Open Office 3.0 released, adds support for Mac OS X

The office productivity suite that is now owned by Sun Microsystems has in recent times been accused of stagnation. This latest release sees compatibility for Microsoft Word 2007 documents (.docx) added. As it is Open Office, supported and loved by many open source enthusiasts around the world, might finally be able to compete head on with Microsoft Office.

Already favoured by many due to its next to nothing price. That is to say you still have to take out the time to download it and as we all know time is money. This latest release sees support added for OS X users, which will mean that they can stop using hacks and compatibility software to run it.

Unlike Microsoft Office 2007 that went for a completely new look that some users find tedious, Open Office has stuck with its interface and re-designed it to make it smoother and better looking. Most users will find it reminiscent of Microsoft Office 2000. Another feature of Open Office is that it uses the Open Document Format (.odf) which is now supported by Google Docs and many other such sites and programs like the Lotus suite, etc. Although not the biggest change available, the improved spell-checker will please many.

Lastly, be it noted that Open Office 3 looks to be the only serious threat to the Microsoft Office suite. Business users in particular would be more likely to move to Open Office because it is completely free. The zero cost factor would not go down badly with home users either.