Re: [libreoffice-users] Has it all except ... #2

Hello Mark,

On 15/03/11 08:14, Mark Stanton wrote:
> [...]
>
> I'm trying to shift away from Windoze and VA is one of my few remaining apps there, so moving it to 
> include
> other platforms would be a big plus from my pov.
>
> [...]
>
> Point taken about Thunderbird and the need, or not, of having a mail
> facility integrated into LO.  My starting point here was the LO/OO claim
> to match M$. Clearly neither of them do since there is no mail package
> included. This is, I suspect one of those points that is a real
> stumbling block for takeup by businesses since many make extensive use of
> Outlook. It's not hard (in relative terms) to produce an email app
> better than Outlook, it's pretty appalling, and in fact it's
> "integration" into M$Office is fairly limited as far as I can see.
> However, LO/OO do not have a related email facility..

I think you would get further if you thought of it not as shifting away 
from Microsoft to LibreOffice, but from Microsoft to F/LOSS software.

I understand what you mean. Although I don't agree that LibreOffice 
claims to "match M$" (which wouldn't even make any sense), it certainly 
does claim to be an alternative to Microsoft's Office suite.

The problem is that MS and the open source world approach things from 
diametrically opposed starting points. MS, being a huge corporation and 
justifiably always wanting to sell more and capture new markets, thinks, 
"LET'S DO EVERYTHING!", and as you said yourself, doesn't do a great job 
at some of the component parts of 'everything'.

Meanwhile in F/LOSS land, small communities and passionate individuals 
think, "Let's do One thing, and do it Well, and make it Interoperable 
with other things".

The bottom line is that, given that there are already mature alternative 
F/LOSS email managers, I would put money on the assertion that 
LibreOffice will /Never/ include an MS-Outlookalike :-) Quote me on that!

But that does create an issue for people in your position, who are used 
to a simple life, where there is the One True Solution ;-) So perhaps 
what we /Should/ do is work on our cross-marketing. "Use the LibreOffice 
document creation suite along with the Thunderbird email manager", and 
vice versa.

-- Ryan

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