked a back-end solution similar to Microsoft Office SharePoint,” says O3Spaces CEO Rob Mentink."

The full announcement can be found here.
( Nov 22 2006, 03:34:26 PM CET ) Permalink

Montag Oktober 30, 2006

New StarOffice/OpenOffice.org Developer Article
Kay Koll just wrote a new StarOffice/OpenOffice.org developer article with the title: Creating Menus and Toolbars With the StarOffice API. The summary says: "StarOffice software add-ins and extensions are often integrated into StarOffice's menus and toolbars so users can employ the functionality. This article introduces a new API in the StarOffice 8 Software Development Kit (SDK) that enables you to do that integration. Note: This API is not available in StarOffice 7 or OpenOffice.org 1.1.".
( Okt 30 2006, 11:32:57 AM CET ) Permalink

Dienstag Oktober 24, 2006

StarOffice at Italian Schools
This map illustrates the use of StarOffice at Italian schools. AFAIK, the map doesn't include OpenOffice.org, yet. Some schools are probably also still missing. Thus, the map is far from being complete. Nevertheless, the map shows that the usage of StarOffice is not a local phenomenon in Italy.
( Okt 24 2006, 06:02:34 PM CEST ) Permalink Kommentare [1]

Mittwoch Oktober 18, 2006

StarOffice on Boeing 777 and Airbus A380
"As part of the investment, the airline’s already impressive KrisWorld inflight entertainment is getting a significant upgrade. Sun Microsystems’ StarOffice Productivity Suite, which provides word processing, presentation and spreadsheet software and supports most file formats, will be provided at every seat throughout the plane, with access to the files via built-in USB ports."

The full article can be found here.
( Okt 18 2006, 12:47:21 PM CEST ) Permalink

StarOffice on U3
"StarOffice is one of the latest packages to be offered on the U3 smart drive platform.

U3 drives are simple USB devices that can be loaded with applications, allowing users to carry their personal copies of applications around with them from computer to computer without needing to download or install anything to the host machine."

The full announcement can be found here.
( Okt 18 2006, 12:35:27 PM CEST ) Permalink

Donnerstag August 10, 2006

German ISV DATEV adds support for StarOffice
As can be read here, the German ISV DATEV is adding support for StarOffice to their software solutions. DATEV is probably Germany's largest vendor of software solutions for tax consultants, certified public accountants, and attorneys.
( Aug 10 2006, 02:47:44 PM CEST ) Permalink

Dienstag August 08, 2006

"Call for Asia to adopt ODF"
I just read this interesting article about the adoption of ODF in Asia. Here are a few key quotes:

"An official from the United Nations (U.N.) has called for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to embrace the OpenDocument format.
...
In the Philippines, there is no official policy on the adoption of ODF in the country, according to Peter Antonio Banzon, division chief of the Philippines' Advanced Science & Technology Institute, although the government agency has already standardized its internal documents on the ODF.
...
For instance, he noted that WordStar was a popular word processor used in the 1980s. But the software is no longer supported by any vendor, and it will be difficult to retrieve information stored in WordStar documents today.
...
Abraham welcomed this move by Microsoft, and pointed out that an ODF plug-in for Microsoft Office will strengthen the case for governments to standardize on ODF."
( Aug 08 2006, 07:01:02 PM CEST ) Permalink Kommentare [1]

Mittwoch Juli 19, 2006

EContent Magazine reviews StarOffice 8
According to Chhandomay EContent Magazine just reviewed StarOffice 8 and liked what they saw. Unfortunately, one has to register to get access to the review.
( Jul 19 2006, 12:38:28 PM CEST ) Permalink

Donnerstag Juni 08, 2006

StarOffice = Computer Shopper's "Best Budget Buy"
Computer Shopper reviewed 6 different presentation tools (see this and this), and selected StarOffice 8 as the "Best Budget Buy". Here is a short quote from the review:
"StarOffice comes with similar fonts to Office, in case you don't have them. So you can exploit the huge resource of PowerPoint templates available."
( Jun 08 2006, 12:58:48 PM CEST ) Permalink

Mittwoch Juni 07, 2006

A new StarOffice/OpenOffice.org blogger
Malte Timmermann started blogging. I guess his topics will include accessiblity, security and performance. Welcome Malte!
( Jun 07 2006, 08:51:07 AM CEST ) Permalink

Montag Mai 29, 2006

"Why Redmond feels so threatened by ODF"
"By now it should be clear where I’m going with this. It’s been said before, but it merits repeating: the reason Microsoft won’t write any code to support ODF, and the reason it wants to block OpenDocument, is because OpenDocument is a threat to Microsoft’s bottom line. Period. The revenue stream generated by locking customers into closely guarded proprietary file formats is the proverbial golden goose for Microsoft.

Think about it. Protecting those file formats must be worth countless millions, if not billions, of dollars to Microsoft. That’s why Microsoft is paying attention to ODF, and it’s why you should keep paying attention, too, even if digital file formats aren’t normally your thing. Because, if your business relies on office applications, that’s your money."

Found here.
( Mai 29 2006, 05:58:44 AM CEST ) Permalink