Duck, Microsoft: Firefox Is Coming To Retail Stores (Linux offering OpenOffice & Firefox together)

TechWeb ^ | November 22, 2004 | TechWeb.com

[Eagle9]

Linux operating-system producer Linspire Inc. has found another way to challenge Microsoft: it's offering its OpenOffice.org product suite and the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox browser in a single package in retail channels.

Linspire, formerly called Lindows, positions its OOoFf package to directly compete with Microsoft Office. The OpenOffice.org product enables users to create spreadsheets, presentations, and documents using files in popular formats, including .doc, .xls and .ppt. The Linspire product also enables users to utilize the PDF format.

"Our goal with OOoFf is to help get OpenOffice.org and Firefox into every possible distribution channel," said Linspire CEO Michael Robertson in a statement Monday. "As users grow comfortable with these high-quality open-source products, it makes the migration to desktop Linux a much more practical transition."

The combo OOoFf consists of an installation CD-ROM, documentation materials, and Flash tutorials. The software is compatible with Windows 98 and higher and Mac OS X 10.2 and higher.

Firefox has been downloaded by more than 10 million users, and the browser has taken some market share from Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The Linspire Linux-based operating system has been designed for desktop and laptop computers, and the firm said the new Firefox- OOoFf package should help spur the growth of its Linux operating system.

[stylin_geek]

Shoot, the amount of time I spend at a Windows command prompt on our Windows network can rival what I used to do when I was building and installing SCO Unix servers. And, notice how important it is the KDE environment mimic Windows.

All that aside, I like point and click, but more than a few times, when doing "nuts and bolts" work on our Windows network, I work on the command line. Basically, I'm comfortable with both, and do whichever will best suit what I'm trying to accomplish.

[ken21]

sorry, i abbreviated 2 much.

it's an amd64.

my first venture away from intel.

[N3WBI3]

OpenOffice + Firefox ?= Office XP + IE? not even close. Linux packages do not do what Office XP+IE can do.

How exactly is it 'not even close'. Please quantify your statement about the lack of technical merits of OO vs Office, and of IE vs FireFox..

You can do so much with Office XP+IE, OpenOffice+Firefox is a joke. Office OCX/OLE automation with IE, SharePoint,InfoPath, ect... GreatPlains, ect.. I can go on and on.

Uh huh, and many people run great plains at home? Actually we have great plains for time keeping, and contract work at my shop... do you know what browser I use to put my time in every week?? Ill give you a guess.

Most today's browser applications are built around OCX/IE technologies, just simply switching to Firefox is irresponsible and downright idiotic.

Huh? Source? We do all our development in Java. Weblogic and WebShpere are two of the biggest Web Application servers around they serve Java, not .NET. I have also had not trouble running 99% of .NET pages in Firefox

Will this get any traction? thats hard to say, I hope so because consumer choice is a good thing but I doubt it will. Is OOFf vastly inferior to OfficeIe? not even close to true.

[N3WBI3]

Its your browser settings

[N3WBI3]

For the last time, this software has nothing to do with Linux OO and FireFox run native on Windows. We are moving away from ie because its a nightmare for our helpdesk and L1 Support to deal with all the crap it causes.

We are starting to move our developers off of windows boxes onto *nix (as they wish it) because our big servers they are coding for happen to be *nix..

[N3WBI3]

I have never had a popub with FireFox..

[Chemist_Geek]

Problem is, I have no idea how file management works, where things are located, how to install programs, what to do when something goes wrong, etc., etc. I need a tutor; just don't have the energy to take on another OS at this point.

Don't expect any sympathy from the Linux community. In my experience, Linux gurus seem to think that anyone who doesn't just instinctively know how to administer it, is a luser worthy only of abuse, scorn and derision.

[N3WBI3]

Please post some of the sites that dont work for you, I tried the only one you mentioned at it worked fine..

[N3WBI3]

More like using a beater to learn standard on rather than going scrapping your new car without learning..

[Petronski]

you can't cause plain with nothing to something.
[snip]
Else, everybody be using Microsoft Works.

Do you speak English?

[Knitebane]

File Management:
Click on K-Menu -> System -> File Manager

Use GUI file manager the same way you would under any other operating system.

Install programs:
Click on K-Menu -> System -> Synaptic (Package Manager)

Select the program you want and click "Install"

Linux tutorial:
Click on Firefox icon. Type in http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/

Switching to Linux isn't seamless. There are significant differences between Linux and Windows. But then there were significant differences between Win9x and WinNT/2K/XP and people seemed to get over them.

And rather than dealing with popups, viruses, worms, broken patches, crashes and expensive software you can get right to work.

The only people that get scorn, derision and abuse are those that refuse to learn or consistently spread lies and FUD.

[N3WBI3]

IMO, Linux would do very well to set up local user/advocacy clubs to offer a leg up to newcomers.

Linux has mroe than 300 Local User Groups In the united states, ive never been to one myself but have head good things about them..

[Petronski]

the fact that I never heard of those names proves that no body uses them.

LOL

[DaiHuy]

Firefox is ok, but Opera is da bomb

[DaiHuy]

"Corel Linux is gone"

Actually Corel Linux is now known as Xandros. Great program, comes with a built in utility that makes programs load as easily as Windows, and lets you use windows programs.

[N3WBI3]

This is a typical responce from Linux users to people with a question Please show me the post calling this person a luser and deals them out abuse...

[Paridel]

What if you have 1000 jpegs you want to convert into gifs? In windows, you would be clicking 5000 times.

No. Just because *you* would be clicking 5000 times doesn't mean you have to.

1. There are a lot of image programs with batch modes, and you can throw in other options while you are at it (color correction, etc)
2. You could do it pretty trivially with a batch file.
3. You could write a little Perl script (with Image::Magick or similar). - My preferred method cause the result works (if you are careful) with Linux & Windows.

-paridel

[Paridel]

Sometimes the command line is a much more powerful tool than the GUI.

Sure, but what does that have to do with Windows/Linux debate? You could have written that in Perl instead of bash shell commands, grep, awk, and sed. (can also get bash/awk/sed/grep for windows, but Perl would probably be easier to maintain and cross platform). Doesn't have to have a GUI to run in Windows and doesn't have to use a CLI to be Linux.

-paridel

[Paridel]

I don't use Opera myself, but I have friends that swear by it. It does have some nifty functionality that is pretty unique and not (to my knowledge) available elsewhere, for example mouse gestures to change web sites.

-paridel

[Space Wrangler]

by the way, Firefox doesn't not effectively block pop ups. Just go to drudgereport.com. you will get popups.

Nope. Firefox not only blocks pop-ups in 99.9% of the instances that a pop-up is attempted (I have actually had TWO pop-ups since I switched to Firefox), it saves you from dozens ofinstances of spyware per internet surfing session. A friend and I did an experement about 3 mos ago where we took two systems, installed a fresh version of Windows XP (Scv Pk 1) and installed no programs on either, except for Firefox. We then launched IE on one system, and Firefox on the other, and started surfing. We went to exactly the same sites, and spent as close to the same amount of time on each site as we could. Our next move was to install Lavasoft AdAware, and Spybot. After running both programs, AdAware found 8 tracking cookies on the Firefox system (easily removed), but the IE machine was laden with over 38 instances of Spyware, as well as TWICE the number of tracking cookies that Firefox picked up. IE sucks, and won't be launched on any system I own ever again, except for the occasional ActiveX app that I MUST run. I removed all references of IE on all the workstations on my work network, as well as my three systems at home.