OpenOffice 2.0

A new version of OpenOffice has officially been released. OpenOffice is a free online office application available to anyone with Internet access. Its chief sponsor and contributor is Sun Microsystems. The program offers a full range of office applications including text, spreadsheets, charts and graphical documents. You can find this free software at OpenOffice.org. “Open source” software such as this is beginning to threaten to Microsoft’s popular “Office” software. Many technical experts believe that OpenOffice version 2.0 is a credible competitor to Microsoft’s Office 2003. As expected Microsoft is not taking this lying down. Next year Microsoft Corp will release a new version of Office. Bill Gates and Company promises this will be the most dramatic upgrade since Office 95. Code named Office 12 the update is a radical change in the users interface and in the look Microsoft has offered for years. Microsoft believes Office 12 will set it apart from the open source competitors like OpenOffice 2.0. A couple of weeks ago, Google increased the intrigue by announcing a partnership with Sun Microsystems. These two mega-companies believe the Internet is all about sharing and OpenOffice is a perfect example of this. Stay turned for this battle between giants.