Webware

Ulteo, a company staffed by Linux veterans, on Wednesday launched the test version of a service that lets people run the OpenOffice.org desktop suite in the Firefox or Internet Explorer browsers.

The hosted version of OpenOffice version 2.3 supports PDF printing.

(Credit: Ulteo)

The service is designed to let people collaborate with OpenOffice documents online and use the open-source application suite without having to download it.

People can also exchange documents in Microsoft's Office format or PDF. The service also supports the OpenDocument Format standard.

There are already several companies offering online versions of traditional desktop applications, including Google, Zoho, and others. Microsoft on Monday released Office Live Workspace, which lets people share Office documents on a hosted Web server.

The Ulteo service is aimed specifically toward people who use the OpenOffice suite.

At the head of the company are Thierry Koehrlen, chief executive, and Gael Duval, chairman and chief technology officer. Duval founded Linux distributor Mandriva but was ousted last year.

Got OpenOffice 2.3 or prior versions? Be prepared to download a security patch.

The OpenOffice.org community has issued a patch for a "highly critical" security vulnerability in OpenOffice 2.3 and prior versions, according to a security advisory issued by Secunia on Wednesday.

A security flaw in a third party default database engine module, HSQLDB, shipped with OpenOffice 2.3 and prior versions, could allow malicious attackers to launch arbitrary code. The vulnerabilities could be exploited by manipulating the database documents processing, according to a security advisory issued by OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org is asking users to download OpenOffice version 2.3.1. (Download OpenOffice.org 2.3.1 for Windows from CNET Download.com.)

OpenOffice 2.3 was released last September, shortly before security researchers reported vulnerabilities in OpenOffice 2.0.4 and earlier versions. The security flaws could allow attackers to gain control of users' systems via maliciously crafted TIFF files.

The OpenOffice productivity suite is gaining in popularity with its OpenDocument file format as an alternative to Microsoft Office.

UPDATE: Glide is postponing the release of the Glide Crunch spreadsheet tool for a week. An updated version of Glide Crunch, contained in the Glide Sync download, is estimated to be available November 15. This version of the article also corrects a detail regarding how the Glide Crunch feature is downloaded.

This week, Glide (reviewed) is adding two new features to its beta Web suite, which is already 15 apps deep: Glide Crunch, which is a spreadsheet app, and support for OpenOffice.org.

Glide Crunch. Wednesday, Glide launches Glide Crunch, a spreadsheet app to join its word-processing, image-editing, and presentation-building buddies that sync information between the desktop and most mobile devices, including the iPhone.

Glide Crunch is a local and Web-based spreadsheet app.

Like these, Glide's spreadsheet contains collaborative tools to share, edit, and chat about data. Why this app is not like the others: It peels away from the nearly strictly Web 2.0 nature of Glide's other apps and settles onto the computer's hard drive as part of the Glide Sync desktop download. Spreadsheets with advanced formulas and functions can be crafted online, or offline with Glide Crunch Local, then auto-synced between the two. Pivot table support is anticipated for November 21. Glide Crunch spreadsheets were designed to be compatible with Microsoft Excel imports and exports. Check back tomorrow on CNET Download.com to download Glide Crunch.... Read more

Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and their Office allies can be great applications, but not everybody needs everything they offer. How do you know where to start when shopping for alternative software? You'll save money with a different brand, but will it do the trick? Should you buy boxed software, download freebies for your hard drive, access browser-based apps, or juggle all of the above?

We've reviewed nine productivity suites--including downloads and online services--and cooked up a jumbo chart mixing up their gumbo of features and file formats. IBM's release of Lotus Symphony beta added more spice to the stew last week, while continuous updates to the online applications keep us on our toes. All nine products support traditional Microsoft Office files, although not all can read the new Office 2007 formats. And although shunned by Microsoft, the Open Document Format is gaining in popularity. See: Alternatives to Microsoft Office.

Gone are the days of needing software to open up e-mail attachments. Between Gmail and a handful of online office tools, the reliance on Microsoft Office isn't nearly as much of a stranglehold as it was in the 90s. This morning Zoho is expanding its format-free nature with a new tool called Viewer that will open up 15 different types of common file formats from Microsoft, Open Office, Open Document, and others such as PDFs, CSVs, and HTML files. There's also a form to submit file types you want supported in future updates.

Once uploaded, files show up in a simple viewer that loads quickly. Along the top is a list of options to share the file with others (via a URL), embed it on a blog or Web site, print, export, or--the killer app--edit. Clicking the edit button will shoot the document over to one of Zoho's comparable applications. For instance, if you attempt to edit an Microsoft Word document, it will open up in Zoho Writer. Likewise, if you open up a spreadsheet file, it will open up in Zoho Sheet. I didn't manage to get this functionality to work with PowerPoint documents, but you can still import these files manually into Zoho's presentation application as a workaround.

Zoho Viewer lets you upload files one at a time or in bulk. The only snag is a 5MB limit per file, so if you've got a big PDF floating around, you're out of luck.

Zoho Viewer's functionality is a lot like Scribd, which has been doing quite well. The main thing Scribd has that Zoho's viewer doesn't is a sense of community. The feeling of discovery and exploration is lost without some sort of hub for other people's shared documents. As it stands, this is a great tool for people who don't want to install software to view some of the more "off-brand" file types.

I've embedded below an example of the Zoho Viewer in action, with a PDF of the manual for the iPhone Bluetooth headset.

Zoho, who was at Under the Radar last week, upgraded their spreadsheet application, called Sheet, on Friday. The team added Zoho Chat integration and the ability for multiple users to work on a spreadsheet at the same time. Users of Google Spreadsheets will be accustomed to this functionality, and with the update, Zoho joins the fray of online collaborative tools (see our Under the Radar roundup of this category.)

Also new with the update is support for OpenDocument Sheet, which allows users of OpenOffice to work on and freely exchange documents.

Zoho Sheet still doesn't have the option to see who has made edits--an option that's missing from most collaborative spreadsheet tools. In our tests, we also found that several users could be working on or delete a cell without warning. To avoid this, having the option to hand off control of the cell to the other user (like Xcellery does) would be very helpful.

(Credit: CNET Networks)