Oracle Charging for OpenOffice.org?

[cc48510]

I came upon this message while checking my gmail:

"Dear Sir / Madam,

Oracle Open Office is available now at the Oracle Store. OpenOffice.org and Oracle Solaris operating system registered users save an additional 15% when you buy the latest release now from the Oracle Store.

Oracle Open Office Standard Edition is a complete, feature-rich office productivity suite that lists for a fraction of the cost of similar office suites. It includes powerful programs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, drawing, database, Web publishing, and more.

The user interface is intuitive and easy to use, and new features include improved compatibility, blog and wiki publishing capabilities, and the ability to edit PDF files. Oracle Open Office is available for Oracle Solaris, MS Windows, Macintosh OS X, and Linux platforms. You get up to five installations per user, each one providing complete functionality designed to meet a broad range of office productivity needs across homes and businesses of every size.

Buy now at the Oracle Store and save an additional 15% off the already low price. Enter ---------- at checkout. Hurry, this offer is valid through May 31.
Oracle Open Office Buy Oracle Open Office Today
$49.95
$41.95
per application user
Buy Now
Enter ---------- at checkout."

But, when I went to http://www.openoffice.org I was still able to download the Torrents as well as the Installers (DEB, RPM, EXE, DMG) themselves. Perhaps they meant StarOffice, but they clearly wrote OpenOffice. Is Oracle planning on charging for OpenOffice.org in the near future...or are they simply trying to take advantage of those too stupid to realize they can get the software for free?

[Method X]

Hi there
As i know, there are different distributions of OO, from different vendors. Some of them are not free. For example OO edition from Novel Corp. I think Oracle will create some non-free versions too.

[meho_r]

This is just renamed StarOffice, Sun's office suite which was always commercial (and it is not "OpenOffice" but "Open Office" /note the space/, with "Oracle" in front). And OpenOffice.org is open source software, so it should be available for free.

[tuddy666]

This is just renamed StarOffice, Sun's office suite which was always commercial (and it is not "OpenOffice" but "Open Office" /note the space/, with "Oracle" in front). And OpenOffice.org is open source software, so it should be available for free.

Pretty much, it's just a rebranded Star Office which happens to share the name, and some elements, of OpenOffice.org

[Twitch6000]

Meh I don't care I use GO-OO .

[koenn]

This is just renamed StarOffice, Sun's office suite which was always commercial (and it is not "OpenOffice" but "Open Office" /note the space/, with "Oracle" in front). And OpenOffice.org is open source software, so it should be available for free.

OpenOffice.org is originally based on Star Office. Sun released the source code under the LGPL in 2000. Since then, Star Office is based on the open source OpenOffice.org, with some additional, proprietary components.


And just because something is 'open source" doesn't mean "it should be available for free".

[mickie.kext]

I don't know why they don't like StarOffice name. They could just rename "Sun StarOffice" to "Oracle StarOffice". Redbrandings are never good, it spreads confusion.

[forrestcupp]

I just tells me something that they decided to use the name "Open Office". I really don't like Oracle.

[Ylon]

Taken there

6. What are the differences between Oracle Open Office and OpenOffice.org?

At the core binary level there are no differences. Oracle Open Office is Oracle's professional distribution of OpenOffice.org and customers purchasing Oracle Open Office get:

* Oracle warranty and indemnification
* Ability to deploy hot fixes, patches and updates (OpenOffice.org cannot be updated but requires a full re-installation)
* Enterprise extensions like MS SharePoint and Alfresco connectors only available with Oracle Open Office
* Enterprise Tools for help in migrating to Oracle Open Office—a Microsoft Office document analyzer and a tool that builds customized user installations
* Bundled extensions which are ready to use comes with Oracle Open Office; with OpenOffice.org you have to download each extension separately
* Committed timelines and roadmaps
* Customization opportunities

more: http://www.oracle.com/us/products/ap...ce/043537.html


Anyway, anther (not OO's core based) office suite aviable for linux is Softmaker Linux 2010. You can download the trial to check it.

Sometime many complain about the lower quality/incompatibility of OpenOffice vs Ms-Office. Since ms-office don't come for free.. it's useful propose to whom complain to give a try to the more "company driven" office packages: Oracle OO or Softmaker (trial before buy aviable)

Plus there's always Symphony by IBM which is completely free (OO.org core)

[mickie.kext]

Plus there's always Symphony by IBM which is completely free (OO.org core)

It is not "completely free". Just free as in beer. It's completely closed source.