newer info of what was in a 2014 blog

users
#1

I was looking at some old posts and came across this one - below.

There is a lot more info in that post, beyond the small quoted text - 4.2.5 listed as the current version - but is there any newer info about the information stated in that post?

Since it compared LibreOffice and Apache's OpenOffice.org, it would be nice to be able to give comparison info between these two free office suites.  Since my Nephew told me last week, that he told a coworker about OOo, thinking I was using it instead of LO and it was "better" than LO.  Since I have been using LO for about 7 years now [if I remember correctly], I do not know where he got the info I was no using LO.

So, if some people could read the old blog and get the updated figures, it would help.

I do like the second paragraph I quoted.  That is one of the things that I love about how well our developers we even back then.

"Off the Beat: Bruce Byfield's Blog"
Oct 25, 2014 GMT

http://www.linux-magazine.com/Online/Blogs/Off-the-Beat-Bruce-Byfield-s-Blog/LibreOffice-and-OpenOffice-comparing-the-community-health

quote:

       Not only does OpenOffice appear to have lost two-thirds of its
    coding contributors, but its current contributors are outnumbered
    nearly eight times by LibreOffice's. Since OpenOffice does not have
    any localization, art work, or usability accomplishments that exceed
    LibreOffice's, the situation can be presumed to be no better among
    non-coders.

      Yet for me, the most telling difference is in the lines of code.
    Both projects grew from OpenOffice.org (and zealots can be found to
    claim that both are the so-called true successor). But, despite this
    common source, LibreOffice is listed as having 7.2 million lines of
    code, while OpenOffice is listed as having 11.2 million lines. In
    other words, LibreOffice has not only managed to release a steady
    series of new releases, each with incremental changes in the
    features and the interface, but also to remove over 35% of the code
    while doing so. More than any other, the implications of this single
    statistic shows the relative health of LibreOffice and OpenOffice.

end-quote:

#2

There is a lot more info in that post, beyond the small quoted text -
4.2.5 listed as the current version - but is there any newer info about
the information stated in that post?

Not really.
AOo is still looking for developers.
AOo still has troubling releases updates that patch critical security flaws.

Since it compared LibreOffice and Apache's OpenOffice.org, it would be
nice to be able to give comparison info between these two free office suites.

AOo is in the nether space, where it is neither completely dead, nor
completely alive. Basically, I don't see that situation changing, until
either IBM, or another three letter agency decides that AOo needs to be
updated, and throws a plethora of paid developers at it. Three letter
agencies outside of the Five Eyes, are going to throw their resources at
LibO, if only because it is easier to upgrade LibO to something that is
secure (^1), than AOo.

^1: Secure here does not refer to malware exploits, but rather, the
ability of the software to minimize/prevent unintended leakage of data
to unauthorised third parties. BAILS is simply phase one, in addressing
that threat-model.

jonathon

#3

That is the type of information we could use.

OOo was in limbo when LO started up.  Then Apache bought it and looked like there would be movement for competing with LO. Now, as you saw, it is back in limbo.

#4

IMNSHO, comparisons with EuroOffice and NeoOffice on the desktop, and
EuroOffice and Android OpenOffice on the Android Platform would be be
equally useful.

That said, I'd rather see articles on functional differences that affect
users. I'm slowly creating a list of features in the various versions of
the programs, for a checklist to use as a feature comparison tool.

jonathon

#5

I use LibreOffice for Windows and Ubuntu.  I use Android OpenOffice on my tablets.  Once LO has and working editor, then I will switch.

Yes, it would be nice to have a good list of differences are, but it does help for marketing if you let people know that LO is "working harder" to fix any bugs that come up and is constantly making the suite better and not waiting 3 to 6 months for the bug fixes and new/better features.

#6

Do you think my checklist should include EuroOffice for Android, and
Android OpenOffice?

And along those lines, are there any forks/clones of OOo for iOS
(iPhone, iPad, iPod)?

jonathon

#7

Yes, if they are free and are forks of the original OpenOffice.org.

Mac devices and iOS ones should be listed as well.  Since LibreOffice is not on iOS or Android, yet, we need to have the free forks on the list.

People who are marketing LibreOffice need an easy to read comparison of each version that run on their systems.

I do not use Mac, but I do have LibreOffice on Ubuntu 16.04LTS and Windows 10. I started using LO in 2010, or thereabout.  I was using Ubuntu 9.10 or 10.04 and Windows XP at that time.

Back then OOo had no updates for a long a long time.  It seems Apache's OOo is in the same boat.  It would have been nice to have a good, and easily read, back then.  When I switched to LibreOffice, I had a difficult time convincing people who was using OOo that LO was the way to go. I think I tried EuroOffice and other forks the was putting out updates before I tried LibreOffice.

One thing that should be listed should be related to what they can do as a alternative to Windows Office.  I know a lot of people I worked with needed to have it do everything the did with the version of MS Office they were using.  The last MS Office I used was the 2003 version.  Most of the people I was dealing with used the current version that was out around 2013 or 2014.

If you can show people that LibreOffice, or other forks, are a great alternative to MS Office.  Since each fork that runs on Windows do not include all the same functions or abilities, having a side by side comparison helps everyone.

Then add to the document what the tech magazine critics think of these forks. The 2014 blog put forth the ideas that LibreOffice did a lot of work to the code to reduce its side and still made it better.  Add the list of large companies and government agencies that has switched to LibreOffice over MS Office.  If they see that these facts, maybe that it would be right for them.

So, any documentation that shows the comparison of these forks, AND what the critics and large companies/organizations/agencies have to say about which ones they use and why.  The "why" may be hard to get, but they did switched away from MS's products for the free and open source office suites.  That might be enough.

#8

EuroOffice for Android is gratis.
Android OpenOffice has a pay-to-remove-advertising option.

Those are the only two programs for Android that I've found, that can
create/edit/save ODF file formats.

When I went looking on the iPhone app store, I found a couple of
programs that claim to read, and edit ODF file formats, but nothing that
can save to that file format. :frowning:

#9

Do you think my checklist should include EuroOffice for Android, and

Yes, if they are free and are forks of the original OpenOffice.org.

EuroOffice for Android is gratis.
Android OpenOffice has a pay-to-remove-advertising option.

I never seen an advertisement when using Android OpenOffice.  But I do not use it much.

I really do not like some of these ad-based free Android apps.  They are starting to run LOUD ones when you start them up or close them. I find it is a problem when I am in a public setting and the ad comes on to promote "silly" game apps much louder than my cell phone's ringtone.

People who are marketing LibreOffice need an easy to read comparison of
each version that run on their systems.

Is that a request for a list of the differences between:
* The same version of LibO, on different platforms. (BSD, Mac, Windows,
Linux, Chrome, etc.);
* Different versions of LibO. ( 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 6.0 alpha, etc.);

I'm in the middle of creating a spreadsheet, that lists the major new
features of each version, from roughly OOo 3.0. Currently, I've got a
skeleton for OOo, NeoOffice, Oxygen Professional, LibO, EO, and AOo.

I think listing LibreOffice runs on all of the OSs it supports.  As for the different release versions of LibreOffice, I think maybe there should be some information about why we have a "fresh" line of LO and a "stable" line - i.e. 5.4.3 vs. 5.3.7.