OpenOffice.org Finds Home at the Apache Foundation
OpenOffice.org it is now an Apache Incubator proposal, and IBM has officially committed to contribute to the project, thanks to Oracle’s donation of the Openoffice.org code base to Apache.
In the closing remarks of the last blog entry around this topic I threw the idea of using an existing foundation, and I am glad to see that this eventually became a reality. I have been already writing about Incubation at Apache before, you can learn more about it directly at the Apache Software Foundation blog.
Let’s try now to better understand what OOo at Apache means for everyone.
Users. OpenOffice.org development was dropped by Oracle, and many users were wondering about its future. The decision of IBM to contribute staff resources to collaborate with the Apache community is associated with the perception of less future risk.
Developers. Under the Apache umbrella is plenty of projects that could work together on joint efforts, as it is already under investigation in Apache mailing-lists. Apache POI (coverage), Tika or even other projects – actually not under Apache but released with an Apache license – like ODT Toolkit can explore the potential for synergy.
OpenOffice.org derivatives. The large ecosystem of OpenOffice.org derivatives can benefit from the continued development under the Apache umbrella, the success of the incubation process would help them all given the permissiveness of the license.
OpenOffice.org moving to Apache seems a good news for all stakeholders to me. Of course as usual code is the only things that matter, and all you need to do is just to wait and see, or if you like you can join and participate.
Best whishes and kudos to Rob Weir and everyone else involved with this important transformation.
Update. Read Rob Weir’s “OpenOffice, LibreOffice and the Scarcity Fallacy” to learn more about why OpenOffice.org at Apache is a non zero sum game.
Stefano Maffulli 6:28 pm on June 3, 2011 Permalink
I agree with you Roberto. OpenOffice.org and its fork LibreOffice are the best productivity suite for GNU/Linux systems, but they’re far away from being the best productivity suite out there and lots needs to be done to create the ecosystem around the ODF format.
There is a need of radical innovation in the field and I don’t think that The Document Foundation can do it alone with the resources it has, as I wrote on my blog.
Open Source Software for Windows 5:43 pm on June 4, 2011 Permalink
Interesting, good to hear that open office is getting trashed due to previous developments… definitely saved my butt during college when MS Office was way to expensive.
Links 5/6/2011: More GNU/Linux Preinstalls, New Stable Linux Kernel | Techrights 6:06 pm on June 5, 2011 Permalink
[…] OpenOffice.org Finds Home at the Apache Foundation OpenOffice.org derivatives. The large ecosystem of OpenOffice.org derivatives can benefit from the continued development under the Apache umbrella, the success of the incubation process would help them all given the permissiveness of the license. […]
Paula Hunter 4:09 pm on June 6, 2011 Permalink
Agreed that the best place for a project of this type is out of the hands of a commercial entity and in a place which represents a neutral zone for innovation, where everyone benefits and control of the project is diffused. Apache was a great choice.