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Originally Posted by Lt Major Burns  i Hate neo Office/J. if i wanted to run linux, i would. i am not a fan of open source end-user software. |
I wouldn't go so far as to avoid all open source end user software. There are some examples of open source
end-user software that is simply amazing.
The best example I can think off is Adium. This is an open source project, that makes full use of libgaim as its backend, which as some will know comes from a popular IM client on Linux (which is now ported over to various platforms). The approach the Adium team have taken is one that has to be applauded. Why? What makes Adium different from a project like OpenOffice?
Instead of trying to port an alien looking behemoth over to the Mac, they took the parts that were portable (i.e. the internals), and fashioned an interface to the app that is fitting for the Mac. As a result, Adium looks native, feels native, integrates bloody well into the OS, and still have a cross platform core. Other applications that provide a nice Mac interface, but are cross platform internally include TexShop, BibDesk and Skype.
IMHO, NeoOffice would be an interesting project if they completely did away with the OpenOffice UI, which frankly looks alien to the Mac. In its place, they should fashion an application that looks like it belongs on the Mac, integrates well with the Mac, and makes full use of the fact that it is running on the Mac. We don't need an application that tries to behave like a $YOUR_FAV_OS app on the Mac. We'd use $YOUR_FAV_OS for that....