Comments on: AbiWord & Gnumeric To Replace OpenOffice in Ubuntu Netbook Edition

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 13:51:00 +0000

I have installed AbiWord on my new desktop and wish to be informed how to install Thesaurus.
Thank you
Barrett Manning
barrettmanning@btinternet.com

By: L4Linux

L4Linux — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:09:00 +0000

Why Tomboy instead of Gnote??
Mono Apps take more space on the installation medium (and more resources when running).
Isn’t the idea to make UNE fit into a CD…?

By: daas88

daas88 — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:55:00 +0000

what about openoffice presentations? is there any lightweight and easy to use replacement out there?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:20:00 +0000

I am quite happy that they listen to the fan base!

Anyway, I already have Abiword and Gnumeric on my UNR, and they work fine, very responsive. I can always transfer back to my main machine with Dropbox / Ubuntu One to format.
My netbook is for when I am on the go, and limitred formating is the only thing I need. I am aware other have needs as well. Googledocs needs to be always connected, that is it’s flaw

As for Tomboy, the sync function has changed everything, and now I think that it is essential to have it on the netbook.

The good thing is whatever the developers decide to package on Ubuntu Netbook Edition, one can always add ones favourite programmes with the software center / synaptic if they are not included

By: FabriceV

FabriceV — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:11:00 +0000

Previous comments have pointed out some of the Abiword’s problems (Gnumeric is far from perfect too, but comparatively better). One more :
You can personalize OpenOffice toolbars to fit netbook screen (you can even use it vertically). But with Abiword, none possibility to adapt to small screen. Abiword is just a prehistoric software that has no direction (it is not for beginners, not for technical – scientific writing, and too weak to be of general interest).
OpenOffice is far from perfect too, but at least it does honestly its job, is able to adapt to different usage, and is multi-platform.

By: Jesu Castro

Jesu Castro — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:15:00 +0000

What about presentations? How do I make them without Impress?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:31:00 +0000

I tend to agree with Mark & Anirudh. I use OO extensively on my Tosh NB200 which runs fine. All your going to do is add more confusion for people considering taking up Ubuntu UNR or now UNE + what are they going to use to open powerpoint files? New users wonâ€™t be bothered to find out what software to use to open these files. They will instead think this is to hard & go back to M$.
I believe the better option which Ubuntu users have always had is to give users the option of removing the OO software & installing Abiword / Gnumeric if they wish.
Remember you have keep the MAJORITY of people happy not the minority.
That my 2 bobs worth.

By: Mohan

Mohan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:40:00 +0000

I think this is a better decision, it’s lighter and doesn’t take up much space.

By: Ryan Peters

Ryan Peters — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:30:00 +0000

They should use Gnote instead of Tomboy ;)

By: Symod J. Urich

Symod J. Urich — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:54:00 +0000

Thumbs up. Also, plus one for adding Tomboy, it’s a must-have, and I don’t really see why not to include it, besides the mono crap.

By: Mister Ro

Mister Ro — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:45:00 +0000

Call me a stick-in-the-mud, but I just don’t see it.

Okay, I grant you these are lightweight apps compared with OpenOffice, but how many people have netbooks that really can’t handle OO?

But it’s more than that; it represents a serious break between the desktop and netbook versions of Ubuntu. We’re installing, supposedly, the same operating system but the packaged apps differ? Not just “some of the apps in the desktop version have been removed”, which is usually going to be the case, but “you now get different apps depending on which machine you’re looking at”!

If the decision is to drop OO, fine, but why put – and I’m sorry for any fans but it is nonetheless true – also-ran substitutes in place? Keep the install small and fast: just put a folder full of shortcuts to install the various different options, and put the information before the users as to why they might prefer to install, say, AbiWord rather than the more standard OO.

*sigh*

By: Borsook

Borsook — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:39:00 +0000

Actually it is nothing new. Those two apps – Abiword and Gnumeric have always been a part of Xubuntu. And they do their job really well.

By: Concerned UNR user

Concerned UNR user — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:08:00 +0000

God, not including Tomboy makes no sense. It’s probably the program besides X-Chat and my browser that I use the most on my netbook.

By: Daniel Wiberg

Daniel Wiberg — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:25:00 +0000

How good does Abiword and Gnumeric work with MS Office files?

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:19:00 +0000

Its good to see they listen to user feedback, though why they ever proposed their original plans I don’t know. Maybe once Chrome OS has changed the OS field then they can consider going online only, but until then, people want and expect offline, real installed software.

By: Anirudh

Anirudh — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:11:00 +0000

This will be absolutely terrible to switch from OpenOffice.org to Abiword/Gnumeric, people are just getting used to OpenOffice.org!

Think of the branding: “So where’s Microsoft Word? Well it’s OpenOffice.org in Ubuntu, KOffice in Kubuntu, Abiword/Gnumeric in Xubuntu and Ubuntu Netbook Edition”. Hmm, that’s not confusing at all.

Not to mention that they are completely different programs and have different compatibilities and features. This is a terrible step in the wrong direction. Ubuntu needs more uniformity rather than chaos.

By: Mark Hepworth

Mark Hepworth — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:59:00 +0000

I think it’s a bit misguided. I use ooo heavily on my netbook, not least because I’m often off-line while using it. Yes, it’s slightly heavy for the average netbook (mines an aspire one with 512Mb RAM), but the trick with netbooks is to remember it won’t respond like a desktop. Also, this years standard 10-11″ netbooks with 1gb ram can handle it much better.
I’ve given ABiword a quick try, but the first thing it did was to mess up the formatting on an imported word document that ooo handles perfected, so I’m not too impressed. I’ll give it another go though.
Yes, people can install what they want instead, but first impressions are important for converting people to FOSS, and an office suite that MSoffice users feel comfortable with is an important link for that.
Glad to hear of the return of tomboy…its UO sync feature is such an obvious fit with netbook usage that I’m amazed it was considered for removal.

By: Peterson EspaÃ§oporto

Peterson EspaÃ§oporto — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:44:00 +0000

Hmm good! They’ve come to their senses! =D

Yet I don’t what we’re going to do with presentations and the like, even if they are becoming more of a rarity..

By: Michael Martin-Smucker

Michael Martin-Smucker — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:03:00 +0000

Definitely some good decisions there. I already use Abiword and Gnumeric with my old (like, ancient) laptop, and I was thoroughly impressed with both of those programs. OO.o is definitely overkill for a netbook.

I’m also glad Tomboy is being reconsidered. Why would a simple note-taking program be less useful on a netbook? Now that it syncs notes over the internet, I would consider it an essential app for those who want to stay connected on the go. Then again, I don’t have a netbook, so what do I know?

By: Darren Tod

Darren Tod — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:50:00 +0000

Good move IMO :)

Never tried G-Docs offline tho, Gears isn’t compatible with Chrome for Linux :/