Apache Releases OpenOffice 3.4
Today the Apache OpenOffice Project announced the availability of their inaugural release of Apache OpenOffice, version 3.4. Apache obtained the rights and code to OpenOffice last year and have now 'vetted" and built "a solid and stable codebase, with significant improvement and enhancements over other variants." But some are wondering if anyone cares?
Some of the new features included in Apache OpenOffice 3.4:
* Improvements in performance and quality
* Improved ODF support, including new ODF 1.2 encryption
* Enhanced pivot table support in Calc
* Enhanced graphics and native support for SVG
* Better UI defaults for Draw and Impress
* Mozilla Address Book support removed in favor of Seamonkey
* Chart: Resizeable legend & enhanced visualization
* New Gstreamer multimedia framework
* New Color Picker dialog
* Various bugfixes
* Full list here
While the news has been carried by several Websites, the lack of discussion and enthusiasm is almost palatable. In fact, Sean Michael Kerner asks "Does Anyone Care?" LibreOffice has become the de facto office suite of Linux, although Calligra is trying to give them a run for their money. Like Kerner said, those more familiar with OpenOffice or Microsoft Office will appreciate the update and new features, but most of Linux has moved on. Micheal Meeks has shown empirically that LibreOffice is leaping ahead of OpenOffice in features and speed.