Press Release: OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 for Mac OS X (X11)

June 2004 – OpenOffice.org 1.1.2, the leading free productivity suite, is now available for all Mac OS X users. Optimized for the X11 windowing system, the release can be downloaded from the OpenOffice.org Project website, //. OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 supersedes and replaces earlier versions of the application and is recommended for all Mac OS X users seeking a free alternative. This release has attained a maturity that enables it to be used as the default productivity suite by individuals and organizations alike.

Not only is the release significantly faster and more robust than early versions, and available in numerous languages, but fonts are smooth, and overall integration into the Mac OS X desktop has been enhanced. For instance, there is clipboard functionality and, through a helper application, OpenOffice.org documents can be opened in OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 the usual Mac way, by double clicking on them. For a full description of the features of OpenOffice.org, see //dev_docs/features/1.1/.

Perhaps most important for regular users, OpenOffice.org, regardless of platform, can open and save as Microsoft Office documents, allowing for heterogeneous office environments (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris), and runs stably and natively on a host of platforms and in over 30 supported languages. Users never need to worry again about capricious proprietary file formats and costly applications.

But this is just a start. OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 for Mac OS X (X11) uses the X11 windowing system and not Aqua, the default desktop on all modern Macintoshes. We need developers to help the Mac OS X porting team take OpenOffice.org to Aqua. With more developers, especially those skilled in C++ and Cocoa, it may be ready by next year. If you are interested, and can contribute in any way, please visit the Mac Porting page, http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/ .

The OpenOffice.org community would like to thank the Apple Developer Connection for their gracious assistance and ZeroG (http://www.ZeroG.com), whose installer this release uses.

The suite and its source code can be downloaded from http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/ or obtained from one of the CD-ROM distributors listed at http://distribution.openoffice.org/cdrom/.

Free end user support for OpenOffice.org is provided by the community through FAQ, mailing lists, and forums. For more information on support services for the Mac OS X port, please visit http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/support.html.

OpenOffice.org is both a open-source project and product. It is free. As one of the leading open-source projects, OpenOffice.org combines the worldwide efforts of developers and endusers to produce a complete office productivity suite that runs on all major platforms and in over 30 supported languages while being compatible with Microsoft Office.

Ed Peterlin, Mac Port developer: openstep@openoffice.org

Kevin Hendricks, Porting Project Co-Lead: khendricks@openoffice.org

Louis Suárez-Potts, Community Manager: louis@openoffice.org