OpenOffice.org 3.0 available

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I use "ps2edit" to convert PDFs. It trashes a lot of the formatting but at least you get the text.

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Exactly!

OOo looks more familiar to most MS Office users than the latest MS Office versions. But I agree, people buy/use MS Office because it is what they know about and see on other machines.

I've never understood the idea of mixing email and office programs - they are very much independent concepts. OOo is missing an email program like your car is missing a kitchen sink.

Access is a different matter. OOo Base is better at some things (working with a real database server), while Access is better at others (designing simple forms, for example). As you say, this might change.

Also of interest is KOffice, which also speaks ODF. Obviously it's already standard on many Linux systems, but KDE and KOffice are in alpha testing on windows. Kexi is an Access-like application in KOffice. It will take more time for KOffice to become common on windows (if it ever does), but it will certainly be a useful alternative for some users, and will keep the OOo developers busy with competition.

For the great majority of users, switching from MS Office to OOo will not involve retraining - they will hardly notice the difference. There will be some minor confusion as the menus are not exactly the same, but that's all. As you say, it is harder for "power users" - but they are often faster at learning.

If your company is heavily dependent on integration between MS Office and servers or other apps, you are obviously stuck.

Choice is good - as long as you are free to make the choice based on sensible reasons (including personal preference).

Or moreso, most of us cant handle the continous crashes. Hopefully this is fixed in 3.0, but i doubt it.

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Does the Windows version of OO crash a lot? I run it on SuSE 10.2 and

11.0 mostly. I don't have crashing troubles with it. With the macros there is a way that you can dig it into a serious hole but it is still running and if you click the [X] to close the dialog box instead of the [Cancel] you can get it back to normal without shutting it down.

I have also run OO on Puppy Linux 4.0. I haven't run it enough yet to be able to say if it can be trusted bust so far so good.

This is a good point, although within a few years it'll resolve itself (i.e., people will be used to the ribbon). Hence my prediction that OO might end up implementing a ribbon-style interface as well, as they're always walking the fine line between copying aspects of MSO to make themselves attractive to would-be "converts" vs. trying out their own not-yet-common ideas about the best way to implement a GUI.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if eventually OO becomes somewhat "skinnable" so that you just select in the preferences whether you want a ribbon interface, the traditional menu bar, or even something completely different like the old Amiga or Mac style menus.

:-) Yeah, it's definitely a bit of an "odd man out," although given how common it is to simply e-mail Word/Excel files, perform mail merges based on your contacts list, etc., I'm not surprised at the success Microsoft has had at bundling Outlook into Office either. In the past few years they've been trying to extend this "integration" to the web as well with Sharepoint... although that effort seems to be meeting with mixed successes.

---Joel

Yes, It works fine in V2.3.1. Not sure when it was added.

Regards Anton Erasmus

This is all true - and demonstrates what a small issue familiarity actually is for most users.

Mailing OOo files is not exactly hard - you select "File | send". OOo help refers to "form letters" for mail merges - I've never used them, so I can't comment any more than that.

Thanks. I'll download an update.

Joop