openoffice bashing [was Re: How long will 64bit Ubuntu users have to wait?]

[t u]

Scott James Remnant wrote:
> On Fri, 2006-09-29 at 16:59 -0700, Matt Zimmerman wrote:
> 
>> On Wed, Sep 27, 2006 at 10:41:46PM +0100, Scott James Remnant wrote:
>>> On Wed, 2006-09-27 at 14:04 -0700, Scott wrote:
>>>
>>>> What do you do when you encounter a situation where there are only
>>>> 32-bit apps available?
>>>>
>>> I've not encountered this situation ... all the apps I use have source
>>> code available.
>> *cough* *cough* *OpenOffice.org*
>>
> I believe I've mentioned before, often when arguing that we shouldn't
> ship it, that OpenOffice.org is a steaming pile of crud that I never
> touch -- and only install because ubuntu-desktop says I should.
> 
> I tend to use gnumeric and abiword, they're just so much faster and
> easier to use, it's silly

you are overly and needlessly critical over a piece of software that
made a huge contribution to my (and to many others') decision to switch
to linux. Maybe you won't believe, but I was googling for "free office
suite" (MS Office too expensive) when I found it, learned it worked in
linux, tried in windows, and made the switch.

it might be buggy and all (and slow), but it's the best alternative we
have for MS Office. It's the best in its class in terms of MS Office
compatibility (and yes, it is needed). It's the only software I can tell
about with confidence to those who say "but I need something like MS
Office".

If I were a programmer, I'd try to *fix* it instead of insulting its
developers. even if fixing it would involve rewriting the code.

I always thought distro people have a responsibility to code writers
(such as suggesting them patches, fixes, creative ideas, and so on),
even though my observations at launchpad.net showed me that that isn't
perceived to be the case very often. without those coders = no distro.
no distro = no ubuntu-devel.

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