Subject: Re: implications of GPL'd StarOffice
From: James W. Lindenschmidt (jwl@maine.rr.com)
Date: Sun Jul 23 2000 - 16:26:34 CDT
Interesting perspectives on this topic; I appreciate the honest
conversation.
I do hope that AbiWord finds its market. I enjoy using it for small
projects.
I know that part of the OpenOffice.org effort is to standardize file
formats. Do you think that AbiWord will adopt a file format compatible
with OpenOffice?
It seems like things in LinuxLand are coming to a head; within the next
year several major projects (AbiWord, Mozilla, KDE 2.0, GNOME 2.0,
OpenOffice) will achieve "maturity" and give Linux an opportunity to
really compete on the desktop...regardless of the outcome, it's gonna be
fun to watch.
"Eric W. Sink" wrote:
>
> > I was wondering what, if any, implications there would be for AbiWord
> of
> > Sun's recent decision to GPL StarOffice.
>
> ...
>
> > If they are both
> > GPL'd, why continue with AbiWord?
>
> The GPL release of StarOffice will send AbiWord moving even faster in
> the direction it is already headed.
>
> Over the last several months, little by little, step by step, the
> AbiWord
> project has become far more focused on its developers than on its users.
> Most of the current contributors are deriving a great deal of enjoyment
> from building a word processor. The presence of a GPL word processor
> with far more features does not really change their perspective
> very much.
>
> If you are a developer who really wants the experience of working on
> the construction of a word processor, as part of an Internet-based
> team, then AbiWord is a good place for you to be.
>
> Meanwhile, StarOffice does not appear likely to beat AbiWord at its
> other two principal strengths either:
>
> -- AbiWord has excellent cross-platform support.
>
> -- AbiWord is very lightweight and fast.
>
> However, those advantages are not important to the vast majority of
> regular users.
>
> Clearly, when it comes to simple usability, features, and maturity,
> StarOffice is years ahead of AbiWord.
>
> So I think it very likely that StarOffice will be the appropriate
> Open Source word processor for most users. The AbiWord project,
> in contrast, is likely to become even more focused on the needs
> of certain smaller niches of people. Insofar as it remains
> successful in meeting the needs of the people in those groups,
> the project will continue.
-- James W. Lindenschmidt JWL@maine.rr.com http://JimL.homepage.com
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