Review: Upgrading to OpenOffice 3.1

The most recent version of OpenOffice has arrived. OpenOffice 3.1 is a free, open source version of Microsoft office and its updates looks very promising. Most of the new improvements are not immediately visible, I have found that the most important upgrades were underneath the hood.

OpenOffice 3.1 is a set of applications used for office productivity. It includes Base (database manager), Impress (presentation manager), Calc (spreadsheet, and Writer (word processor). It is nearly a full replacement for Window's Microsoft Office. OpenOffice 3.1 is available for free for Windows, Linux, Mac, and Solaris. There is a version available for download for practically all systems.

The first new noticeable thing about OpenOffice is its looks. The OpenOffice GUI looks sleeker and the displays of images, letters, program menus etc., have a much cleaner overall look.

I tested the new OpenOffice on a system running Windows XP and on a system running MEPIS 8 (Linux). What really grabbed me was how the applications of the suite all ran significantly faster than the previous 3.0 version. This was accentuated on the system running Windows XP. Previously, it would take Writer about 12 seconds to fully load, after this update I was at about 6 seconds. Similar speed boosts were noticeable on all the other applications. The performance boost was so drastic, I felt like I was running the apps on a brand new computer.

A cool new feature of OpenOffice 3.1 is its locking system. A user can opt to lock his file on his particular OS. An employee using a Mac will not be able to overwrite a file change made by a Windows XP user, for example.

I attempted to edit a shared document on both my Linux and my XP machines. Because of the fact that the file was on a Windows Server 08, I was not able to do it. The locking mechanism works like a charm.

Similar to Firefox, OpenOffice employs the use of add-ons or extensions to increase its ease-of-use and functionality. For example, now you can augment OpenOffice's grammar check and further save yourself from silly grammatical errors.

However despite speed boosts and aesthetic improvements, OpenOffice 3.1 still leaves room for improvement. Impress, their version of Microsoft's PowerPoint, is decent yet is far from impressive in terms of available functions. For those who consistently make presentations, you will feel constrained by the lack of features.

Overall, OpenOffice presents a formidable opponent to Microsoft Office. Especially with the speedy performance boost, and an unbeatable price tag, free.