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Microsoft attacks OpenOffice.org and open source with a damning video
The video is simple in its execution, using what seems to the spoken, damning testimonials of those that have used OpenOffice. Beautiful fonty goodness expands, diminishes, whooshes and slides as each and every one of OpenOffice's claimed benefits are torn to pieces.
The basic purpose of the video is to show businesses that switching to free, open-source software isn't as easy or efficient as it sounds. You know what you're getting with Microsoft Office -- while with OpenOffice it's hard for a business to predict its total support costs, and seemingly that's something businesses really hate.
I don't think Microsoft Office is actually much better than OpenOffice -- it's just that almost everyone, by virtue of Microsoft's 20-year monopoly of the workplace, knows their way around Microsoft Office. In fact, the only real claim made by Microsoft in the video is that its macro support is better -- the rest of its arguments seem to boil down to 'most of the world uses Microsoft Office; so should you!'
Better the devil you know, in other words.
Comments
38
Subscribe to commentsRollinsOct 15th 2010 11:50AM
For what it's worth, I've found that Office 2010 is much faster and more responsive than the latest version of OpenOffice. And although it's a matter of preference, I think the ribbon in 2010 is far more intuitive (especially to a new user) than OpenOffice's Office 2003-era GUI. Hopefully LibreOffice will make some progress on both fronts in the future.
JohnVillarOct 15th 2010 11:57AM
Its funny that microsoft speaks of bad formatting of OpenOffice in their files, while being completely closed on the .doc and .ppt formats.... Heh... i switched completely to OpenOffice in the office and in the house and i won't look back... Their OS is great, but Office is lame in capacity and interoperability
NickOct 15th 2010 12:31PM
Well, that's why they've introduced the (Microsoft) Office Open XML format.
Or so they say. The document format itself is opensource, but it's basically a ZIP container with XML files.
The content though is vaguely proprietary, it uses all kinds of Microsoft formats like DrawingML, "Office" superset of MathML, etc, proprietary binaries, Microsoft Macro's.
Instead of using more common open standards like SVG, MathML, JavaScript and XUL for macro's, etc.
They even lack PNG for specific lossless images and transparency.
All in all it needs less proprietary crap and more openness. They've lobbied the ECMA but they haven't won the hearts of OASIS yet.
JohnVillarOct 15th 2010 12:37PM
Exactly Nick... that's their way of doing things.... they always fudge interoperability by introducing their own, twisted and half functional formats... too bad, really
staberasOct 15th 2010 12:23PM
Yes, Microsoft if you give me your software for free i'll consider it .
JamesOct 16th 2010 11:09AM
Live Office (the Google Docs-type thing they're working on) would like to talk to you.
staberasOct 16th 2010 11:42AM
@ James
If i wanted web-application i would stay with my google docs, thank you very much.
AlexOct 15th 2010 12:32PM
Hey, they might be right or wrong but off the Topic, The video is awesome ! Anyone here know how we can produce such a video presentation ?? It would save my life dear DLS readers !
djangelicOct 16th 2010 12:45PM
the video can be made using aftereffects. Videocopilot.net has some great tutorials on how to make videos like this. check out the second page of their all tutorials for some similar effects :)
AlexOct 16th 2010 10:20PM
Thanks so much, you made my day !!!
AemonyOct 15th 2010 12:43PM
This clip is interesting and especially all the thumbs down. It's not like Microsoft themselves says anything at all in the clip, they are merely letting other people who have actually used both products in a day-to-day work environment.
All the thumbs down are like people who dislike other people just because they have a different opinion. It's like here in Sweden where we currently have some newspaper doing a "We think different!" campaign as a response to a new immigration critical party which just entered the government. The newspaper are opposed to the party's different views, that's why it's so funny they do a campaign about thinking differently when they themselves follows some kind of "You're okey as long as you only think _this much_ different from us!" mentality.
Personally I can't use OOo because of it's lack of Office compatibility and... it doesn't have Ribbon UI.
Pete RowlingOct 15th 2010 2:14PM
It's not about hating people for thinking different, it's about hating people for being dumb, ignorant, Microsoft drones. "I can't get this to work, please sell me a solution"
If you're IT department is having that much trouble with OOo, the solution should be to hire a competent IT staff, since they're clearly deficient. Unless you're okay with buying new software every time they can't solve a problem. Some people can't help but eat up the mainstream solution, a shame when OOo is basically a less glitchy Microsoft Office anyway.
Microsoft knows OOo won't retaliate with a video of their own, because the appeal of marketing doesn't apply to an open-source organization that makes free software.
ZaphodOct 17th 2010 5:29AM
I don't use MSO for the same reason you avoid OOO - the ribbon interface. It's strange that this video suggests user-retraining as a major problem in moving to OOO - how many companies lost stacks of productivity when MSO introduced the Office 2007 interface.
Basic rule of interface design 1 - consistency - which MSO 2007 lacked. Word had the ribbon, Publisher did not. Buttons were in all manner of different sizes and layouts.
Basic rule of interface design 2 - familiarity - MSO 2007 ignored this and forced a crappy inconsistent interface on users.
Basic rule of interface design 3 - don't piss the customer off, or they become ex-customers. MSO 2007 only making 60% market share shows this. 20-25% stuck with 2003 and 15-20%, and growing are on OOO.
This video shows MS are scared.
Gardiner WestboundOct 15th 2010 12:55PM
We switched our small outfit to Mandriva Linux OS and OpenOffice.org about five years ago. People quickly adapted to it. Things went well until we installed a Mandriva update. It crashed. We switched back to Windows XP. Continued with the Windows version of OpenOffice without difficulty.
Been looking at PCLinuxOS KDE desktop. Might take another run at Linux rather than spend the money upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7. Problem with Linux is there are so many versions it's hard to sort them out. Some are Batman-crazy.
OpenOffice, however, is rock solid. Some OpenOffice things are better and some worse than MS Office, but overall it's about a draw. Where OpenOffice has MS Office beat is cost. It's the clear winner!
SilverWaveOct 15th 2010 12:59PM
Just use Ubuntu 10.04 its rock solid and has long term support.
Brainy142Oct 16th 2010 12:12AM
mandriva is mostly dead, it's a bit sad It was my 2nd distro I tried... I recommend linux mint, it was rock solid for me at home.
ps. I don't know why, but I have always found kde to be buggy.... gnome is pretty stable for me though
SilverWaveOct 15th 2010 12:58PM
This says it all:
OOo's put the willies up Microsoft
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/14/microsoft_fears_open_office_org/
Lauren N.Oct 15th 2010 1:04PM
I honestly don't have a problem with Microsoft. Their OSes and Office always have done what I needed them to do. Most people in the work and academic worlds use their products, so I've never run into compatibility issues. I've found them to be reliable. In addition to THEM supporting their products, since so many people use them, there are countless forums dedicated to supporting the products as well. I don't mind paying the licensing fees because I don't mind paying for quality. Obviously if they started giving it away for free I wouldn't complain, but I don't have any beef with them. Sure, they're a monopoly, but they're good at what they do.
Pete RowlingOct 15th 2010 1:49PM
My company spends $0 annually for support on open-source office software, substantially less that we have spent in previous years for the Microsoft Office package. Unfortunately Microsoft didn't ask us our opinions on the subject.
CarneyOct 15th 2010 1:47PM
The infamous and widely loathed ribbon is far more of a disruptive break with long-familiar office suite convention than anything OpenOffice has done.