OpenOffice to Dell: Pre-load Us

[+LogicalApex MVC]

its not REALLY in dells interest. 90% of the home users that buy the office package dont need 99% of the extra functions. how many home users connect to an exchange server in outlook? or do all the technical stuff in excel? not many. most of those features would be used by a business customer. if you pre-loaded open office on all your home system sales you would have an extremely low volume of people upgrading to the MS office. why? because they will realize they don't need the $200 product. most people just want to be able to open there friends .docs and have a plane sheet of virtual paper with a spell check.

business users on the other hand would most likely still retain there current level of office purchases, simply because its industry standard and LOTS of people use exchange (or should, it friggin awesome). but if you ask me, the office suite is WAY over priced for what it is, when you look at the free alternative. MS should thank their lucky stars it is not as big as it could be. If a major home PC manufacturer like Dell or HP where to bundle this software, it could be extreamly detrimental to home sales.

At worst I can see it saving Dell Money. Unless MS provides Dell the MS Works licenses for free they are shelling out something (even if just 1 cent) for the right to bundle MS Works with every system. It would make more sense to me for them to offer OpenOffice.

I've tried OpenOffice and I feel it isn't my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be a basic option. Most users who don't buy Office with their PC know they didn't want Office. It could be because they were going to load OpenOffice on it or because Office isn't for their needs. Offering OpenOffice isn't going to make the MS Office option dissappear nor will it immediatly convert every MS Office buyer into an OpenOffice user. The only affect bundling OpenOffice would have is them being more clear to the user. I don't think many people expect?trialware to be preinstalled on their new PC.

I'm a more advanced user so I wouldn't expect MS Office to be loaded on there in a full form unless I severed my arm and mailed it to MS (then my leg for activation), but not every user is that advanced, nor should they be. I think it is a valid assumption on the user's part to expect the software installed on their machine to be fully functional. Otherwise, the software shouldn't be on their PC in the first place! The?trialware could be on an install CD in their box, clearly labeled, or something similar, but the stuff on their Pshouldi>?be full versions. In this respect OpenOffice fits the bill... Afterall, the user is free to install MS Office, order it with their PC (and thus OpenOffice wouldn't be pre-installed), or say no to all of them.

It can only be in Dells best interest imho... Since they are shedding marketshare like a sinking ship takes on water they should be thinking of ways to put their customers first and not their corporate partners. Afterall, those partners won't pay as nicely when Dell is #3 or #4 on the marketshare list...

[Chode]

Chode to OpenOffice: Make a decent database alternative instead of pushing for exposure!

In my work, office is extremely crucial. While OpenOffice's Word alternative is a nice program, they still fall short compared to Office's. Their Database software is almost laughable!

Database/Access aside, the rest of the suite feels like using Office 97. While the UI between 97 and more common versions (such as 2000/XP/2003) is almost identical, the functionality does differ

[Quillz]

O.O also need to release an updated GUI version similar to Office 2007 for when companies etc start upgrading.

I can't see this happening any time soon, especially with 2.2 just around the corner, which does not feature a new interface. I like the Ribbon, but Microsoft does not allow competing products (namely, OOo) to use it, so I think the current interface is about as good as it's going to get for a while.

OpenOffice is junk to me, I really don't like it. I hope there will be an option not to have OpenOffice preloaded.

Just wondering, what about OOo don't you like?

[Sockie]

Just wondering, what about OOo don't you like?

It looks like a cheap rip of Office. It's not original or innovative. It looks like software did back in 2002. It's only claim to fame is compatibility with office files.

[markwolfe Veteran]

It looks like a cheap rip of Office. It's not original or innovative.

Errr... That is kind of the point. So MS Office users would find a familiar interface and be comfortable with using OO.o. Everyone in the software industry (even Microsoft) copies from each other.

It looks like software did back in 2002. It's only claim to fame is compatibility with office files.

And like software did a year ago. And like a lot of current software still looks today.

The funny part is, if OO.o had a very different interface, people would be whining in forums about that. I guess if it doesn't have an "MS" in front of it, some people won't be satisfied.

[GEIST]

My goodness, just because OO.o doesn't suit the needs of some of the whiners here doesn't mean it's a bad idea to have it as an option. There are a lot of office type users who don't give a damn about a super slick uptodate interface. I bet most people don't need the costy Office 2007 suite to create simple documents.

And ugh, the guy who's afraid they'd ditch MS Office for OO.o, get a brain.

[ichi]

I think most of those that would find that OOo fit their needs wouldn't be buying MSOffice anyway, but rather pirate it.

Or does anyone seriously consider buying such an expensive package just to write some stuff at home?

So Dell might not lose that many Office sales by preloading OOo after all, the "problem" is each OOo installed is a step towards breaking vendor lock-in (aka flying-chairs scenario).