5 ms·

I suspect by the time LibreOffice threatens Microsoft, everyone will have moved to Google Docs, or a similar service provided by other companies. I still don't

by pwaring 15y ago

I suspect by the time LibreOffice threatens Microsoft, everyone will have moved to Google Docs, or a similar service provided by other companies. I still don't know anyone who uses LibreOffice who isn't a geek.

ht_th 15y ago
I do. There are a lot of computer users out there that need to create an occasional spreadsheet or more complex text document. For these users, buying a product like MS Office is overkill, both in features and in price. And as a bonus, LibreOffice has a ``collage'' program in the form of LibreOffice Draw, the vector drawing program. Microsoft Office doesn't have that.
- mayanksinghal 15y ago
  I actually worked with a firm that developed content - that was their core competency. Google docs worked really well for them - MS Office was definitely an overkill. Unfortunately, other firms that they were working with required them to send content in .doc format even when the final destination of the shared content was a blog - hence a majorly useless transformation that really pissed me and the writers off. There were of course cases when more complex text documents were required, I had suggested Latex but others were not familiar with it and didn't want to spend as much time on formatting as is necessary for using Latex. They chose Adobe bundle. My central point is, as collaboration tools become more and more advanced, the need for packages like Libre/Open/MS Office will die down and web based tools and much more advanced packages like Adobe's will replace them. Excel on the other hand, it is still irreplaceable unless people can make a REALLY intuitive UI to something like Matlab.
  - JadeNB 15y ago
    > Excel on the other hand, it is still irreplaceable unless people can make a REALLY intuitive UI to something like Matlab. Boy, would I love to see that. Wasn't their a program out there a while back that, in somewhat that spirit, aimed to provide a Python backend to spreadsheet calculations? (Imagine if you used that Python backing to interface with SAGE ….)
wladimir 15y ago
The cloud "hipness" seems to be already fading in some circles, due to privacy and concerns about who owns the data. Non-geeks creeped out about ads following them around based on what they type in a document, or their data being accessed by people that guess their password. And remember that thin client/thick client has always been a cycle. A linear prediction toward everyone using services such as Google Docs is probably wrong. Also, open source software for non-geeks seems to be on the rise as its usability has improved surprisingly in the last 5 years. I wouldn't say it's a direct threat for Microsoft though as their important customers are big enterprises...
- nopinsight 15y ago
  It's not about being hip. For small businesses with a few branches, Google Docs and other cloud-based services like Trello are god-send. Even though we have Microsoft Office, cloud-based collaborative and real-time update features are the most important criteria. We decided to use Google Docs instead of MS Office for more and more documents over time as their feature set matures and wireless infrastructure becomes widespread.
  - wladimir 15y ago
    "hip" was probably the wrong word. It's more like "having the temporary advantage". I expect desktop office programs will also support real-time collaboration in the near future. It's indeed an incredibly useful feature, so there is no reason why it would remain limited to third-party hosted web programs. (and desktop programs could implement security features such as encryption, and/or use peer-to-peer protocols, preventing third-party privacy issues)
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - mike-cardwell 15y ago
    "collaborative and real-time update features are the most important criteria" What if MS Office or LibreOffice eventually bake these in to their applications? There's no need for cloud storage for real time collaboration.
rplnt 15y ago
> or a similar service provided by other companies Why other? Microsoft has "web office" as well.
- pwaring 15y ago
  "other" in that context related to Google, not Microsoft.
polshaw 15y ago
LibreOffice is also planning a cloud version, so it could well be them. Assuming they can provide a proper port (which i think was the plan?) then they are way ahead of google docs.
Jach 15y ago
I have yet to meet a Libre/OpenOffice geek, but I know plenty of people who use one or the other... I even use it from time to time, but increasingly less. I joined the group of cool nerds who use LaTeX and git repos!
redwood 15y ago
What makes GDocs so great is simplicity. What makes it a problem is latency and the need for a connection. I wish LibreOffice had the slick minimal look and feel of GDocs. (and more akin to Apple's Pages). This would make it a competitor for average consumers who are generally not interested in MSFT's glut.

by pwaring 15y ago

ht_th 15y ago

I do. There are a lot of computer users out there that need to create an occasional spreadsheet or more complex text document. For these users, buying a product like MS Office is overkill, both in features and in price. And as a bonus, LibreOffice has a ``collage'' program in the form of LibreOffice Draw, the vector drawing program. Microsoft Office doesn't have that.

mayanksinghal 15y ago
I actually worked with a firm that developed content - that was their core competency. Google docs worked really well for them - MS Office was definitely an overkill. Unfortunately, other firms that they were working with required them to send content in .doc format even when the final destination of the shared content was a blog - hence a majorly useless transformation that really pissed me and the writers off. There were of course cases when more complex text documents were required, I had suggested Latex but others were not familiar with it and didn't want to spend as much time on formatting as is necessary for using Latex. They chose Adobe bundle. My central point is, as collaboration tools become more and more advanced, the need for packages like Libre/Open/MS Office will die down and web based tools and much more advanced packages like Adobe's will replace them. Excel on the other hand, it is still irreplaceable unless people can make a REALLY intuitive UI to something like Matlab.
- JadeNB 15y ago
  > Excel on the other hand, it is still irreplaceable unless people can make a REALLY intuitive UI to something like Matlab. Boy, would I love to see that. Wasn't their a program out there a while back that, in somewhat that spirit, aimed to provide a Python backend to spreadsheet calculations? (Imagine if you used that Python backing to interface with SAGE ….)

wladimir 15y ago

The cloud "hipness" seems to be already fading in some circles, due to privacy and concerns about who owns the data. Non-geeks creeped out about ads following them around based on what they type in a document, or their data being accessed by people that guess their password. And remember that thin client/thick client has always been a cycle. A linear prediction toward everyone using services such as Google Docs is probably wrong. Also, open source software for non-geeks seems to be on the rise as its usability has improved surprisingly in the last 5 years. I wouldn't say it's a direct threat for Microsoft though as their important customers are big enterprises...

nopinsight 15y ago
It's not about being hip. For small businesses with a few branches, Google Docs and other cloud-based services like Trello are god-send. Even though we have Microsoft Office, cloud-based collaborative and real-time update features are the most important criteria. We decided to use Google Docs instead of MS Office for more and more documents over time as their feature set matures and wireless infrastructure becomes widespread.
- wladimir 15y ago
  "hip" was probably the wrong word. It's more like "having the temporary advantage". I expect desktop office programs will also support real-time collaboration in the near future. It's indeed an incredibly useful feature, so there is no reason why it would remain limited to third-party hosted web programs. (and desktop programs could implement security features such as encryption, and/or use peer-to-peer protocols, preventing third-party privacy issues)
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- mike-cardwell 15y ago
  "collaborative and real-time update features are the most important criteria" What if MS Office or LibreOffice eventually bake these in to their applications? There's no need for cloud storage for real time collaboration.

rplnt 15y ago

> or a similar service provided by other companies Why other? Microsoft has "web office" as well.

pwaring 15y ago
"other" in that context related to Google, not Microsoft.

polshaw 15y ago

LibreOffice is also planning a cloud version, so it could well be them. Assuming they can provide a proper port (which i think was the plan?) then they are way ahead of google docs.

Jach 15y ago

I have yet to meet a Libre/OpenOffice geek, but I know plenty of people who use one or the other... I even use it from time to time, but increasingly less. I joined the group of cool nerds who use LaTeX and git repos!

redwood 15y ago

What makes GDocs so great is simplicity. What makes it a problem is latency and the need for a connection. I wish LibreOffice had the slick minimal look and feel of GDocs. (and more akin to Apple's Pages). This would make it a competitor for average consumers who are generally not interested in MSFT's glut.