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Hi 
A ZdNet article titled (obviously) "Office for iPad, big deal or big
yawn" allows people to vote and so far the "big yawn" side is winning.
HoooRaaah! 
The big yawn side appears to largely be supporting
OpenSource.
http://www.zdnet.com/debate/office-for-ipad-big-deal-or-big-yawn/10137467/
So, feel free to cast your vote.
Regards from
Tom
Maybe Apple fanboys don't care...
The problem (for LibreOffice and other Open Source office projects) is that
they are also offering it for free for the Android platform
If until now the only reasonable free option for the Android platform was
Kingsoft Office (which is quite good but from an unknown company), with
Microsoft the game has changed completely.
It's a shame none of the Open Source office's has the manpower to build an
Android version. Now it's too late
Pedro wrote:
Maybe Apple fanboys don't care...
The problem (for LibreOffice and other Open Source office projects) is that
they are also offering it for free for the Android platformIf until now the only reasonable free option for the Android platform was
Kingsoft Office (which is quite good but from an unknown company), with
Microsoft the game has changed completely.It's a shame none of the Open Source office's has the manpower to build an
Android version. Now it's too late
There is AndrOpen Office.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andropenoffice
James Knott wrote
There is AndrOpen Office.
Unless it has improved recently, it is fairly useless. It crashed by itself.
Never even got to the part of *opening* a document The good part was that
it uninstalled quickly
I'll give it another shot when I install MS Office later today.
It's a shame none of the Open Source office's has the manpower to build an
Android version. Now it's too late
Seriously, Pedro? Actually, TDF and the LibreOffice Devs, notably Tor
Lillqvist, have been hard after an Android build.
Not sure of its fitness for use, but daily builds of Master for Android are
here: TinderBox 24 -- Android-ARM
<http://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/master/Android-ARM@24-Bytemark-Hosting/>
Stuart
build an
Android version. Now it's too late
EuroOffice has a version for Android. Currently it only supports Write, but Calc, Draw, and Impress are planned future enhancements.
AndroOffice does support Calc and Write. I don't use Impress, Draw, Base, or Math, so I don't know if those components are supported, or not.
Neither AnOo nor EU can open large documents --- 10 MB in size. OTOH, neither EuroOffice 2012 for Linux, Apache Open Office, nor LibreOffice on Linux can open all of my test documents.
(MSO2010 on Win7 gives me the blue screen of death within ten seconds, automatically proving that it is not a productivity tool,.)
jonathon
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Hi Stuart
V Stuart Foote wrote
It's a shame none of the Open Source office's has the manpower to build
an
Android version. Now it's too lateSeriously, Pedro? Actually, TDF and the LibreOffice Devs, notably Tor
Lillqvist, have been hard after an Android build.Not sure of its fitness for use, but daily builds of Master for Android
are here:
TinderBox 24 -- Android-ARM
<http://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/master/Android-ARM@24-Bytemark-Hosting/>
Seriously. I'm well aware of that. That is why I mentioned "manpower". I
didn't say no one.
The Android build simply doesn't do anything (at least the last time I tried
about a month ago...)
Unless there were some fantastic progresses I doubt that it's up to par with
Kingsoft (haven't tried MSO yet)
Pedro
Hi
Hmm, even if MSO have got there first and LibreOffice follows i think
that's not hugely different from the desktop.
I'm not convinced that MSO is available for Android. I've seen
announcements that it is available for iPads but iPads are different
from Androids.
Regards from
Tom
Apparently it is. Has been for a few days now.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.officehub
Haven't tried it myself (and I don't plan to). Running Android 2.3 whereas
it requires 4.0+.
Note that the Android app is free only for home use. A business use
requires an Office 365 account. I have no idea how they check on how it is
used, though.
Jomali
Hi Tom, all
TomD wrote
Hmm, even if MSO have got there first and LibreOffice follows i think
that's not hugely different from the desktop.
If you lead you have an advantage. People are resistant to change (e.g.
Windows > Linux; MSO > LO) even if the alternative is free... Kingsoft
Office is gaining momentum as an alternative simply because it is the first
free cross-platform suite both on Android AND Windows (yes, the two most
used OSes).
AndrOffice is still awful. They think that converting to Android is just to
port the code... Desktop sized buttons cannot be selected with a finger...
People at TDF realized that and that is why there is no Android version even
if it is technically possible. It would take quite a lot of manpower to
build a different GUI.
Returning to MSO Mobile, it's only available for iPad and Android
smartphones, but not for Android tablets... Maybe they will try to sell
that? Or maybe they don't want Android to compete with Windows 8 Tablets
since there are already more Android devices in the world than Windows
PCs...
MSO Mobile is only a viewer, as to create a document you need an Office
365 license (which costs 99 euro/dollars per year).
HI
Interestingly they don't have pivot tables on the iPad version. One
of MS's biggest fanboys in ZdNet also admitted that not all MS
documents opened well. Most did but not all.
Regards from
Tom
Hi Italo
italovignoli wrote
Returning to MSO Mobile, it's only available for iPad and Android
smartphones, but not for Android tablets... Maybe they will try to sell
that? Or maybe they don't want Android to compete with Windows 8 Tablets
since there are already more Android devices in the world than Windows
PCs...MSO Mobile is only a viewer, as to create a document you need an Office
365 license (which costs 99 euro/dollars per year).
That is not correct.
I haven't verified this personally yet (need to free up some space on my
Android smartphone). But MS claims in the download page that it allows you
to create (Word and Excel) and edit documents (Word, Excel and Powerpoint).
MS also says that it is free for personal use. The only requirement is to
create a free Microsoft account (like Google Docs requires to create a
Google account).
Have you tested it? Are your findings different from their claims?
Regards,
Pedro
The linked "notice" for MSO on Android seems to indicate it is not for Tablets, but only for Phones.
That is a big difference.
So we still do not have to worry. Also, I wonder if that is actually more of a Cloud Version instead of one that resides on a phone. For me, I do not link the idea of Cloud apps for "Writer" types of packages. I like offline ones better since I tend to need such things on a tablet/laptop without any access to a WiFi signal.
I do not have an Android Phone powerful enough for an office suite or with a large enough screen. My Android table is a Nook HD with 16GB internal and 32GB on a microSD card. So I am waiting for LO's Android version for that Android based Nook.
Seriously, if MSO is offering Office 365 for free, I bet it is a limited time offer where you will get hooked on using it then will be required to pay "through the nose" after a few months of use. MS does not have the policy to give away its Office packages for free. So this seems more like a trial and not a real free deal for long term use.
It is clearly stated in the relevant iTunes pages.
Requirements: a qualifying Office 365 subscription is required to edit
and create Word documents. If you do not have a subscription, you can
buy Office 365 Home withing Word for Ipad app.
Hi Italo
italovignoli wrote
It is clearly stated in the relevant iTunes pages.
Requirements: a qualifying Office 365 subscription is required to edit
and create Word documents. If you do not have a subscription, you can
buy Office 365 Home withing Word for Ipad app.
We seem to be talking about different products: Microsoft Office Mobile for
the iPhone and Android phones is free for personal use
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?/topic/37434-microsoft-office-for-iphone-and-android-now-completely-free/
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/office-mobile-for-office-365/id541164041
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.officehub
MSO Mobile for iPad is a free Viewer or paid if you want to edit or create
(as you mentioned)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2113464/with-office-for-ipad-microsoft-makes-all-mobile-platforms-free-but-creation-will-cost-you.html
and probably it will be too for Android tablets (still hasn't been
announced)
Cheers,
Pedro
I haven't got any smartphone, so I'm just wondering: what use for office
software on such a small screen as a smartphone one? Is the software
usable at all?
On a smartphone? Maybe the ability to read a document is interesting, but
that's it.
However, tablets have decent screen estate, and can easily be combined with
mouse/keyboard as needed, while being more convenient than a whole laptop.
Hi
Getting "out there" first does count for a lot but it's not the final answer.
The advantages do lead to the idea of "release early and release
often". AndrOO might not be great right now but at least it is "out
there" and attracting attention. As a result it might "snowball" and
become better faster and faster as it attracts an increasing
community. On the other hand initial reputation counts for a lot too
so the TDF approach is smart but all the smarter because AndrOO is out
there. Without AndrOO the DTF approach would suffer the usual
problems of perfectionism.
Kingsoft Office is attracting a lot of attention but it's proprietary
and therefore limited. If they could OpenSource it then it might last
but at the moment it looks like it's only good for the short-term
until MS squish it. Having a ribbon-bar is a huge pull. If only we
had an Extension that gave users one! As an Extension people wouldn't
have to use it and it wouldn't be the default. Many of us still kinda
hate the ribbon but having it as an option would be smart.
I've also heard that the hand-helds version of MSO is just a viewer
(that doesn't always work anyway (MS having trouble implementing their
own 'interoperable' format. Again)). So it's classic trialware and
likely to follow desktop MSO into being ransomware. MS do need to
regain the market-share they have lost to hand-helds and free viewer
trialware is the standard approach. it usually seems to work for MS.
It didn't work for Oracle when they tried it with OO but they had
other factors to deal with.
As for Cloud versions there is already Google-docs but apparently the
various portable apps versions of LO could also be installed to a
Cloud and used anywhere.
Really i was just hoping that a few people here could cast their vote
on the ZdNet article and support one of the few people in ZdNet that
supports OpenSource despite that constantly leading to him earning
less from his articles than the Windows fanboys earn from theirs.
Regards from
Tom