LibreOffice V4.0 released this week. . .

[GlenBarrington]

Apparently this is a major release.

They got rid of a lot of legacy code from OpenOffice that was either inefficient and/or redundant. It does seem a bit faster and more responsive than OO. (In Windows)

Plus they added the ability to annotate text documents (Should be useful for collaborative writers), and added a remote control app for Android users for their Presentation module.

They also rewrote the User interface, it doesn't look all THAT different to me, but they claim improved accessibility and sizable dialogs.

For linux users they also promise tighter integration with Unbutu Unity.

It is also available in a form to load on a thumb drive - see portableapps.com


http://www.pcworld.com/article/20276...ffice-4-0.html

I've downloaded it, and I will be keeping it. It IS faster and more responsive. I'd say it is a good to excellent FREE replacement for MS Office.

[teh603]

How lucky for Unity users.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by teh603

How lucky for Unity users.

Right
I gave Mint 14 a test spin (Live CD). Clean and Quick

Time to dump Ubuntu from my Linux desktop

[VydorScope]

you know, I have this odd laptop (circa 2005) collecting dust here, I should drop Ubuntu on it and see if it has any life left in it. I

[GlenBarrington]

It is REALLY different! Really, REALLY different. I suspect you will either hate it or love it. I doubt you will remain unmoved!

Maybe a fully integrated Office suite will make it perfect.

[hidari]

Downloaded it yesterday.... good so far.... What can I say, I have not uses Micro$oft office...since Open Office 1.0.... long live the alternatives. Atlantic, Open office, Office Libre....etc.....

[cromag]

Hmmm ... I'm approaching the end of Ubuntu 10.04. I really like Gnome, and have learned to tweak it a bit, so I was in no hurry to move to Unity. But this might smooth the transition.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

you know, I have this odd laptop (circa 2005) collecting dust here, I should drop Ubuntu on it and see if it has any life left in it. I

Go for it! Costs nothing to try.

I've been a long time attendee of the Trenton Computer Fest -- mostly for the flea market, but it has dwindled since the internet made it easier to sell used tech.

Anyway, I went there for old times sake maybe 4 years ago and my teen-aged daughter asked to come along. She found a Compaq Presario 1200 laptop, circa 1998, for $40 and was interested in having a computer "of her own." IIRC, it had a 6 GB hard drive. We successfully loaded a Linux distro called wattOS -- Ubuntu-based. It was very usable. Your 2005 model should have no problem with the real thing.

[Freeshadow]

For people who want a fresh debianish distro w/o the risks of screwing a sid update I usually recommended aptosid

[VydorScope]

I have Redhat and CENTOS servers I have maintained for years, well shoot over a decade... but never really got in to Linux as a desktop OS. Just really like the Mac OSX line. Might just grab Ubuntu Unity and and see how it is.

[GlenBarrington]

FWIW, It isn't clear to me that Unity will run on anything other than the Canonical flavor of Unbutu.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by hidari

Downloaded it yesterday.... good so far.... What can I say, I have not uses Micro$oft office...since Open Office 1.0.... long live the alternatives. Atlantic, Open office, Office Libre....etc.....

NeoOffice might still be available for the Macs.

Either way, I remember getting OO back in 2003 when I was moving to Windows XP and needed something I could write my papers on. Files ended in .sxw back in those days. Got MS Office back in '06 during my move back to Macs, then abandoned it again after only a year or two when I found out that my eeePC 701 had OO on it and word documents didn't transfer quite right.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by cromag

Hmmm ... I'm approaching the end of Ubuntu 10.04. I really like Gnome, and have learned to tweak it a bit, so I was in no hurry to move to Unity. But this might smooth the transition.

Straying off topic --- I'm also reaching the end of support for 10.04 (April 2013) and I'm not particularly happy to move to Unity. Played around with a 12.04 livedisc and I'm more on the hate side than the love it side.

I'm thinking about installing it on a old surplus laptop and see if I can get Gnome installed.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Straying off topic --- I'm also reaching the end of support for 10.04 (April 2013) and I'm not particularly happy to move to Unity. Played around with a 12.04 livedisc and I'm more on the hate side than the love it side.

I'm thinking about installing it on a old surplus laptop and see if I can get Gnome installed.

Well, It's been a year or so since I played with Unbutu, but I vaguely recall that Unity was optional, right in the install. You had a choice between Unity and. . . something else (sorry, can't recall). You might want to go on one of the dedicated Linux sites and ask around about how much hassle putting a different UI is on Unbutu 12. Seems a shame to give up a distro you like without some sort of investigation on how to tailor it for your needs.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Well, It's been a year or so since I played with Unbutu, but I vaguely recall that Unity was optional, right in the install. You had a choice between Unity and. . . something else (sorry, can't recall). You might want to go on one of the dedicated Linux sites and ask around about how much hassle putting a different UI is on Unbutu 12. Seems a shame to give up a distro you like without some sort of investigation on how to tailor it for your needs.

Kubuntu used to be the main-tier alternate frontend, but it had some community issues and never quite got to the same level as main-trunk Ubuntu. Which was a shame because KDE is a great frontend compared to Unity.

Does Unity even have re-orderable buttons on the side panel yet?