With enough people clamoring for OpenOffice 3.0 that the site’s server temporarily melted down, you’d expect the new release would have some impressive improvements over its predecessor. The stability and performance tweaks are there, especially in the Windows and Linux versions, but most of them aren’t the flashy sort of features that convince people to upgrade.

Rather, it’s the improvements like support for OOXML documents and the native Mac code that no doubt are causing the rush to upgrade. Previous versions of OpenOffice had trouble with Microsoft’s new .docx files, and even older versions of Microsoft Office can’t open the new document files without a special add-on converter that the user needs to download. The popular online word processor Google Docs can’t open them, either.

Although OOXML support is baked in, OpenOffice 3.0 continues to default to saving files in the Open Document Format (which has proved so popular with users that even Microsoft has grudgingly agreed to include support for it in upcoming releases of MS Office). Still, if you need to work with .docx or the other new default formats in MS Office 2007, OpenOffice 3.0 is the way to go.

This is also an important release for Mac users. Not only does OpenOffice now run on OS X without the need for the X11 environment, OpenOffice 3.0 contains a very useful feature Microsoft left out of its most recent Mac Office suite VBA scripting.

While OpenOffice doesn’t support everything VBA scripts can do in MS Office for Windows, for Mac users feeling stranded by the loss of VBA support in MS Office, OpenOffice makes a very capable replacement.

That said, OpenOffice’s native Mac version leaves much to be desired. While it does indeed run natively, it doesn’t leverage many built-in OS X tools, like the system-wide dictionary and thesaurus.

The Mac version also crashed three times in my brief testing. The Windows version suffered no such mishaps when working with the same files, so it would appear that the Mac version is not quite up to quality control standards of other versions.

While OpenOffice will no doubt satisfy many Mac users, we’re holding out for the 3.0 upgrade from NeoOffice, which builds on OpenOffice’s foundation, but takes advantage of many system-wide tools and uses native windows palettes and other user interface niceties. NeoOffice 3.0 is expected to arrive in January 2009.

Other noticeable changes in the new version of OpenOffice include some minor, but welcome, user interface enhancements, such as a much cleaner icon set, better zoom tools and a new start-up launcher that offers quick access to templates and previously opened documents. The Windows version even offers a shortcut icon which will take you directly to the launcher screen.

Office suite upgrades may not be sexiest of software releases, but for those of you who rely on them to get things done, OpenOffice 3.0 delivers the goods and makes a worthwhile upgrade. OpenOffice 3.0 works on almost every OS; you can grab a copy from the downloads page.

See Also:

• Demand for OpenOffice 3.0 Knocks Out Servers
• OpenOffice 3.0 Embraces Microsoft File Formats and Adds Mac Support
• OS X Native OpenOffice: Alpha Release Buggy But Welcome

Looking to grab a copy of the new OpenOffice version 3.0? So were we, in fact, we were planning a review of the new release later today, but overwhelming demand for the free office suite has brought the OpenOffice.org website crashing to its knees.

Call it a testament to the success of Microsoft alternatives, or perhaps proof that online office suites aren’t the way of the future. Whatever the case, if you were hoping to upgrade to OpenOffice 3.0 today, so far, you’re out of luck.

OpenOffice 3.0 has a number of new features including support for the OpenDocument Format (MS Office’s .docx files), multi-page editing, more language options, improved notes capabilities and some new wiki editing options.

The latest version is also the first major release to ship in a native Mac OS X flavor.

Apparently the demand was somewhat greater than what the OpenOffice.org site was ready to handle. We’ll be sure to let you know what OpenOffice 3.0 has to offer, just as soon as we can get our hands on a copy. In the mean time have a look at our coverage of the first beta, which was released earlier this year.

See Also:

• OpenOffice 3.0 Embraces Microsoft File Formats and Adds Mac Support
• OS X Native OpenOffice: Alpha Release Buggy But Welcome
• Sun Embraces OpenOffice For Mac

Zoho, the web office suite, has added a new tool that allows you to share all your published documents in one easy-to-navigate location.

Zoho Share, as the new service is known, is looking to compete with the likes of Scribd, SlideShare and other document embedding services.

Zoho Share allows you to view your published documents, presentations, spreadsheets and PDFs in a nice Flash-based embeddable viewer. One very nice touch is the ability to define a license when you publish a document to Share. Visitors looking at your shared documents can then search for things with similar licenses in addition to more common search criteria.

Once your documents are up on Zoho Share, users can comment, rate, bookmark, email and embed them. Share also offers the ability to friend and chat with users whose documents you find interesting.

Other features include search, RSS feeds (of all published content), tags and more.

Although it isn’t live yet, Share will also feature some business tools that will allow companies use as a central document repository for published documents. The documents published within your organization will not be visible to the external world, but anyone with the company can view them.

If you’re a Zoho user all your publicly shared documents are already available at Zoho Share. And the company is promising to add the ability to publish the documents directly to Zoho Share from individual Zoho Applications.

Unlike Scribd and SlideShare, Zoho Share isn’t intended as a one-off service. However, if you’re already using Zoho to create and edit documents, Share makes for a nice icing on the cake, there’s no longer a need to use outside services if you want to embed your docs on another website.

Check out the video below for more details on how Zoho Share works.

See Also:

• Zoho Writer: Now With (Limited) Offline Functionality
• Sharing Zoho Documents Is Easier Than Ever
• Zoho Unveils New Web Conferencing App: Zoho Meeting

Microsoft posted and then pulled a call for public alpha testers to help the company experiment with the next generation of Microsoft Office, Office 14.

The post, written by Hayley Rixon, of the Microsoft business intelligence team, appeared on Microsoft’s TechNet site yesterday, but was then taken down. Using the ever-handy Google cache tool, here’s what the post said:

The product team in Redmond are looking for customer and partner submissions now :-)

The Alpha process will begin in the November/December timeframe this year. When you submit, please identify as a PPS M&A candidate. The deadline for submissions is August 28^th.

Since Microsoft has yanked the post down, it would seem that perhaps Office 14 isn’t quite ready for even an alpha test phase. Microsoft’s publicists were quick to say that “it is too early to discuss specific features, capabilities or timing” for the next version of Office.

So is an alpha test phase coming? It’s anyone’s guess, but it would seem that at least some within the Office dev team think it’s about time to crack open the lid and let us have a peak.

[via MSFN]

See Also:

• Microsoft’s Office Webapps Suite Emerges, Doesn’t Compete with Google Apps
• New Microsoft Office Live Workspace is a Letdown
• Microsoft Office For Mac Finally Embraces Platform Standards

Long time Google watcher, Google Operating System, claims that GDocs may soon see support for uploading and sharing image files. Poking around in the code reveals that there’s already an icon for a photo section, suggesting Google may be getting ready to perhaps integrate Picasa and Google Docs.

As it stands uploading an image file to Google Docs places the image inside a document, which is considerably less useful that having direct access to the image.

If Google does add image support to Google Docs, it’ll bring the company one step closer to the fabled “GDrive” which would allow users to store and share just about any type of content on the web.

Of course this is just a rumor and one commenter on the Google Operating System post suggests that image support (and the underlying code on the site) is just an undocumented hangover from the Writely days (Google Docs came out of the company’s acquisition of Writely).

For now it’s all speculation, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated.

See Also:

• Google Docs Update Adds More Offline Features
• New Mobile Site Puts Google Docs On Your IPhone
• Google Docs’ New Presentations Can’t Compete With PowerPoint
• New Tools Make it Easier to Get Your Files Into Google Docs

Google Docs has rolled out a new gallery of template designs for your spreadsheets, presentations, and documents.

There’s nothing quite so intimidating as the vast, pure whiteness of the blank page. To help you get past that frightening expanse of nothingness office apps have long included templates designed to make your docs look better, but also to help avoid the emptiness of starting.

However, while Google Docs can match most of the features of desktop apps, templates were one place it fell flat — there were a handful of templates, but for the most part they were ugly.

But there are now over 300 templates to choose from, many of which are actually quite nice designs (the dreaded Comic Sans themed template is nowhere to be seen). The new interface allows you to sort through templates based on kind or category. If you see something you like, you can preview it and then click the “Use this template” button to add it to your own documents.

[via Google Blogoscoped]

See Also:

• Google Docs Update Adds More Offline Features
• New Mobile Site Puts Google Docs On Your IPhone
• Google Docs Redesigned to Mimic Desktop Office Apps

Microsoft released an entire library of documents aimed at helping developers create programs around the company’s file formats.

Included in the library is a wealth of information on how to develop for Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint binary file formats (.doc, .xls, .xlsb and .ppt). Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 documents are also included. The technical documents are aimed at encouraging data portability, or the ability to transfer information from Microsoft products to other applications.

“Microsoft’s cumulative posting of approximately 50,000 pages of technical documentation on MSDN provides consistent, open access for all developers,” said Craig Shank, general manager of Interoperability at Microsoft, “which enhances the ease and opportunities for working with Microsoft’s high-volume products.”

The press announcement, under the headline “Microsoft Takes Additional Steps in Implementing Interoperability Principles,” suggests Microsoft’s aim is to adapt to today’s playing field by opening their software and systems to the marketplace. The strategy rivals Google, Yahoo and the open-source community by being more open and relying on the development community outside the company walls for driving the industry’s technology. Previously, Microsoft played a pretty heavy hand by forcing the industry to rely on their proprietary formats with little or no support. Developers were left with no choice as Microsoft faced very little competition.

These days, as technology moves more online and competing companies begin opening their technology for community involvement, the tables have shifted slightly as Microsoft is forced to adapt or fall behind. Microsoft still owns the dominant method of data file formats. However, developers have shown the power to influence data formats and are most often attracted to where the technology is available.

Lately, that data format of choice has been XML, an open data format particularly popular within web applications. As the the format gains steam through adoption, it has posed a threat to Microsoft’s file formats. In fact, Microsoft’s latest iterations of its file formats, a technology named OpenXML, is based on XML technology.

The new release, coincidentally announced on the first business day after founder and CEO Bill Gates left the company, shows a new interest in working with the developer community in propagating these data formats.

Head to MSDN to access the library and for a lot more information on it and its proprietary licenses.

Microsoft released a set of Open XML converters for Mac users Tuesday. The tool and update to Mac Office 2004 allows users to convert files created by the 2007 and 2008 versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

The strength of Microsoft file formats is its dominance in the market. If you want your file to be opened by anyone, sending it in .doc, .xls or .ppt is a safe bet. When the company released Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Mac using its newly developed Open XML format by default, older versions of Office were left incompatible. The incompatibility was fixed late last year for 2003 Windows versions, but Mac Office users were left out in the cold.

Today’s update offers Mac Office 2004 users the ability to finally convert Open XML Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx) and Powerpoint (.pptx) files. The update is available by download or by Microsoft Office’s built-in AutoUpdate feature. The converters are also available as a stand-alone application for those who use other Office suites like NeoOffice.

With Microsoft’s converters and its recent ratification as an ISO standard, .docx, .xlsx and .pptx files are on their way to becoming the dominant transferable file format.

The converters also follow an announcement by MacBU’s Craig Eisler announcing Microsoft’s largest hiring spree to their Mac unit in history. It looks like the updates and the announcement herald Microsoft’s impending strategy to keep from losing customers to applications like OpenOffice, Google Docs and Zoho office suites which already have tools for converting Microsoft formats.

See Also:

• Microsoft Drops Old Software Support from OOXML to Satisfy Standards Groups
• Microsoft’s Office Doc Format Wins ISO Approval
• Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
• Microsoft Updates OOXML Converters for Mac Office
• Zoho Writer Adds Support for MS Word 2007 Formats

Microsoft has released a new software development kit for programmers interested in working with the company’s controversial Open Office XML file formats (the name has since been shortened to the misleading “Open XML”).

On the surface it would seem that such a move means better cross-application compatibility between various office suites, but unfortunately the new SDK is limited and doesn’t even support the version of OOXML that has been tentatively ratified by the ISO standards body.

Given that the new SDK supports the version of OOXML that shipped with Office 2007, rather than the one that may end up with ISO certification, many see the new SDK as an attempt to undermine open source development.

Since the new API includes a whole host of soon-to-be-deprecated features, it would appear to be near useless for developers wanting to support an ISO approved standard.

Microsoft has already admitted that it will be very difficult to support the revised version of OOXML in its own office suite, which probably doesn’t lend outside developers much confidence about supporting it in their apps.

Other limitations in the new SDK include a dependancy on the .NET framework, which isn’t surprising given Microsoft is heavily invested in .NET. But if the goal is better cross-application support, tying the API to a proprietary development framework strikes us an an odd way to go about it.

As with most things surrounding OOXML, the new SDK and APIs appear to be little more than a smokescreen designed to garner Microsoft some positive press.

In end the end we suspect the whole debate will be rendered moot by upcoming web apps like Zoho and Google Docs, which may well end up replacing the desktop office suite before OOXML can ever gain the foothold Microsoft is looking to secure.

[via Slashdot]

See Also:

• Wrangle ODF, Just Like Microsoft
• Microsoft Bullying Defeats ODF Legislation
• Microsoft Drops Old Software Support from OOXML to Satisfy Standards Groups
• Office Document Formats Move Toward Greater Compatibility

Adobe has launched a new online office suite that brings together several existing Adobe services under a new domain — Acrobat.com. Adobe’s online office tools include its Buzzword word processor, the conferencing app ConnectNow and a 5GB online storage area for sharing documents with other Acrobat.com users.

Coinciding with the online suite is a new version of Adobe Acrobat that features support for embedding Flash movies.

Most readers are no doubt familiar with Buzzword, the Flash-based Adobe word processor that we’ve looked a couple of times. Less well known is ConnectNow, which allows you to host live meetings over the web with chat, screen sharing, whiteboards, VoIP, and video conferencing features.

While Acrobat.com is available through your browser and is squarely aimed at competing with the likes of Google Docs and Zoho Office, Adobe is also offering a version that runs from the desktop via AIR. For the moment, the AIR version doesn’t allow offline document access and syncing, but Adobe claims that will be part of a future release.

Aside from a much slicker interface, Acrobat.com doesn’t offer many features above and beyond what you’ll find in Google Docs or Zoho Office. However, when the AIR version gains offline syncing capabilities, Adobe may possibly have a real winner on its hands. Other potentially interesting developments include the possibility of integrating Photoshop Express, the company’s online version of Photoshop, into the suite.

The new Acrobat 9 — due to arrive in July 2008 — will feature the ability to embed outside documents in a PDF file. Essentially Adobe is turning PDF into a file container format — think .zip, but without the need to unzip.

The idea is that instead of having to send a PDF, a separate Excel file and a Flash presentation, you could simply embed your Excel and Flash files in a single PDF file.

Perhaps I’m missing something, but the PDF Portfolios, as Adobe is calling them, seem (like so much of Acrobat) wholly unnecessary. After all, if you’re sharing your documents online via Acrobat.com, isn’t it far easier to just send a link that offers access to all your files, rather than bulking up someone’s inbox with PDF attachments?

Acrobat 9 will ship in a number of different versions ranging from the low end at $300 to the full-featured mothership for $700. As always, Adobe Reader will be free.

For now Acrobat.com is beta offering and Adobe has yet to announce pricing, but we can tell you that it will be subscription-based — most likely there will be a basic, free version with additional storage and features available for a price.

See Also:

• Buzzword: Web-Based Office Docs Never Looked So Good
• Buzzword: Adobe’s Latest Challenges Online Office Suites
• Zoho Writer’s New Features Trump Other Online Word Processors
• Adobe Acrobat 8 Suite Arrives