One of the main advantages of OOo 1.1 is its integration with MySQL.
This opens up an almost infinite number of doors for OOo to be
eventually adopted as a key business tool.
I came across an article discussing the integration of OOo and MySQL.
It is written in Chinese. However, from the URL and screenshots, you
should be able to figure out what it was talking about.
There are other distinct advantages of OOo vis-a-vis Microsoft Office.
For example, you can install different language versions of OOo on the
same machine (e.g., I have installed traditional Chinese, simplified
Chinese, and Japanese versions of OOo 1.1.0 on my Athlon XP). The way
OOo/Linux is configured, you are able to run each language version as if
you were in its own localized environment. Super cool.
However, OOo is not very stable, at least not as stable as MS Office.
This is further compounded by the fact that different components of the
OOo suite are not running as separate programs. Thus, if one component
crashes, you have to kill (alt-ctl-escape) the entire program. This
underscores the importance of the need to accumulate user experience--so
as to know where the land mines are and avoid them.
I have recruited a couple of very distinguished local tax lawyers who
are also well versed in MS Office to try OOo/Linux. I am debating
whether I should wait until the 2.6 kernel becomes final (i.e.,
incorporated into Red Hat) to start their journey. In the meantime, if
anyone has any experience in using OOo 1.1, please be gracious in
sharing it with us.
- [luau] OOo 1.1.0 & MySQL Hawaii Linux Institute
-
