Yes, NeoOffice/J has progressed at an amazing rate over the past few months from an alpha version last fall that basically just allowed OOo to run semi-natively in the Mac OS X environment to a beta version in late December that featured more seamless Mac integration, to a release candidate by early spring that looks and feels even closer to "prime time" with patches and updates being released, on average, every 10 days. Even though Patrick Luby and Ed Peterlin haven't quite gotten NeoOffice/J to a final release version, choosing it over OOo with X11 is pretty much a "no-brainer" for most Mac users at this time, given its tighter integration with the OS and that it is based on a considerably newer version of the OOo source code.�

The picture will be somewhat less clear once OOo 2.x is ported to Mac OS X with X11. At that point, users will have to choose between the tighter OS integration of Neo or the more advanced features of OOo, as there will likely be a considerable time lag before a NeoOffice/J based on OOo 2.x source code appears. Patrick Luby has stated that continued development of NeoOffice/J beyond version 1.x will depend largely on increased community support, both volunteers to handle coding and testing tasks as well as financial support.

Nick, it's great that you're so pleased with NeoOffice/J. I'd certainly encourage you to contact Patrick and Ed to see how you can make your programming skills available to further the cause.


On Jun 9, 2005, at 1:03 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

From: Nick Kricheff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

Date: June 7, 2005 1:03:55 PM EDT

To: [email protected]

Subject: NeoOffice



Just wanted to report that I have been using the latest version of Neooffice/J on my new Mac for a month or two now, and I have no complaints.It really works nicely.I also use OpenOffice on my SuSE 9.2 system at home and my employer's Windows XP system at work.I haven't noticed any problems with compatibility, etc.


My 12 and 15 year old kids also use these products.After a friend of my daughter had an unsuccessful experience trying to use Microsoft Word's Equation Editor, we also convinced her to switch to OpenOffice on her Windows XP machine.


All the previous is for background.My point in writing is to point out that NeoOffice seems to work quite well, and urge you guys to work with them.When I first bought this machine, a Powerbook, I tried OpenOffice, but had a bit of trouble with it if I recall correctly.I discovered NeoOffice (from Apple's website, I think) and switched to it.I am very happy with it.It fits right in with the OS X environment.I found it much more convenient to use than OpenOffice in it's current Mac version.


By the way, I am a long time programmer, mostly in C/C++.I have been using Linux exclusively at home now for a couple of years.This is my first Mac.I'm learning to program in the Cocoa environment now.


Thanks very much for the work.


Nick.



Reply via email to