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New Firefox and OpenOffice |
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15 July 2008 |
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I should guess the recent release of Firefox 3 and the upcoming release of OpenOffice.org 3 (I still wonder why the name of the software should have .org attached to it) will give a new boost to Free Software, especially GNU/Linux. Firefox is already the best browser feature-wise. With the large number of useful and interesting addons, no other browser can really compete with it. But then, there are people who have been using some other browser for a number of years who do not want to change for any reason. Well, that is their problem.
The beta version of OpenOffice 3 is available for testing, and it seems to have a number of new features. Since I am not familiar with any recent version of M$ Office (since Office 98 I think), I am not in a position to compare the two. But the improvements over version two of either application is great, and we know that version 3 did not take much time after version 2 came out. This is considerably faster than the rate at which M$ brings out its software. Consequently, I am sure Free Software applications will soon surpass proprietary software in quality, if they already have not. I am not saying this as the main reason for using Free Software. On the other hand, I am pointing this out since there are people who have been citing lack of features as the reason for not migrating to FS. I am sure very soon such people will not be able to use that as a reason for not migrating. Moreover, remember that people used to say that Free Software, developed by amateurs during their spare time, cannot be good? This is a validation of a community based production model of creative works. And this can be emulated in other spheres of creativity including music, literature and videos. May the era of creative freedom bloom!
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