[Pc_Support] Re: OpenOffice v2 beta usage in production setting?

[Bryan J. Smith <b.j.smith at ieee.org>]

From: Damien McKenna <dmckenna at thelimucompany.com>
> Is anyone using OOo v2 builds in production settings?

I've actually been using it since early May.  I've been vastly impressed
with the capabilities in even the "beta."  And, BTW, I'm running on
Linux/x86_64 with *0* issues.

> I'm in charge of creating the new OS build for our new workstations
> at work and I'm looking to standardize on many OSS tools, mainly
> Firefox and OOo.  Because OOo v2 isn't finished yet I'm a little leery
> of using it, but I'd sure like to use something other than the Office 97
> they currently use.

Well, I can't vouche for OOo v2 on Windows, but I have to assume it
actually gets more attention than Linux, and the Linux version is
most excellent at this point (but assumptions are not always the way
to go, I have to admit that).

> I'm tempted to stick with O97 for now and wait, but going with OOo
> v2 from the start would be better again.

Why not install both?

At this point, you're right, there is little use to put OOo 1.1.x on the
systems.  So go ahead and install OOo 1.9.x.  But also put MS Word 97
on the systems "just in case" there is an issue with reading/writing
a file.

> Also, has anyone tried forcing OOo v2 to MS file formats by default?

I would recommend _heavily_against_ doing this.  There is really _no_
_point_ in running OOo if you're going to do this.  The problem with
MS Office isn't the price, it's the document longevity.  So what point
is there in running OOo if you're just going to store the documents
in a Hostageware format that may not be well supported in the
future?

You want all new document generation to be in a Freedomware/
Standardware format, and not a Hostageware one.  If your users
need to exchange, they can export/save-as to DOC 8, 9 and 10
(97, 2000 and XP, respectively).  You can _guarantee_ that your
ODT (fka SXW) and other OOo formats will be available for full
editing capability years form now -- you can_not_ guarantee that
with DOC 8-10 (or anything pre-DOC11/XML, assuming Microsoft
documents all their schema).

> Is it even possible?

Yes, it is in OOo 1.1.x, and I thought OOo 1.9.x/2.x as well, but I
haven't personally tried with the latter.

> Any comments or experiences would be appreciated.  Thanks.

If you're going to deploy OOo, deploy OOo.  Don't make it a
headache by just saving back into a Hostageware format, you're
just going to cause your company _more_ headache.

I.e., you might as well not even bother with OOo if you save to DOC.


--
Bryan J. Smith   mailto:b.j.smith at ieee.org