Google throws bodies at OpenOffice

Google plans to hire programmers to improve OpenOffice.org, a demonstration of its affinity for open source initiatives and one the company believes also shows sound practical sense.

OpenOffice has its roots in Sun Microsystems' StarOffice suite of programs. Five years ago, Sun turned its proprietary software into an open-source project. Only recently, however, has the competitor to Microsoft's Office attracted serious attention.

Now Google believes it can help OpenOffice--perhaps working to pare down the software's memory requirements or its mammoth 80MB download size, said Chris DiBona, manager for open-source programs at the search company.

News.context

What's new:
Google plans to hire programmers to improve OpenOffice.org, an open-source software suite that competes with Microsoft's Office.

Bottom line:
The move strengthens the search giant's ties to open-source development. But Google also has business reasons to justify its embrace of OpenOffice, which competes directly with a Microsoft product.

More stories on this topic

"We want to hire a couple of folks to help make OpenOffice better," DiBona said.

Google has shown an affinity for open-source software, which are programs developed in the open and available for free. Many of the company's programmers came of age in the open-source era, so advancing the open-source agenda comes naturally, DiBona said. But the company also has business reasons to justify its open-source embrace.

"We use a fair amount of open-source software at Google. We want to make sure that's a healthy community. And we want to make sure open source preserves competitiveness within the industry," he said.

Earlier in October, Google and Sun announced a partnership to boost several software projects, but released few details. Asked about OpenOffice collaboration, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said at the time only that the search engine power would "work to make the distribution of (OpenOffice) more broad." But OpenOffice, like the other software projects the partners intend to work on, competes directly with Microsoft software--a point that has not gone unnoticed.

As one of the most-watched companies in the industry, Google's involvement has helped Sun draw attention to OpenOffice.org. And there are other reasons the software is taken more seriously as an alternative to Microsoft Office. For one thing, OpenOffice.org 2.0 was just released with a modernized interface and some new features. For another, OpenOffice.org supports OpenDocument, a standardized file format that many endorse as a way to break the lock-in of Microsoft's proprietary formats.

DiBona didn't mention a wider competitive perspective in giving Google's rationale for investing time and money on nonproprietary software. "We were looking for ways to work with Sun and ways to help users. This is a good place to spend some resources," he said.

Google's heavy use of open-source software for its operations has kept its developers in touch with cutting-edge technology, but the do-it-yourself approach has also meant that its employees have technology maintenance responsibilities that most companies leave to others.

Some believe Google eventually will have to settle with a more conventional approach: buying technology instead of building it in-house. Among them is Brian Stevens, chief technology officer of Linux seller Red Hat. He said many customers began with their own versions of Linux before turning to Red Hat for support.

"With most customers, we have a relationship that started that way. Every financial services company, the Department of Energy--almost everyone got Linux in a nonstandard way on their own," Stevens said. But Google probably won't keep its in-house Linux version, he predicted. "That's not where their competence is. They've got a lot of other problems than building Linux distributions."

A peek under the hood
Google is notoriously reluctant to describe the particulars of its search-computing data center, which served the demands of 380 million people in August. But DiBona did discuss some details.

The company uses the Linux operating system for its mainstay search

[Kmett]

OpenOffice for Mac?

Maybe with Google helping out, they'll make a Mac version of OpenOffice?<br /><br />That'd be nice.

[indrakanti]

OpenOffice for Mac

There is already a Mac version of OpenOffice which runs under <br />Xwindow system (X11) at OpenOffice.org. Or if you want a native <br />Mac version you could download NeoOffice/J<br />(<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php" target="_newWindow">http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php</a>) which is <br />basically carbonized OpenOffice.<br /><br />Good luck

[JuggerNaut]

OpenOffice already exists for Mac!

A Mac version does exists, though requires the use of X11. <br />Right now OO.o version 2 for the Mac stands at release <br />candidate status, slightly behind the release schedule of other <br />versions. The OpenOffice team made an announcement that <br />they plan to create a native version of OO.o for Mac using the <br />Cocoa framework, but will take time to implement. There is an <br />almost native version of OpenOffice 1.1 called NeoOffice/J which <br />already uses a mixture of Java/Cocoa on the frontend. A very <br />nice compliment to the X11 version since it supports more Mac <br />OS X core technologies than the former.<br /><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/2.0.0rc3.html" target="_newWindow">http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/2.0.0rc3.html</a><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php" target="_newWindow">http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php</a>

[Shankland]

reporter responds: Mac version in the works; don't hold your breath

According to Sun's Tim Bray, a native Mac version is in the works: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2005/10/01/Open-Office-Conference#p-1" target="_newWindow">http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2005/10/01/Open-Office-Conference#p-1</a>. The current Mac version requires installation of the X11 graphics system rather than the native Mac interface. However, according to the Mac porting site, the work is going slowly: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/" target="_newWindow">http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/</a>

[Kmett]

OpenOffice for Mac?

Maybe with Google helping out, they'll make a Mac version of OpenOffice?<br /><br />That'd be nice.

[indrakanti]

OpenOffice for Mac

There is already a Mac version of OpenOffice which runs under <br />Xwindow system (X11) at OpenOffice.org. Or if you want a native <br />Mac version you could download NeoOffice/J<br />(<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php" target="_newWindow">http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php</a>) which is <br />basically carbonized OpenOffice.<br /><br />Good luck

[JuggerNaut]

OpenOffice already exists for Mac!

A Mac version does exists, though requires the use of X11. <br />Right now OO.o version 2 for the Mac stands at release <br />candidate status, slightly behind the release schedule of other <br />versions. The OpenOffice team made an announcement that <br />they plan to create a native version of OO.o for Mac using the <br />Cocoa framework, but will take time to implement. There is an <br />almost native version of OpenOffice 1.1 called NeoOffice/J which <br />already uses a mixture of Java/Cocoa on the frontend. A very <br />nice compliment to the X11 version since it supports more Mac <br />OS X core technologies than the former.<br /><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/2.0.0rc3.html" target="_newWindow">http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/2.0.0rc3.html</a><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php" target="_newWindow">http://www.planamesa.com/neojava/en/index.php</a>

[Shankland]

reporter responds: Mac version in the works; don't hold your breath

According to Sun's Tim Bray, a native Mac version is in the works: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2005/10/01/Open-Office-Conference#p-1" target="_newWindow">http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2005/10/01/Open-Office-Conference#p-1</a>. The current Mac version requires installation of the X11 graphics system rather than the native Mac interface. However, according to the Mac porting site, the work is going slowly: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/" target="_newWindow">http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/</a>

[Captain_Spock]

"We make great use of Java....

... at the company," DiBona said, in light of this stated fact then the Operating System of choice should naturally have been IBM's OS/2 Warp which boasted the best performance running the Sun Java Virtual Machine (JVM) engine. For all practical purposes Sun Microsystems and IBM should have continued their collaboratiion on the JAVA/OS project that was embarked upon by these two companies thereby providing a popular alternative to the then emerging "Windows..XX" threat which is presently reported to be controlling 90% of the "desktop" marketspace. As it is apparently widely known both OpenOffice and MS Office have "borrowed" a number of features from Lotus SmartSuite just as the Linux Operating System. Just what the world is doing with the reported over 350 different "flavors" of an operating system together with the dominant Windows Operating which has yet to deliver on some computing features - includin security. What a waste of financial and other resources! The logical steps then for a market-facing "desktop" environment should have been an Open Lotus SmartSuite/OS2 Warp Combination.

[just_some_guy]

unbelievable

"the Operating System of choice should naturally have been IBM's OS/2 Warp"<br /><br /><br />Wow. Just, wow.<br /><br />I think the logical choice would be AmiagaOS. Great support there!

[Captain_Spock]

"We make great use of Java....

... at the company," DiBona said, in light of this stated fact then the Operating System of choice should naturally have been IBM's OS/2 Warp which boasted the best performance running the Sun Java Virtual Machine (JVM) engine. For all practical purposes Sun Microsystems and IBM should have continued their collaboratiion on the JAVA/OS project that was embarked upon by these two companies thereby providing a popular alternative to the then emerging "Windows..XX" threat which is presently reported to be controlling 90% of the "desktop" marketspace. As it is apparently widely known both OpenOffice and MS Office have "borrowed" a number of features from Lotus SmartSuite just as the Linux Operating System. Just what the world is doing with the reported over 350 different "flavors" of an operating system together with the dominant Windows Operating which has yet to deliver on some computing features - includin security. What a waste of financial and other resources! The logical steps then for a market-facing "desktop" environment should have been an Open Lotus SmartSuite/OS2 Warp Combination.

[just_some_guy]

unbelievable

"the Operating System of choice should naturally have been IBM's OS/2 Warp"<br /><br /><br />Wow. Just, wow.<br /><br />I think the logical choice would be AmiagaOS. Great support there!

[rbannon]

There were some great alternatives . . .

In the past, especially on the Mac platform, there were great <br />alternatives. For example WingZ (spreadsheet) and WriteNow <br />(word processor) were both much better than MS's offerings, but <br />they failed to take hold against MS's marketing and the hoard <br />like masses in the computer world. I think Apple has the code <br />rights to WingZ (re-branded as Resolve), but WriteNow was <br />written in assembler. Would love to see Apple re-release Resolve <br />as a Mac OS X native application . . . PLEASE!<br /><br />As for a word processor, I long ago gave up because Word <br />basically killed everyone else, even though Word is a pretty bad <br />product. So, I just bit the bullet and learned LaTeX! For shorter <br />work, I use Mellel, which is close to being like WriteNow.<br /><br />Want a free iPod: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=22990096" target="_newWindow">http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=22990096</a>

[Tanjore]

In what way word is a bad product

In what way word is a bad product. Currently there is no product that even comes close to functionality of word. I may not agree with microsoft practices but Microsoft word and Excel are excellent products.

[rbannon]

There were some great alternatives . . .

In the past, especially on the Mac platform, there were great <br />alternatives. For example WingZ (spreadsheet) and WriteNow <br />(word processor) were both much better than MS's offerings, but <br />they failed to take hold against MS's marketing and the hoard <br />like masses in the computer world. I think Apple has the code <br />rights to WingZ (re-branded as Resolve), but WriteNow was <br />written in assembler. Would love to see Apple re-release Resolve <br />as a Mac OS X native application . . . PLEASE!<br /><br />As for a word processor, I long ago gave up because Word <br />basically killed everyone else, even though Word is a pretty bad <br />product. So, I just bit the bullet and learned LaTeX! For shorter <br />work, I use Mellel, which is close to being like WriteNow.<br /><br />Want a free iPod: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=22990096" target="_newWindow">http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=22990096</a>

[Tanjore]

In what way word is a bad product

In what way word is a bad product. Currently there is no product that even comes close to functionality of word. I may not agree with microsoft practices but Microsoft word and Excel are excellent products.

[Captain_Spock]

Where It Is Believe The "Battle" Will Be Joined!

Not taking Microsoft for granted will be to take into very "high" consideration that this company noted for its "dealings" with the competition has already embarked on delivering on what it has recently touted as "EXCEL SERVICES"... an area where OpenOffice's - Open Document Standards is reported to lack formula compatibility, see link: OpenDocument office suites lack formula compatibility - <br /><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/192250&#38;from=rss" target="_newWindow">http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/192250&#38;from=rss</a><br /><br />Added to these are Microsoft's plans for its "SharePoint" technologies integration and perhaps enhancements to its Communications Server "Live" strategies for Real-Time Collaboration and Communication. These are but a few of the product and marketshare issues that the IBM/Google/Sun Microsystems Partnership would have to contend with against Microsoft!

[Captain_Spock]

Where It Is Believe The "Battle" Will Be Joined!

Not taking Microsoft for granted will be to take into very "high" consideration that this company noted for its "dealings" with the competition has already embarked on delivering on what it has recently touted as "EXCEL SERVICES"... an area where OpenOffice's - Open Document Standards is reported to lack formula compatibility, see link: OpenDocument office suites lack formula compatibility - <br /><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/192250&#38;from=rss" target="_newWindow">http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/09/09/192250&#38;from=rss</a><br /><br />Added to these are Microsoft's plans for its "SharePoint" technologies integration and perhaps enhancements to its Communications Server "Live" strategies for Real-Time Collaboration and Communication. These are but a few of the product and marketshare issues that the IBM/Google/Sun Microsystems Partnership would have to contend with against Microsoft!

[Zipdude]

OpenOffice is a dead duck unless...

OpenOffice is never going to take on MS Office unless they embrace the MS Office file formats as de facto standard. <br /><br />Threatening the user with loss of information every time time he wants to save in MS Office format is a BAD IDEA! <br /><br />MS Office file formats should be the default, so that OpenOffice works as a slot-in replacement for the average user. <br /><br />Then the OpenDocument formats will become a selling point instead of a liability.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

OpenOffice.org is a live mallard...

The reason users are threatened with a loss of data when saving in MS file formats is nothing to do with forcing people to use OpenDocument, and everything with Microsoft not showing the specs of their file formats.<br /><br />And how can MS Office formats be a standard when they change from one release to the next? With OpenDocument, you'll be able to open that lengthy document you created in OpenOffice over ten years ago. Try doing that with a Microsoft product and see how far that gets you.

[iverylm]

Open Office Not DEAD!!

Depends on what part of the world you live in. Many countries are migrating to Open Office., or planning too. North American will except the DEFAULT..while other hemispheres deploy less costly software to use on their infrastructure.<br />Since when...must an Open Source take on a PAY-TO-USE software.<br /><br /><br />IVERY

[Zipdude]

OpenOffice is a dead duck unless...

OpenOffice is never going to take on MS Office unless they embrace the MS Office file formats as de facto standard. <br /><br />Threatening the user with loss of information every time time he wants to save in MS Office format is a BAD IDEA! <br /><br />MS Office file formats should be the default, so that OpenOffice works as a slot-in replacement for the average user. <br /><br />Then the OpenDocument formats will become a selling point instead of a liability.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

OpenOffice.org is a live mallard...

The reason users are threatened with a loss of data when saving in MS file formats is nothing to do with forcing people to use OpenDocument, and everything with Microsoft not showing the specs of their file formats.<br /><br />And how can MS Office formats be a standard when they change from one release to the next? With OpenDocument, you'll be able to open that lengthy document you created in OpenOffice over ten years ago. Try doing that with a Microsoft product and see how far that gets you.

[iverylm]

Open Office Not DEAD!!

Depends on what part of the world you live in. Many countries are migrating to Open Office., or planning too. North American will except the DEFAULT..while other hemispheres deploy less costly software to use on their infrastructure.<br />Since when...must an Open Source take on a PAY-TO-USE software.<br /><br /><br />IVERY

[lion_2]

Great news for OpenOffice

Hopefully this will improve on OpenOffice's database program which I found to be very slow. Here's a comparison of Word and OpenOffice Writer:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.megageekonline.com/news.asp?ID=180">http://www.megageekonline.com/news.asp?ID=180</a>

[lion_2]

Great news for OpenOffice

Hopefully this will improve on OpenOffice's database program which I found to be very slow. Here's a comparison of Word and OpenOffice Writer:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.megageekonline.com/news.asp?ID=180">http://www.megageekonline.com/news.asp?ID=180</a>

[FutureGuy]

Best form of flattery

StarOffice and other opendocument apps look like a total rip-off of MS Office. It copies not just the document format but the menus, layouts, features, look and feel pretty much everything. Well it?s said imitation is the best form of flattery. These ?open? guys should be ashamed of themselves opendocument, wine, mono are all copy of ?useless, worthless? MS technologies.

[JuggerNaut]

I Hate to break it to you; but People hate change!

So this is the reason why StarOffice and OpenOffice.org had to <br />make familiarities with MS office so it would minimize any <br />reason not to give those products a chance in the market. All <br />web browsers are pretty much the same look and feel wise; you <br />have Back, Forward, Reload and Stop buttons, no matter what <br />browser it is. You say that they copy Microsoft, but don't you <br />think that Microsoft did the same when trying to compete with <br />Lotus 123 and WordPerfect back in the day. Look and feel of <br />office applications has been copied back and forth for years. MS <br />Office isn't all original look and feel wise, Microsoft borrowed <br />such from other competitors and competitors borrowed from <br />Microsoft; it's been happening for years and unlikely to change.<br /><br />Darn if you do, darn if you don't!

[Devil's Advocate]

I guess Mac should be flattered then...

...considering Windows is "like a total rip-off" <br />of the ancient Mac desktops to begin with. The <br />whole PC market was "open" when they <br />started and the only deviation they could think <br />of was recycling bin instead of trash can.<br /><br />But they did keep their simplified internal <br />system the same since time began though. <br />Thus the plethora of goofy games and cheap <br />software available for PCs. And also the <br />continuing array of viruses, trojans and other <br />security risks a child could come up with.<br /><br />So Mac has limited choices in free game <br />downloads and cheesy clip art. That's ok. We''l <br />keep the quality graphics, video and music <br />software instead and leave the big text editing <br />dilemmas cooling on the window.<br /><br />I do have to praise SpellCheck though. A <br />right-brain phonetically impaired person such <br />as myself would be lost without it.

[FutureGuy]

Best form of flattery

StarOffice and other opendocument apps look like a total rip-off of MS Office. It copies not just the document format but the menus, layouts, features, look and feel pretty much everything. Well it?s said imitation is the best form of flattery. These ?open? guys should be ashamed of themselves opendocument, wine, mono are all copy of ?useless, worthless? MS technologies.

[JuggerNaut]

I Hate to break it to you; but People hate change!

So this is the reason why StarOffice and OpenOffice.org had to <br />make familiarities with MS office so it would minimize any <br />reason not to give those products a chance in the market. All <br />web browsers are pretty much the same look and feel wise; you <br />have Back, Forward, Reload and Stop buttons, no matter what <br />browser it is. You say that they copy Microsoft, but don't you <br />think that Microsoft did the same when trying to compete with <br />Lotus 123 and WordPerfect back in the day. Look and feel of <br />office applications has been copied back and forth for years. MS <br />Office isn't all original look and feel wise, Microsoft borrowed <br />such from other competitors and competitors borrowed from <br />Microsoft; it's been happening for years and unlikely to change.<br /><br />Darn if you do, darn if you don't!

[Devil's Advocate]

I guess Mac should be flattered then...

...considering Windows is "like a total rip-off" <br />of the ancient Mac desktops to begin with. The <br />whole PC market was "open" when they <br />started and the only deviation they could think <br />of was recycling bin instead of trash can.<br /><br />But they did keep their simplified internal <br />system the same since time began though. <br />Thus the plethora of goofy games and cheap <br />software available for PCs. And also the <br />continuing array of viruses, trojans and other <br />security risks a child could come up with.<br /><br />So Mac has limited choices in free game <br />downloads and cheesy clip art. That's ok. We''l <br />keep the quality graphics, video and music <br />software instead and leave the big text editing <br />dilemmas cooling on the window.<br /><br />I do have to praise SpellCheck though. A <br />right-brain phonetically impaired person such <br />as myself would be lost without it.

[JuggerNaut]

RE: You really need your hand held

You're missing the point! Everyone is entitled to their opinion. <br />Just because their opinion does align with your, does not mean <br />they have some "emotional" issues. Yeah Word has its pros and <br />cons; my biggest grief with it has been well hidden features that <br />I have to keep a cheat sheet in order to find them (at times) and <br />when using Word during long sessions, it starts to act funny and <br />crash for no apparent reason. I had to eventually adopt the <br />'click save' every few minutes to protect from any loss of <br />productivity and/or data.<br /><br />..."Your analogy with the car industry is flawed. I don't choose to <br />drive a BMW because I think Mercedes cars are "pretty bad". I can <br />actually own the BMW without slamming the competition. Rarely <br />can that be said of Mac advocates, Linux advocates, and open <br />source advocates. Those guys do more to alienate others than to <br />gain support."...<br /><br />Reread my car analogy, it only states the desires of the car <br />buyer, whatever that may be. And as for Windows advocates; <br />they are as bad as any other advocate of any computer platform, <br />so why single them out of the lineup for your rational discussion <br />here? Your bias shows through and through!

[JuggerNaut]

RE: You really need your hand held

You're missing the point! Everyone is entitled to their opinion. <br />Just because their opinion does align with your, does not mean <br />they have some "emotional" issues. Yeah Word has its pros and <br />cons; my biggest grief with it has been well hidden features that <br />I have to keep a cheat sheet in order to find them (at times) and <br />when using Word during long sessions, it starts to act funny and <br />crash for no apparent reason. I had to eventually adopt the <br />'click save' every few minutes to protect from any loss of <br />productivity and/or data.<br /><br />..."Your analogy with the car industry is flawed. I don't choose to <br />drive a BMW because I think Mercedes cars are "pretty bad". I can <br />actually own the BMW without slamming the competition. Rarely <br />can that be said of Mac advocates, Linux advocates, and open <br />source advocates. Those guys do more to alienate others than to <br />gain support."...<br /><br />Reread my car analogy, it only states the desires of the car <br />buyer, whatever that may be. And as for Windows advocates; <br />they are as bad as any other advocate of any computer platform, <br />so why single them out of the lineup for your rational discussion <br />here? Your bias shows through and through!

[JuggerNaut]

RE: cut the crap

..."Putting it clear and simple. MS's present generation of OS's <br />and applications is atleast 5 years ahead of the overall <br />functionality and appication availability (from both MS and <br />others) then Mac or Linux."...<br /><br />I (as well as many others) would beg to differ on that front. The <br />amount of applications means a hill of beans if most are <br />redundant in their respective categories of the computer <br />software market. As for functionality, Windows is behind the <br />curve in regards to Mac OS X and that's been pretty much the <br />case throughout the history of the two operating systems. Even <br />Linux is making inroads to Windows on functionality and ease of <br />use.<br /><br />..."If and when there is a compable OS around that is either <br />cheaper or better then Windows I will be the first to make that <br />switch."...<br /><br />Well, indulge yourself; because cheaper and better already exists <br />in many flavors!

[FutureGuy]

Excuse me!!!

The last time I searched for "games" (which was just now) on download.com (part of the pretty linux biased cnet network) there was no a single download for Linux, for XP there were over 1200, go figure. None of the top Games and Devices have Linux support and barely for Mac. OpenGL doesn't even closely compare with DirectX.<br />I am not a gamer but this is just one of categories where other OSs are at least "5" years behind. So for now I will "indulge" myself with Windows.

[JuggerNaut]

RE: cut the crap

..."Putting it clear and simple. MS's present generation of OS's <br />and applications is atleast 5 years ahead of the overall <br />functionality and appication availability (from both MS and <br />others) then Mac or Linux."...<br /><br />I (as well as many others) would beg to differ on that front. The <br />amount of applications means a hill of beans if most are <br />redundant in their respective categories of the computer <br />software market. As for functionality, Windows is behind the <br />curve in regards to Mac OS X and that's been pretty much the <br />case throughout the history of the two operating systems. Even <br />Linux is making inroads to Windows on functionality and ease of <br />use.<br /><br />..."If and when there is a compable OS around that is either <br />cheaper or better then Windows I will be the first to make that <br />switch."...<br /><br />Well, indulge yourself; because cheaper and better already exists <br />in many flavors!

[FutureGuy]

Excuse me!!!

The last time I searched for "games" (which was just now) on download.com (part of the pretty linux biased cnet network) there was no a single download for Linux, for XP there were over 1200, go figure. None of the top Games and Devices have Linux support and barely for Mac. OpenGL doesn't even closely compare with DirectX.<br />I am not a gamer but this is just one of categories where other OSs are at least "5" years behind. So for now I will "indulge" myself with Windows.

[Bill Dautrive]

Really?

Then why is the upcoming versions of IE and Windows a copy of what others have released already, in some cases years ago. Even when Vista is released it will still be behind others in stability because of MS's insistance of sticking with their registry. Which is the main reason windows OS's degrade over time, when others do not. In fact, Windows is the only OS that degrades over time.<br /><br />Hell, NTFS is still decades behind other file systems, and that won't be available until at LEAST 2007. When was the last time you had to defrag anything other then FAT or NTFS?<br /><br />MS are the ones constantly behind others. And in the few cases they have features others don't those "features" normally amount to unused bloat and security issues.

[Bill Dautrive]

Whoops

The above comments were meant for the post title "cut the crap".<br /><br />With all the effort CNET put into making each page on this site as cluttered as possible, couldn't they have put the effort into an edit function?

[Bill Dautrive]

Really?

Then why is the upcoming versions of IE and Windows a copy of what others have released already, in some cases years ago. Even when Vista is released it will still be behind others in stability because of MS's insistance of sticking with their registry. Which is the main reason windows OS's degrade over time, when others do not. In fact, Windows is the only OS that degrades over time.<br /><br />Hell, NTFS is still decades behind other file systems, and that won't be available until at LEAST 2007. When was the last time you had to defrag anything other then FAT or NTFS?<br /><br />MS are the ones constantly behind others. And in the few cases they have features others don't those "features" normally amount to unused bloat and security issues.

[Bill Dautrive]

Whoops

The above comments were meant for the post title "cut the crap".<br /><br />With all the effort CNET put into making each page on this site as cluttered as possible, couldn't they have put the effort into an edit function?