jimw wagner [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> James Knott wrote: > > Kelly Covey wrote: > >> > >> Hello, > >> Is there a difference between the purchased Open Office and the > >> downloadable version? > >> > >> If there is a pay version, how much is it? We are looking for the > >> full package, for example, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Email, > >> etc... > >> > > > > There are three types of "pay" versions. Sun has a version called > > StarOffice, which includes a few extras not available in > OpenOffice. > > There are also vendors who sell CDs for nominal (in some > cases not so > > nominal) amounts of the standard OpenOffice package. There > are also > > some companies that may offer an enhanced version. > >> We are going to drop Microsoft (Microslop) Windows XP, and > Vista from > >> our new machines and replace it with Linux XP. > >> > >> I personally would go with Red Hat but my wife wants Linux XP, she > >> says it looks nicer. LOL. > > I thought most Linux distros included OpenOffice. > The OO offered with most Linux distros is usually one or two versions > back. IMO, best to get the one from the web and use that (or from > someone offering a CD of the latest version). A good distro (most of them are... but I favor OpenSUSE) includes the most recent version of OOo that was stable at the time the distro version was released. Therefore, in my example, OpenSUSE 10.2 was released in November, and has a version of OpenOffice.org that was released a couple of months previous to that, tested and integrated, etc. Once the distro is installed (including the snapshot of OpenOffice), it will "just work", because the distro managers have taken pains to integrate it and ensure that any glitches or possible incompatibilities are resolved. After all, a big, important package like OOo is a flagship item in their offering - they want to be very sure to get it right, since they know that most buyers/downloaders of their distro will be using that application. If you happen to need features from a more recent snapshot of OOo, and if you happen to be using one of the major Linux distributions, it's boringly easy to download and install a version specially packaged for your distro. You can be running the updated version of OOo in minutes... well, unless you are on dial-up. :-) Another option is to just wait a few weeks. SUSE/OpenSUSE, for example, has been on a twice-per-year release schedule. So OpenSUSE 10.3 (or maybe it'll be OpenSUSE 11?) will be along this spring, and will include a version of OOo that's available from the OpenOffice.org site right now, only the version in the distro will be thoroughly tested/integrated to ensure smoothest, most reliable functioning with that distro. You can take what I just wrote and substitute Red Hat Fedora Core or Mandriva or almost any other major distro (though some are on longer release cycles... the principle remains the same) -- the recent, tested, tightly integrated version of OOo is provided... then it starts to age until the next release of that distro. You get to decide if it's worth the bother to update OpenOffice versions between Linux distro releases. Has the original poster's wife looked at KDE at all? It's all-Linux, but easily as comfortable as Win XP desktop, at least the way OpenSUSE integrates it... And with OpenSUSE (and many other distros), you can switch instantly to GNOME (or Enlightenment, or... or...) if you feel the urge for something different. OpenSUSE also has that Novell affiliation, so they have a well-integrated offering of Evolution if that's your taste. I'm not knocking Linux-XP. It certainly has its place for use by the timid Microsoft multitudes, but other distros give you a bit more elbow-room and a chance to sample the alternatives. For example, what if you DO prefer to try a different browser or ICQ-client or MP3 player? The other distros don't force you to use any particular one, but they let you choose and experiment as the mood strikes. If you want Vista-like eye-candy (and better), and if you have the computing horsepower, try Beryl. Cheers, Kevin The information contained in this electronic mail transmission may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected from disclosure. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to this message and deleting it from your computer without copying or disclosing it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
