Modify Colors
Microsoft Office for Linux – It Just Might Happen
I bet you never thought you would hear the term “Microsoft Office for Linux” associated with “reality,” but it looks like it just might happen – well, indirectly at least. Microsoft recently announced that it is planning on bringing Microsoft Office to the cloud. Now, that might not actually be Microsoft Office for Linux, but it certainly would be Microsoft Office on Linux – at least if Microsoft complies with web standards.
This is really why I support web applications so much – it means that applications are cross-platform without the creator even bothering or wanting to make the application cross platform. For Linux, this means that if web applications catch on, suddenly Linux will have access to the same array of applications that Windows and Mac OS X have.
While I certainly don’t expect to see this cloud version of Office very soon, the possibility that it will eventually appear brings up the question of would it be good for Linux to have Microsoft Office available?
I believe that there are two main reasons to want Office on Linux:
- OpenOffice does not have perfect compatibility. While it is hard to fault the OpenOffice developers for it, it is, unfortunately, a reality that some people really need Office. This need, however, is largely filled by WINE or WINE-based solutions. Still, an official Office for Linux would be nice.
- Knowing that they could get Microsoft Office on LInux would probably reassure many new users. Apple is constantly promoting Office for Mac, despite have their own competitor. Why? Knowing that Office is available makes users more comfortable making the switch.
So, in conclusion, though you and I might ignore Office for Linux, it would have benefits for Linux and it really cannot be a bad thing.
Related posts:
- Why Microsoft Office for Linux is a Good Thing One of the most controversial points in my Our Linux...
- How Does OpenOffice 3.0 Beta Handle Microsoft Office Files? Like it or not, one of the most important features...
- The Next Big Thing In Office Suites: Extensions It would seem as though there is little left to...
- OOXML and Office 2007: What Do Compatibility Issues Mean? With the semi-recent approval of OOXML by the ISO, an...
- The Desktop Expierience Is Only Part of the Story A lot of focus is put on the Linux desktop....
quote::a native linux version of photoshop would be better
Even better would be whatever help the GIMP people need to get the GIMP to the point where the missing Photoshop functionality is included in the GIMP, then not only will the GIMP be better, than Photoshop, but no one will have any need to use Photoshop anyway.
There are already online office suites available that fulfill 95% of users’ requirements. Google Apps, Zoho, etc, already do this, and you can share documents, edit them collaboratively or export them out as ODF. And they supports all the major browsers.
I can’t understand what’s so great about MS’ online Office. Not only is it late to market, it’s software that represents the old way of document generation. Plus it’ll only run in IE, will not export to ODF and will probably be incredibly clunky and buggy when its released.
Face it Microsoft is finished and any I say to any company who continues to persist with the status quo will be finished too. If you’re a company and you’re not progressive you’re going to be out of business. The argument “it’s expensive to re-train our employees” is crap. If employee skills didn’t evolve we’d still be using typewriters.
Knowing m$, they’ll make sure it only runs in IE8+ or requires some annoying compulsory Windows Update download to ensure legitimacy. Still, it would be nice to have access to the office suite that most businesses still use. If Linux continued to expand its presence in businesses perhaps it would even be commercially viable for m$ to port it.
Since Office is one of the most profitable products, the on-line version wil defenitely be very limited (otherwise they will loose lots of profit).
I agree that people want to hold on to products like office and windows, though I have no clue why. I am sure that if you force anyone for a year to use only Linux, most of them will never go back….
Cheers,
Maarten
People can already run Msoffice in linux just use wine
Two things. I’d rather not use Microsoft Office anyway, and it’s rather more likely than not, that Microsoft will not give me the choice anyway, as they will most likely lock it into Windows and IE.
I agree that “cloud apps” are the future and should be supported. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see that MS Office in the cloud only works on Internet Explorer.
I use Ubuntu Linux every day. It’s my main operating system. I also use Microsoft Office via CodeWeavers CrossoverOffice. This works perfectly for me.
Hamish
Since when has Microsoft followed standards? Chances are the ‘web’ version of MS-Office will only work fully and properly on MSIE.
You mean MS Office is not compatible with OpenOffice right ?
. Why does OpenOffice have to be compatible with MS Office when OO is the one following the standards?
Microsoft Office for Linux? Why would anyone in their right mind do such a thing? There isn’t enough money on the planet to get me to use a Microsoft product.. especially when there is an open and free alternative.
are you a mocosoft worker?
m$ banks on lockin and locking competitors out. mac is a big enough market and offices arent likely to replace their boxes with macs since they are expensive. m$ will do everything in its power to keep linux out of mainstream competition.
While I do not doubt that many would feel more comfortable if they could [seamlessly] bring their MS Office onto their Linux desktop, WindowsLive and LiveOffice are not the answer. Look at how Microsoft is choking the life out of the BBC over the past two years and you’ll see your future if you trust one drop of your data to any Microsoft app.
It is MS Office that does not have perfect compatibility — even with itself and its past formats that creates consistent problems for users. OpenOffice has something much, much better: ODF, an open format built using open standards. MS-OOXML will never match it. Besides, OpenOffice 3.0 is better than MS Office 2003 by a mile at this point. I dare you to find an adult who like the ribbon UI.
a native linux version of photoshop would be better