On 11/14/05, Shawn K. Quinn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > "Free of charge" (price) is not the same thing as "free as a bird" or > "free speech" (freedom). > > This article talks about the former, OOo is the latter; I don't think > Microsoft will ever release any software of the magnitude of their > office suite as free software (latter definition). > > To put it in perspective: Microsoft's suite will still ship with an > ever-verbose license agreement, which will now additionally forbid > hacking around or blocking the advertising. Instead of expensive > slaveware, you now have zero-cost slaveware. Not much of a difference. >
Maybe not to you, or me, or people who know better. But, in the eyes of the public, paying $30- $300 for something, and not paying for something is a big difference. Now, I know that it doesn't list MS Office on the list, but it does mention Works. And I'm sure Works will still support the MSO formats, (and possibly the XML versions of Office 12), so if format lock-in is on your list of bad things, then this is something to worry about. And if this takes off, a crippled-ad-supported MS Office can't be far down the trial. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, many people use OOo simply because it is free (as in no price). They see it as a free subsitute for MS Office. And if MS Office becomes free (or even just Works), and it provides 100% or even >97% complete compatibility with existing file formats, templates, clip art, macros, etc. Then the userbase of OOo is likely to stop growing, if not drop. I think this is a real threat to OpenOffice.org. -- - Chad Smith http://www.gimpshop.net/ Because everyone loves free software!
