OpenOffice vs LibreOffice: Which is Closer to MS Office?

The age-old debate between OpenOffice and LibreOffice has been a topic of discussion among office software enthusiasts for years. Both suites have their strengths and weaknesses, but which one is closer to Microsoft Office? Let's dive into the details.

OpenOffice was born when Sun Microsystems bought Star Office, a failed German program, and made it open source. The programming was largely done by Sun staff, with open-source contributors forced to give Sun rights to use their code in its commercial version of Star Office. This lack of community involvement limited OpenOffice's growth and development.

On the other hand, LibreOffice emerged when most of the open-source developers defected from OpenOffice due to dissatisfaction with Sun's stewardship. Backed by companies like Novell, Red Hat, and Canonical, these developers forked the code to create LibreOffice. This move allowed LibreOffice to develop a strong community support system, attracting many more programmers and users.

So, what sets LibreOffice apart from OpenOffice? For starters, LibreOffice has a better marketing strategy, which has helped it gain more visibility and popularity. Additionally, its choice of open-source licenses gives it an advantage over OpenOffice, providing greater flexibility and freedom for developers to contribute to the project.

In terms of community support, LibreOffice is lightyears ahead of OpenOffice. With many more programmers and a stronger focus on meeting customers' needs, LibreOffice has been able to develop faster and distribute its software more effectively. Its slicker website and improved user interface have also made it more appealing to users.

Given these advantages, there are three reasons why I believe LibreOffice will eventually emerge as the winner in this battle. First, LibreOffice's community support is unmatched, with a larger pool of developers contributing to the project. Second, its marketing strategy is more effective, allowing it to reach a wider audience. And third, its choice of open-source licenses provides greater flexibility and freedom for developers.

While OpenOffice still has its strengths, LibreOffice's advantages in community support, marketing, and licensing make it the clear winner when compared to MS Office. If you're looking for an office suite that closely mirrors Microsoft Office, I would recommend giving LibreOffice a try.

Openoffice vs libreoffice which is closer to ms office