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Neoffice vs OpenOffice

nichos

nichos

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 17, 2004
372
0
Jacksonville, Fl
Hi all. I'm a new Mac user coming from linux, so all my documents are in OpenOffice.org format. What's the difference between neoffice and OpenOffice.org ? It seems that openoffice.org requires X11 to run, why haven't they combined their efforts? They're both GPL'd.

Also, is there anyway I can get the terminal app to use white foreground, black background, like an xterm?

Thanks guys!
nick
 
In short:
NeoOffice runs on Mac OS X's default "Aqua" interface.
OpenOffice requires Mac OS X's X11 X Windows interface.

So, NeoOffice is OpenOffice running on Aqua (ported). So X11 is not needed, and thus more user friendly.

You can customize Terminal.app any way you like.
Just go to Terminal menu, and select "Window settings...". A new window appears, and select Color, where "Shell" has appeared.
 
OpenOffice (using X11) is slow as heck, and uses a non-OS X native GUI so it looks a bit funny.
NeoOffice uses Java, is even SLOWER, but is way easier to set up and start up and looks better without X11 running alongside.
 
nichos said:
Hi all. I'm a new Mac user coming from linux, so all my documents are in OpenOffice.org format. What's the difference between neoffice and OpenOffice.org ? It seems that openoffice.org requires X11 to run, why haven't they combined their efforts? They're both GPL'd.

Also, is there anyway I can get the terminal app to use white foreground, black background, like an xterm?

Thanks guys!
nick
Click to expand...

since you're coming from the land of linux, you might want to check out o'reilly's macdevcenter.com. they've got some 'mac only' stuff there, but there are quite a few articles aimed towards people that have *nix experience.
 
BTW... You are a unique switcher!

Gr8! :cool:
Usually the switchers come from Winbloze.

I'd love to know why you swicthed from Linux to Mac OS X.
 
MacsRgr8 said:
BTW... You are a unique switcher!

Gr8! :cool:
Usually the switchers come from Winbloze.

I'd love to know why you swicthed from Linux to Mac OS X.
Click to expand...

Sorry I haden't replied to you guys sooner - this thread got lost due to keynote, and rightfully so :D Anyway, im not a full blown switcher, but I've given up my dual boot win/linux laptop, and bought an ibook. I still have linux as my home machine, though a dual G5 may be in the future ;) Anyway, I don't have to tell you why I bought an ibook, just play with it! I'm VERY comfortable in the terminal, so it wasn't such a big switch for me. Though I find I do a lot of things in the terminal, when there is a "mac way" of doing it. Thanks for the replies!
PS-dont laugh at this, but a reason to switch TO mac, FROM linux, is GAMES! Yes, us mac users have many games!
 
I just downloaded NeoOffice. Cool! Looks great, and can save in .doc format, too. Best of all, it's completely free!

I'm not sure about speed issues. I'm running it on a dual 2GHz G5, but it seems just as responsive as Office v.X. I haven't tried any complex tasks yet, but for most people it should be perfect.

I'm quite impressed.
 
Yeah, runs quite well on my ibook w/1.25G of ram (once it loads). Been using it for YEARS being a linux user, and most of my docs are in OpenOffice.org format.
 
MacsRgr8 said:
I'd love to know why you swicthed from Linux to Mac OS X.
Click to expand...

I'm one of those too :)

For me it came down to 3 reasons:

1) I wanted a laptop, and was tired of the struggle you get running Linux on a laptop

2) I was tried of constant driver struggles and wanted to be able to check the back of the box to see if my computer was supported

3) Moving to OSX I could see absolutely no loss of functionality -- full unix shell, integrated X server, support by most opensource products

Since then I have also discovered the wonders of a truly "designed" UI. The Apple one is really several notches above anything else out there

P.S. On topic, as long as you have a reasonably fast machine (G4 1Ghz) and at least 512MB RAM, go for NeoOffice/J. It feels so much better than OOo on a Mac, and I have not noticed any speed issues.
 
I haven't had any problems with NeoOffice. With the most recent release it replaced OpenOffice on my computers, and it runs quite well on reasonably recent machines.

Also, NeoOffice is at least being updated, while it appears OpenOffice is not. From the OpenOffice Mac Page:
With lack of a dedicated X11 team, 2.0 doesn't even compile "out of the box" for X11, and Cocoa development has slowed as well. The only current Mac OS X non-X11 development is the NeoOffice/J [neooffice.org] fork of OpenOffice.org 1.1.2, which is all the time I (Ed) have for myself.
Click to expand...
 
From NeoOffice's FAQ:


Why is NeoOffice/J separate from OpenOffice.org?

OpenOffice.org's SISSL license allows companies to create proprietary products using OpenOffice.org. While we have no problem with people making money selling software, the creators of NeoOffice/J felt that the SISSL license would result in several proprietary Mac OS X versions of OpenOffice.org. So, instead, we created a separate open source project that releases code under the GPL to ensure that any improvements to NeoOffice/J made by commercial organizations can be added back to NeoOffice/J where it can benefit everyone and not just the commercial organization that made the improvement.
 
If its mostly "Word" documents then try out AbiWord. AbiWord is aqua and the latest versions are very good. AbiWord (for mac) is also under continous developement!

Someone here mentioned that linux->mac switch was uncommon, but I don't think so.
I know several linux users who has bought portable macs because linux on portables can (sometimes) be more work than fun, especially if you want energy saving, bt, wireless network etc...

-tb
 
I want to second the vote for AbiWord. It's Aqua native now, very quick (on my sisters 933mhz iBook), and can import OOo files, as well as Word, etc. This is assuming you need word processing interoperability... if you need spreadsheet or presentation importing, you may have to use OOo or NeoOffice or convert them to an MS format or somesuch...

I'm a Linux to Mac switcher as well... well, I'm a linux user who was waiting 'till after the Keynote to get a Mac... I too switch for games... seems odd to go to Macs as a gaming machine, but the number of games for Macs vs. Linux is about 1000 times more. I'm also a huge fan of Apples excellent package management... Windows installer system is absolutely aweful, and the complete lack of a good Linux pckage distrobution system has finally driven me mad! I get really tired of having to fiddle around so much just to get a precompiled binary to install!

Gonna pick up a refurb iMac (I would have gone new w/ edu discount if iWork was bundled, but as it's a seperate purchase the refurbs are still a better deal) pretty quick here, but now I may wait another month till my birthday and get the superdrive 17" model instead of the 'base' config...

Rob
 
I am another Linux to Mac switcher. I liked Linux a lot, but I still felt it was not quite "oven ready" particularly on laptops. For example it did not support the power management very well, or the trackpad. There was just a little too much "work" involved in keeping it running well.

For OS X I preferred the Aqua interface (it was always tricky to get fonts to display well on Linux) and the better choice of commercial apps.

Of course since I haven't used Linux in a while, some of its issues may now be addressed.
 
Loge said:
I liked Linux a lot, but I still felt it was not quite "oven ready" particularly on laptops. For example it did not support the power management very well, or the trackpad.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling this is a very common pattern -- Linux users getting an OSX laptop. Linux laptop support is just, well, :(
 
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