Is anyone here using LibreOffice? Like it, don't like it, hate it, or maybe love it.

[dalto]

I use LibreOffice on some PCs and like it quite a bit. The biggest issue you will run into is interoperability between M$ Office but even that is pretty good.

You have to accept that some things might not work in the exact same fashion that they do in Office. For example, my wife often gets frustrated because drag and drop in Writer works a bit different then drag and drop in Word. If you have any amount of flexibility you should be fine.

I don't much in the suite outside of Writer(Word) and Calc(Excel). Writer is excellent, Calc is great for most purposes.

My advice is that it is free, why not just try it.

I hate the whole ethos behind Office 365 and the Creative Cloud; it's nothing but greed IMO. MS and Adobe aren't satisfied with soaking you once every three or four years anymore for their minor upgrades, they want to do it monthly now. You're basically paying rent on something that's already installed on your computer.

While I agree with you that it sucks, I think the reasons are a little different. These companies are charging a pretty fair price for the subscription service. They were fine with people paying every few years. The problem is that for both Adobe and Microsoft their products have reached a point of maturity and there just isn't that much left to add. Since their products stopped evolving so quickly people starting skipping versions and were upgrading every 5-10 years instead of every 2-3. Additionally, by moving to a direct subscription model they are cutting out the middle man and taking a much higher cut of the profit.

Google Docs? Anybody tried it?

Google is pretty near the bottom of the list of places I would give access to any of my documents. Their stance on privacy is atrocious.

 

[callasabra]

I use LibreOffice on some PCs and like it quite a bit. The biggest issue you will run into is interoperability between M$ Office but even that is pretty good.

You have to accept that some things might not work in the exact same fashion that they do in Office. For example, my wife often gets frustrated because drag and drop in Writer works a bit different then drag and drop in Word. If you have any amount of flexibility you should be fine.

I don't much in the suite outside of Writer(Word) and Calc(Excel). Writer is excellent, Calc is great for most purposes.

My advice is that it is free, why not just try it.

I completely agree with this.

While I agree with you that it sucks, I think the reasons are a little different. These companies are charging a pretty fair price for the subscription service. They were fine with people paying every few years. The problem is that for both Adobe and Microsoft their products have reached a point of maturity and there just isn't that much left to add. Since their products stopped evolving so quickly people starting skipping versions and were upgrading every 5-10 years instead of every 2-3. Additionally, by moving to a direct subscription model they are cutting out the middle man and taking a much higher cut of the profit.

I have to mostly agree with this. Some of the subscriptions services (and I am including other providers than just MS and Adobe) do not include the same features as a desktop version. Quickbooks online is the biggest offender I can think of off the top of my head.
Also, I have used Office 2007 for almost 10 years and I don't think a subscription service would have prevailed economically as compared to a one time purchase.


Google Docs: a very minimalist word processor, etc. I struggle to call it a suite. Their stance on privacy is equal to MS, if not slightly better. I would not use Google Docs with sensitive information. What many people don't realize is if you create a document on your desktop and email it using Gmail, that document is on Google's servers.

I avoid MS for the same reason though. MS has become more invasive with the violations of privacy and forcing their services on the user. For example, if you want to use MS disk encryption on W10, you must use a microsoft sign on, and your encryption key is stored on their servers. If you enable MS's cortana, it will listen to you every hour of every day, and it is enabled by default. If you have a webcam, MS will watch you every minute, study your face, memorize it. If you use MS browser, it tracks all that you do online, by default, and sends ads back to you to sell stuff. if your device has GPS, it is enabled by default and MS tracks your every move. This is not conspiracy stuff, MS admitted this in a press conference and sells it as their "getting to know you better". My point is, yes Google's privacy policy is terrible, so is Microsoft's.

 

[SolidSteak]

I like LibreOffice a lot, but at work everyone sends me Microsoft Office documents for some reason

 

[soulgeezer]

I avoid MS for the same reason though. MS has become more invasive with the violations of privacy and forcing their services on the user. For example, if you want to use MS disk encryption on W10, you must use a microsoft sign on, and your encryption key is stored on their servers. If you enable MS's cortana, it will listen to you every hour of every day, and it is enabled by default. If you have a webcam, MS will watch you every minute, study your face, memorize it. If you use MS browser, it tracks all that you do online, by default, and sends ads back to you to sell stuff. if your device has GPS, it is enabled by default and MS tracks your every move. This is not conspiracy stuff, MS admitted this in a press conference and sells it as their "getting to know you better". My point is, yes Google's privacy policy is terrible, so is Microsoft's.

A) Yes, some of this is conspiracy stuff.

B) The difference between MS and Google is that Microsoft lets you turn all that stuff off. Google doesn't. Check your Google settings and you'll find that they are never saved, when you make changes regarding privacy. Google is the worst offender, except maybe for Facebook. But, Facebook doesn't provide an OS. So, Google still wins.

Also, I just downloaded LibreOffice to take a look at it. It seems pretty fully baked and would probably serve very well for somebody who doesn't rely on MS Office for work and collaborating with colleagues. It's seems very fully featured and the interface is pleasant and easy to use. I'm thinking it's time to get the old copy of OpenOffice off my wife's computer and replace it with LibreOffice!

(My wife's computer runs Windows in Japanese, so my old MS Office 2003 doesn't cut it, because it only has an English interface. OpenOffice let me install with Japanese menus and options, as does LibreOffice. So, I'm thinking LibreOffice it's going to be.)

 

[jhundt]

I like LibreOffice a lot, but at work everyone sends me Microsoft Office documents for some reason

But can't you open MS files with Libre? I do that frequently. And I can save Libre files in MS formats.

Admittedly, I am not on the business carousel, so I no longer keep up with what everyone in all those office buildings is using and doing.

 

[callasabra]

A) Yes, some of this is conspiracy stuff.

I understand it sounds that way, but this can be verified. Check out Howtogeek.com and lifehacker.com. they have several articles and tutorials detailing the issues I raise.

B) The difference between MS and Google is that Microsoft lets you turn all that stuff off. Google doesn't. Check your Google settings and you'll find that they are never saved, when you make changes regarding privacy. Google is the worst offender, except maybe for Facebook. But, Facebook doesn't provide an OS. So, Google still wins.

I agree that facebook is the worst. I haven't experienced Google resetting my privacy settings, but that would not surprise me, and I don't doubt that you have experienced that.
Microsoft has taken heat since the release of W10, because their updates have reset users setting, particularly privacy settings. Microsoft does allow you to disable many settings, agreed. But my opinion is that for privacy, the default should be "off" and the user must turn them on. Microsoft disagrees.

 

[Jack S]

But can't you open MS files with Libre? I do that frequently. And I can save Libre files in MS formats.

Admittedly, I am not on the business carousel, so I no longer keep up with what everyone in all those office buildings is using and doing.

Yes, you can do that. The only issue that could arise is if some formatting gets skewed between the two systems and you are working on a collaborative document. Then it could cause some unexpected tweaking to be done.

 

[SolidSteak]

But can't you open MS files with Libre? I do that frequently. And I can save Libre files in MS formats.

Admittedly, I am not on the business carousel, so I no longer keep up with what everyone in all those office buildings is using and doing.

I can usually open them and work with them, but what often happens is that the margins change, or the fonts change, etc. and then I have to deal with that. And opening Excel documents in Libre Calc can be a real PITA if there are lots of complicated formulas or scripts. Not Libre's fault of course, just typical cross-platform issues I don't want to have to deal with.

 

[soulgeezer]

I understand it sounds that way, but this can be verified. Check out Howtogeek.com and lifehacker.com. they have several articles and tutorials detailing the issues I raise.



I agree that facebook is the worst. I haven't experienced Google resetting my privacy settings, but that would not surprise me, and I don't doubt that you have experienced that.
Microsoft has taken heat since the release of W10, because their updates have reset users setting, particularly privacy settings. Microsoft does allow you to disable many settings, agreed. But my opinion is that for privacy, the default should be "off" and the user must turn them on. Microsoft disagrees.

I agree that "opt in" is better than "opt out." But, at least MS gives you an opt out and, when there are issues, they tend to be noted online pretty quickly and people can address them. Google has no respect for their users, period, and that's completely unacceptable. In my opinion, of course.

 

[SolidSteak]

Yes, you can do that. The only issue that could arise is if some formatting gets skewed between the two systems and you are working on a collaborative document. Then it could cause some unexpected tweaking to be done.

This.

 

[SolidSteak]

Microsoft has taken heat since the release of W10, because their updates have reset users setting, particularly privacy settings. Microsoft does allow you to disable many settings, agreed. But my opinion is that for privacy, the default should be "off" and the user must turn them on. Microsoft disagrees.

I definitely agree. Privacy should be up to the user. Services like Cortana, sending location data, etc. should be "opt-in" not "opt-out." Just like newsletters, haircuts, sharing metadata with your ISP should all (in an ideal world) be opt-in.

 

[BryMelvin]

I pay montly for Office 365 from Microsoft. I also have Linux computers in my business and use Libreoffice on them. Occasionally there is a format compatibility problem but not very often. It helps to make sure you install the Microsoft Fonts (using Linux) to avoid problems. Making sure you use standardized fonts helps the two office suites work well together.

That said when switching back and forth it's quite important to send final document (invoices etc) versions as pdf. NOT either office file type.

 

[jhundt]

I can usually open them and work with them, but what often happens is that the margins change, or the fonts change, etc. and then I have to deal with that. And opening Excel documents in Libre Calc can be a real PITA if there are lots of complicated formulas or scripts. Not Libre's fault of course, just typical cross-platform issues I don't want to have to deal with.

I guess I never got in to that serious level of sharing.

 

[Guitarzan]

I hate the whole ethos behind Office 365 and the Creative Cloud; it's nothing but greed IMO. MS and Adobe aren't satisfied with soaking you once every three or four years anymore for their minor upgrades, they want to do it monthly now. You're basically paying rent on something that's already installed on your computer.

I recently renewed for $60-70 per year. It is not all about the cloud, I don't trust or use the cloud and have it loaded on my hard drive. I don't care what people say about that, I know how Murphy's law works and I do try to avoid having problems that I cannot control.

If you look at the price of the MS Office suite on CD ROM, paying the annual fee versus buying the discs and figuring on a 3 year amortization is not a big difference. I don't really like the situation, I used to be able to buy OEM MS Office Suite for less. But it is a deductible business expense.

 

[SolidSteak]

I guess I never got in to that serious level of sharing.

Going from a simple Word doc to Writer and back might only change some trivial thing like paragraph indents, or bullet spacing, or line spacing. Trivial, but not insignificant IMO. I want the doc to look the same when I send it back.

Opening someone's Power Point file in Impress is usually even worse. But then again, opening someone's Power Point file in Power Point is usually bad enough by itself

Opening an Excel doc in Calc though will often break VBA macros. For simpler spreadsheets this probably isn't a problem.

FWIW I think LibreOffice is a much better office suite and I wish my coworkers used it, but our customers use Microsoft Office, so we use Microsoft Office. "Everybody else does it this way." That's a pretty common reason for not trying something new unfortunately.

 

[Guitarzan]

I use LibreOffice on my Linux system. I find it OK. I have an Office 365 subscription that gives me constantly updated full Office Professional on my desktop, laptop, Windows 10 phone and my Android tablet for $100 per year. Pretty good deal. At this point, everything is loaded with the Office 2016 versions.

I am surprised that your employer and others in the PC production market do not do more to give MS a taste of its own medicine. MS has moved further into production of hardware in response to Apple and has invaded the space of traditional makers like HP and Dell. If I were them, I'd get enterprising pirates outside the company to contract and develop an operating system, perhaps an improved, licensed version of something Linux. Then license Open Office, a browser like Firefox, and email like Thunderbird and optimize them for my OS. Similar to what Pale Moon purports to have done with Firefox for Windows. I'd then offer consumer a highly economical consumer grade platform for the intermess and modest document generation with more cost attributable to hardware and less attributable to software. And more importantly, another alternative to the MS evil empire besides Apple. I'd make it programmable and playable and attractive to computer wonks.

I'd also offer MS loaded products, but always provide a reminder to MS.

 

[soulgeezer]

FWIW I think LibreOffice is a much better office suite and I wish my coworkers used it, but our customers use Microsoft Office, so we use Microsoft Office. "Everybody else does it this way." That's a pretty common reason for not trying something new unfortunately.

That's not really fair. MS Office has been an industry standard for over 20 years. That's not exactly the same thing as just saying, "Well, everybody else does it."

Large organizations necessarily have to standardize. MS Office became the standard. At this point, that inertia is way too much to overcome, especially for a suite that isn't 100% compatible with legacy Office documents.

That's just the nature of things. It's not laziness. It's evolution.

 

[SolidSteak]

That's just the nature of things. It's not laziness. It's evolution.

Hey, who's being fair now? I never said people were lazy! I was almost going to use that very phrase "industry standard," but it tends to aggravate open source people, so...

 

[soulgeezer]

I am surprised that your employer and others in the PC production market do not do more to give MS a taste of its own medicine. MS has moved further into production of hardware in response to Apple and has invaded the space of traditional makers like HP and Dell. If I were them, I'd get enterprising pirates outside the company to contract and develop an operating system, perhaps an improved, licensed version of something Linux. Then license Open Office, a browser like Firefox, and email like Thunderbird and optimize them for my OS. Similar to what Pale Moon purports to have done with Firefox for Windows. I'd then offer consumer a highly economical consumer grade platform for the intermess and modest document generation with more cost attributable to hardware and less attributable to software. And more importantly, another alternative to the MS evil empire besides Apple. I'd make it programmable and playable and attractive to computer wonks.

I'd also offer MS loaded products, but always provide a reminder to MS.

You just destroyed your own point...

Branded Linux: Red Hat, OpenSuse, Fedora, Mint, and about 100 others...

OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and a few others

Firefox has been around for years and sucks more than ever (major updates every week or so and dealing with extensions, etc. Very, very early 2000's and very inefficient!)

What you're describing is basically what Google is trying to do with Chrome. And, they're having some success in education and other similar markets.

But, Miscrosoft owns the enterprise space and that is not going to change any time soon. Sorry, but that's just the way it is.

This the thing that the Linux and open source crowds just don't seem to get: MS isn't evil. They're just huge. And, that's a function of being a corporate entity serving corporate customers in a corporate environment. Without standardization, it all collapses. Microsoft provides stability that enterprise users require. That's why they win. It's not because they're in league with the devil.

 

[soulgeezer]

Hey, who's being fair now? I never said people were lazy! I was almost going to use that very phrase "industry standard," but it tends to aggravate open source people, so...

I didn't mean to imply anything. Sorry 'bout that!