--- John Hebert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Tue, 4 Feb 2003 05:28:46 -0600, Edmund Cramp > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Does anyone have experience with either of these > packages? I'd like > > to get rid of MS Office on several WIndows > machines and it seems that > > either of these "should" be reasonably compatible > with MS Office ... > > it would be a first step towards moving the > machines to Linux ... > > > > Good Points vs Bad Points anyone? > > > > Thanks > > Edmund Cramp > > Star Office is built with the Open Office source. > Sun adds their closed > source features on top, like more file formats, > etc., and charges $ for it > (~$70?) and provides tech support, etc. Open Office > is free and free. > > I've used Open Office a lot in the past year and > like it a lot. Small > footprint, less resources, nice features. There are > some formatting issues > when viewing M$ documents like disappearing bullets, > screwy formatting, > etc. And when I save documents in a M$ format, M$ > Office users see the same > problems. Nothing that couldn't be easily fixed. > However, in a pure Open > Office environment, you should have few problems. > > I recommend Open Office and strongly recommend that > you send bug reports to > openoffice.org per their procedures. Small price to > pay for open source > software. ;) > > --
I second everything John said with one caveat. Open Office really only opens its own and MS Offices files. It does MS Office VERY well, and prints to PDF (makes PDF formatted files readable by Adobe's Acrobat). It does not open Word Perfect, Star Office or Office Anywhere (Formerly ApplixWare) files. Word Perfect is proprietary and will NOT release their format. It can be licensed though. There is a program underway to purchase the code and release under the GPL license, but it has been stalled for a year. If you need formats beside MS Office, you will need Star Office, or Office Anywhere. Both are resonably priced, I think Star Office is a better project. Office Anywhere can be installed on your LA and run from any browser though. That mean only one copy for everyone in the family. There are always trade-offs. Dog Riddle ===== Warmest Regards, Doug Riddle http://www.dougriddle.com http://fossile-project.sourceforge.net/ http://www.libranet.com -- "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the Peoples' Liberty Teeth." - George Washington -- __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
