OpenOffice 2.0 and Java

[Henrik Nilsen Omma]

Mark Shuttleworth wrote:

>
> I wonder if we shouldn't put together an open letter to the 
> OpenOffice.org team, asking them to work a Free java option into their 
> build process so that they at least preserve the ability of people to 
> use upstream OO.o without putting non-free software on their systems. 

I think we should, yes. Here is a possible start:

--------- v0.01:

Dear Sun and OpenOffice.org,

First we would like to thank Sun Microsystems for making OpenOffice.org 
available as open source and the whole OpenOffice.org team for producing 
such an excellent office suite. It is both a flagship and a cornerstone 
of the Free and Open Source world and its importance in winning the 
world's computer users over to the free desktop will be immeasurable.

As you know, the real strength of Open Source comes from the community, 
in the form of volunteer developers, bug-reports, ideas and grass-roots 
marketing. We are all pleased with the enormous success Firefox had in 
the mainstream media with its 1.0 launch and we look forward to an even 
bigger splash with the release of OpenOffice.org 2.0. Thousands of 
individuals and organizations around the world will no doubt spread the 
word of this excellent and free alternative office suite. Such honest 
and enthusiastic recommendations by a growing community of satisfied 
users and developers are priceless and will eventually win out over even 
the most well-funded marketing campaigns for proprietary solutions that 
seek to lock in users.

It is precisely because OpenOffice.org is such and important project 
that we view the current developments within the OpenOffice.org 2.0 
code-base with grave concern. The dependence on a  proprietary Java will 
make it difficult for many of us to distribute and recommend OpenOffice 
to our user base ... etc, etc.


----------


- Henrik