BSDmall has announced a new version of an application sure to be of interest to those who are looking for alternatives to the Mac’s traditional Office choices. The company’s Office Applications Version 2.0 for Mac OS X brings new features to the Macintosh implementation of the open source OpenOffice.org project, including features not yet found in the general version.
Office Applications 2.0 includes a new look-and feel, plus support for multiple users and a revised font interface based on Mac OS X’s system fonts. New templates and samples round out the update.
BSDmall has provided an installer that can install either a Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) or Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) version depending on the user’s OS installation. Additional language packs add support for fourteen European languages are also available.
Open source software is developed based on the efforts of a collective of programmers sharing their time and experience for a common goal. OpenOffice.org began as a Unix-based open source effort to provide computing users an alternative to office packages from commercial vendors.
Office Applications 2.0 runs on the Mac OS via X11 support. X11 is a graphical interface for Unix applications, and must be installed to use Office Applications 2.0. Apple’s implementation of X11 is free and can be downloaded directly from Apple’s Web site. Although pre-release versions of X11 worked on Jaguar, Apple’s final X11 release is for Panther, specifically.
The open-sourced office tool includes GIMP, a Unix program for high-end digital imaging work. Office Applications 2.0 is normally priced at $49.95, but is available for download from BSDmall for $39.95. The company announced that the software will also be available at Fry’s Electronics, and Micro-Center stores.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Office Applications 2.0 will go back to the open source community through project funding, developer salaries, and promotional work.