Ushering in a great alternative to vendor lock-in around specific office software, OpenOffice 2.0 has hit the download servers. The office suite sports a new interface, a database engine (with a Java-based SQL engine for portability... this sounds like a very interesting aspect of the release) and the much-anticipated OpenDocument file format. OpenDocument is an XML file format standard that is free to use and is designed for easy developer comprehension, in order to promote the development of many tools around it.
From OpenOffice.org: "With a new user interface, OpenOffice.org 2.0 is easy to learn and use by the most inexperienced user, and is significantly more compatible with Microsoft Office files than prior versions. Supported by dozens of professional companies, OpenOffice.org 2.0 will be available in more than 60 languages. Able to run on Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, Sun Solaris and other platforms, OpenOffice.org is increasingly the choice of businesses and governments throughout the world, and earlier versions have been downloaded over 49 million times since the project's inception."
Visit the OpenOffice website for the free download and for more details on this exciting project. I've pointed many friends to earlier versions, as an answer to their complaints about the cost of other office software, and I'm looking forward to testing this out for recommendations as well.
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