I admit it. I use OpenOffice.org (OOo) at home. I use it in preference to most similar products. I use it because its price is zero and because it is free. (Otherwise, I’d be paying a small amount and using StarOffice.) But if price was the only reason, there are other products out there. KOffice, for example, and both AbiWord and Gnumeric are all zero-price freeware as well as free software. And finally, there is WordPerfect, which remains my favorite office product, but is not available on my preferred platform at any price. There is Microsoft Office, which is what I have to use at work.

I also use KOffice. KOffice is my third favorite office product. I use KOffice when I already have multiple applications open and do not want the dragginess that OpenOffice.org would produce. Whenever that drag is not an issue (e.g., only one other application open), I go back to OOo.

I have access to Microsoft Office 2003 at work. So why do I prefer to wait until after work and use OpenOffice? Because OOo offers nearly everything that MSOffice offers, without being so annoying. One annoyance that I commonly find with Microsoft’s product is the way it changes the interface to hide functionality (menu items, toolbar buttons) it decides you don’t need. It was there last week, but now when I want to use it, it is no longer there. Or how about opening attached documents in “reading layout”? Like it or not, most documents eventually get printed onto paper. When I open an attached document, it is not the content that I am looking for (or it would be pasted into the message body), but the way it looks. Switching to a non-page-oriented display is exactly the wrong thing to do.

In addition, using OpenDocument Format as the default file format helps future-proof my documents. After the current producers of “office software” all move on to something else, will you have the right to create a program to read and manipulate your data in the formats it was saved in? Will you be forced to buy a license from someone? Or perhaps be required to use a particular operating system?

If software is female, WordPerfect is the French maid, OpenOffice is MaryAnn (Gilligan’s Island) and MS Office is the Russian weightlifter. I know which one I’d avoid. This may explain why I question the wisdom of soon-coming MS Ad-infested Office, when others think so highly of it. Or it could be the memory of the old “free dial-up Internet if you view our constant ads” days. I quickly went back to a paid service when the ads consumed most of the bandwidth. Just wait until your print preview requires you to wait 30 seconds while an ad banner dances, sparkles, and sings to you.

Service Pack 2 for Microsoft Office 2007 was released earlier this week.

The new update gives Microsoft Office users some of the features that OpenOffice and KOffice users have enjoyed for years, such as PDF export and the built-in ability to use OASIS-standardized ODF file formats.

I can’t currently test it out. My (family’s) Windows computers run WordPerfect and OpenOffice, not Microsoft Office. The computer I brought with me to Missouri does not run Windows.

There were some suspicions that their implementation would continue their historical anti-competitive embrace, extend, and extinguish behavior. I’ll refrain from that point of view until and unless the company shows me that they are indeed going that way. For now, let me congratulate Microsoft and its end users on finally joining the world of the future.

I realize that the folks at Sun have more to worry about than this, with their pending sale to Oracle going on. I have been meaning to mention this for some time.

For those who have already invested in the Microsoft Office suite, the current best option for importing and exporting ODF files is Sun’s ODF Plugin for Microsoft Office. When the plugin was upgraded to version 3.0, however, the download process now requires registration.

The problem with that? Everyone has unintentionally been added to some marketing list in the past through just such a register to download or register to get information page. People have been trained by misbehaving marketers to shy away from “register for a free download” sites.

Personally, I have (or had) a Sun user profile. Even so, I still will not log in to access the plugin. They can know who I am by my IP address. They do not need me to log in so they can figure out who I am. (I’m the guy who sat in Wendy’s, using their WiFi. Sun webmaster, if you see the IP address belonging to that Wendy’s location, it was me. Which Wendy’s location? Well, you’ll just have to guess.)

It isn’t just Sun that has this going on. I have a new project at home, so I was going to use it as an excuse to familiarize myself with a different database, so I went to download Ingres and MaxDB, running into the same situation with each. (Well, similar. I have a username and password with Ingres, but none with SAP, the developers of MaxDB.) In each case, someone’s sage marketing advice (probably along the lines of “don’t miss the chance to reach out and touch people who are already interested in what you have to offer“) is pushing away potential users and maybe even customers of their product.

I realize that Office 2007 SP2 is only about a month away, but for those who are still using Office 2003, Sun’s plugin will remain the best option to integrate ODF into the workflow. Clever Age’s add-in is too limited in what files it can open and the part of the standard it implements. When I tested it, it was forever giving me error messages about being unable to open a particular file.

What should Sun do? I think a few changes are in order:

1. Stop allowing marketing-driven data-collection to get in the way of getting the company’s products out to the public. Specifically, drop the log in page, so that those who are interested can quickly and easily download the plugin
2. Both on the download page and within the plugin itself (and integrated into MS Office by the plugin), make it easy to try OpenOffice.org–a single-click download. It doesn’t have to be very advertise-ish, just a little “click here to download and install the free OpenOffice.org suite that combines fluent understanding of Microsoft Office file formats with native use of the international standard ODF file formats”. And no “opt-out” checkboxes, either, as is commonly found with the JRE.
3. Make it easy to buy StarOffice, Sun’s improved distribution of OpenOffice.org. If I have OOo, how many clicks does it take to upgrade to a commercially-supported version? If I search the Sun site, how much effort does it take to find StarOffice? Can I buy it right there, with PayPal, Google Checkout, or major credit cards? If not, can I be directed to a partner’s online store where I can buy this way?

If you have no objection, I recommend that you get the plugin now. I just have no desire to have another username and password (or to have to track down the one I already have). Nor do I wish to have an inbox full of marketing e-mails.

ODF, OpenDocument Format, Open Document Format

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Office 2007 SP2 Nears, Office 2010 Details Revealed

Let’s start with the second service pack for Microsoft Office 2007. It will arrive on April 28, and will pack a number of changes that will make a lot of people very happy. The biggest feature is support for the OpenDocument Format, across the board. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint can now all edit, save, and create documents in version 1.1 of the OpenDocument Format (.odt/.ods/.odp). In addition, SP2 will include full support for PDF files, meaning you no longer have to download a separate plug-in. All I can say is: finally. Was that so hard, Microsoft?

The news is all across the Web. Built-in support means that no one will have to create a username/password to download Sun’s ODF plugin for MS Office or track down Clever Age’s ODF Converter add-in either. A number of us are eager to see and try this. There are still concerns about infecting ODF with proprietary extensions or “intellectual property” that must be licensed before use, so we’ll get to see just how much Microsoft desires to interoperate with other software vendors.

SP2 will also add XPS and PDF support to the product. This has long been a frequently-requested feature in many organizational environments. I have this price list to send to potential customer X, but I don’t want him to change it. How can I get this as a PDF? Instead of saying “print it and then scan it”, support staff will be able to point users to the PDF export feature of their office software. Unfortunately, this does not include MS Office 2003, which just recently dropped off the support list for most users.

ODF, OpenDocument Format, MS Office

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Windows 7 (the latest version of Windows which was available as a free beta) ships with a copy of WordPad that supports ODF as standard

Open Document Support by Microsoft | The Outserve Limited Blog

This according to Outserve Limited. Click through to their site to see screenshots.

OpenDocument is a package to read, create or modify office documents in open document format.OpenDocument format is a replacement for proprietary office formats such as .doc or .xls. This package is a very useful tool for php developers and another point to switch from proprietary office formats to OpenDocument one, that means switching to open source software and standards.OpenDocument was developed as a project of Google Summer of Code 2006 Program.Package provides object oriented style for working with open documents, a little similar to DOM as for XML.

OpenDocument

This is the description of a project on the PHP PEAR site. I have to say that it looks abandoned, but that could be a false impression. Here's hoping that work continues on this. This could give every PHP developer the potential to import or export ODF documents within his project.

I was looking around a state government site (not my home state of California, unfortunately), and came across this page of statistical data downloadable in spreadsheet form.

I congratulate the citizens of the state of Illinios! I hope that California and other states follow suit soon. It is my personal opinion that all government data should be available in non-proprietary standardized formats. This is another step forward. A baby step, but a step just the same.

Planet ODF is a new aggregator for ODF-related blog and microblog posts. Rob Weir announced it last month.

If you head over to the site, you can also subscribe to the feed (in various formats).

One of the things that my primary job does is enables me to spend time in parts of the country that I would not otherwise get to visit. In recent years, I’ve been in Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Nebraska, and now Missouri. Being in Missouri (and not being a fan of country music), I was expecting to rely on my music player (MP3/OGG). But I discovered SpiritFM and have really enjoyed it.

SpiritFM’s music is similar to what you might hear on Air1 (only newer) or New Jersey’s Star 99.1. I first experienced the music of Mandisa and Brandon Heath through the New Jersey station, and I’m getting reacquainted with the Newsboys through the Missouri station. (I mentioned Star 99.1 in 2007.)

This is my current favorite song. As is my tradition, I’ll be buying the CD and adding it to my collection.

Today is “Good Friday”, part of the Christian celebration of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It is time to remember that we are “In The Hands Of God”.

Texas is once again considering legislation that would select open standard data formats (and software that could use them) for state-produced documents.

Fort Worth legislator pushes for open format in state documents | Fort Worth | Star-Telegram.com

Michael Coté, an Austin-based technology analyst specializing in open-source software, said tying government documents to a proprietary vendor creates the risk that those files may be unreadable in the future as software evolves and companies go out of business. Open-source formats such as OpenDocument are “vendor-neutral,” meaning they work with multiple programs and can more likely be accessed in the future, Coté said.

“If the Constitution was in WordPerfect 5.1 format, it would probably be difficult to read right now,” Coté said, referring to an obsolete but once widely used word processing format.

Veasey filed a similar bill in 2007. It got national attention from technology journalists and bloggers but went nowhere largely because of aggressive lobbying by Microsoft, he said.

At a hearing on the bill then, Microsoft national technology officer Stuart McKee described it as anti-competitive and warned that it could be the equivalent of the state “picking Betamax when everyone else goes with VHS.”

Passage is far from assured, of course. Many people freak out at the thought that they might lose the ability to use the leading proprietary office suite. On top of that, the leading proprietary vendor has an accomplished lobbying team that seeks to crush any move that could threaten their dominance. I also think that talking about it in terms of licensing costs is the wrong issue. The state will want to buy StarOffice or WordPerfect for the support, rather than just downloading OpenOffice. So licensing costs may go down,

Personally, I think the bill’s opponents are missing the point. A Microsoft that was totally committed to open standard data formats / file formats (not "open source" file formats) and network protocols would indeed face more competition. They might find it difficult to maintain some of their pricing and lose some market share. But this would not only benefit consumers and the states, it would make Microsoft a leaner, stronger, more nimble competitor. For me, at least, supporting such bills is not about trying to hurt Microsoft, because my ideal world has MSFT being one of a group of leading competitors. Ideally, my work environment would have two or three different vendors' applications, so that when a user got too frustrated with one product, we could just switch him/her to a different one.

I realize that a level playing field is scary to Redmondites. But this fear will be replaced by the same kind of thrill that athletes feel in the midst of a game. If I were Mr. Ballmer, I would come to Texas and say, “We’re planning to support ODF anyway. Go ahead and pass this. We think we can make our products good enough that you will choose us most of the time anyway.” Unless, of course, he really doesn’t believe his company' products are that good.

To track the bill, check the Texas Legislature site. Thanks to Rick Jeliffe for the link to the story.

IceRocket: Open Standards

Open Standards

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