PRODUCT REVIEW
OpenOffice 3: Useful, Compatible - and Pretty

I've been using its predecessors for years and, broadly speaking, OO3 is the most useful, widely compatible software ever. You can run it on anything: Macs, PCs, Linux , Unix workstations. It includes six full-blown applications: the Writer word processor, Calc spreadsheet, Impress presentations program, Base database program, Math equation editor, and Draw graphics program. And it doesn't cost a penny.

The most interesting development is improved installation on the Mac . With previous versions you had to install a Unix windowing environment, X11, a non-trivial and potentially frustrating procedure that's an instant turnoff to many Macophiles. It also had a nonstandard look and feel. Now you just download and install OpenOffice and run it like any normal Mac application. If you own a Mac, it's worth trying.

Major Obstacle

File compatibility, which has played a big role in blocking wider adoption of OpenOffice, continues to improve. It can open documents from Microsoft Office 2007 for the PC, and Office 2008 for the Mac, as well as open and save documents in OpenDocument Format 1.2. That's a standard, increasingly mandated by governments, that has the potential to be the lingua franca of computing . On the downside, it can't save documents in recent MS Office formats, though it does support earlier formats such as .doc.

The user interface is little changed and still looks like a "traditional" version of Microsoft Office. That's either a bug or feature, depending on your point of view. I've seen a fair number of online postings from Office 2003 users who like the stodgy OpenOffice better than the radically overhauled look of Office 2007. If you like Office 2007, you won't like it. OO3 does get a new collection of spiffier, more modern-looking icons.

Minor Improvements

A Start Center opens the application and allows you to chose your module. The start center also supports housekeeping functions, like updates and finding add-ons. There's an upgraded "solver" math component similar to MS Office's, and you can simultaneously view multiple pages in a word processing document, useful for setting up a book or lengthy report. There are also graphic enhancements, including improved cropping and charting.

So who's OpenOffice.org for? For the most part, the utility of office software is socially constructed rather than feature-based (how's that for a postmodern software review?). For one person, working alone, OO3 is more than adequate and can save hundreds of dollars. Increased file and Mac compatibility makes it a good bet for multiple home users as well. I'm not sure OO3 is going to steal any users from Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iWork, but in mixed marriages like mine, where Linda has Mac and I have a PC, well, it will be a lot easier to have compatible software and use each other's systems in a pinch. It goes without saying that the more viable OpenOffice is, the more viable Linux is in general. And this season's fad, the ultra-cheap Linux-based netbooks like the Asus Eee PC, now easily fit into a mixed collection of Macs and PCs.

Lock-In Remains

On the other hand, the bigger the institution, the more potentially problematic OpenOffice.org is. It may do 99 percent of the things that 99 percent of the people need, but it's that last 1 percent that comprises the quirky templates and macros that don't quite translate correctly from the Microsoft universe and that put off the power users who are wedded to Microsoft. The list of majors that have converted is still pretty slim. There is still no real equivalent to Microsoft Outlook mail and calendar services available, though the separately developed Mozilla Thunderbird and Mozilla Lightning do a fair job.

Still, this version appears to be closer than ever to a complete substitute for MS Office, without the price, and it's not surprising that the OpenOffice.org servers crashed when millions of fans tried to download the latest release.

Reviews: Google's Chrome and More

In the department of related software:

My road test of Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chrome continues, and the more I use it, the more impressed I am. Most users seem to feel otherwise. After an initial surge of downloads, it has fallen to less than 1 percent of the browsers used, according to Net Applications, a consulting firm. The current browser lineup: Internet Explorer, 71.48 percent; Firefox, 19.42 percent; and Apple's Safari, 6.73 percent. Slashdot, meanwhile, showed as much as 10 percent of its traffic in Chrome, also falling rapidly to a little more than 1 percent.

gOS 3 Gadgets is available in final release. It's a form of Linux that I like a lot, and it incorporates Google gadgets and other goodies that make net-based programs more practical. Free.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) Lotus Symphony got a rave review here a while back, but I've been won back by OpenOffice's latest release. Symphony is noticeably slower and takes up a lot of hard drive space.