5 ms·
>> "it is easier to explain to people" Which is why "Office for Free" (OfficeFree, oFree, O4F) would be a better non-Linux name. Average user doesn't care if s
by nxzero 10y ago
>> "it is easier to explain to people"
Which is why "Office for Free" (OfficeFree, oFree, O4F) would be a better non-Linux name. Average user doesn't care if something is "open" they care if it's free.
- curt15 10y agoDoubt it. I would imagine that many lay users associate "free" with low quality. "Open" on the other hand has positive connotations.
- vertex-four 10y agoHell, in a few years' time, Silicon Valley might finally have made "free" an outright bad thing for some significant group of people.
- wlesieutre 10y agoSilicon Valley, where "free" means "don't get used to this because we're selling to google and shutting it down in three months"
- stephenr 10y agoOr it means "we're data mining the fuck out of you, your granny, her cat, and the guy who's banging your wife, so we can deliver you 'relevant' ads"
- jasonkostempski 10y agoI think its a bad idea to even use the word "Office" because it sounds like a lame rip-off you'd download from CNet. In fact, Im suprised MS doesnt have a legal issue with it. Thats always bugged me about a lot of OSS projects and vegan dishes, they pick a name based on their competitor instead of something original that doesn't constantly remind the user they're not quite getting the "real thing".
- jkot 10y agoOpenOffice uses name 'office' for 30 years, 5 longer than MS does. Wiki: > OpenOffice.org originated as StarOffice, a proprietary office suite developed by German company StarDivision from 1985 on. > MS office 1.0 released : November 19, 1990[1] Office 1.0
- ajmurmann 10y agoThat's not the public perception.
- brewdad 10y agoMaybe that's the naming solution then. StarOffice* * The Open and Libre Office Suite Everyone could write it as *Office to save typing. Then users would simply say the full name. "AsteriskOffice" Nevermind....
- elchief 10y agoAnd maybe rewrite it in C# and call it OctothorpOffice...
- jasonkostempski 10y agoCoctothorp is how I pronounce C# :) That or C++++ because # looks like 4 overlapping +'s which I've always assumed is what they were hinting at.
- labster 10y agoIf you pronounce it like that, what will the next version be? We don't have a nonathorp. I've always assumed the next version will be C𝄪 (for those of you who are non-musicians, that's a double sharp symbol).
- Sylos 10y agoYour description also helps for musicians whose font just doesn't display that symbol...
- cyphar 10y ago> Average user doesn't care if something is "open" they care if it's free. The naming "Libre" is important (though maybe we shouldn't be using French as the language to describe the concept of freedom with a single word). It gives the opportunity to explain that not only will Libreoffice not cost you any money, you have freedom while using it. Calling it "Office for Free" is a _very_ bad idea as it will muddy the waters of the meaning of "free software" in the lexicon of people who aren't into technology.