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cgc · Sep 18, 2007, 10:07 PM

I was surprised to see a press release from IBM announcing the release of Lotus Symphony for Windows and Linux with a Mac version in the works.

The IBM link with downloads is here.

I think the more rivals Microsoft has (e.g. IBM, OpenOffice, Google Apps, etc.) the better of cheaper Office will be. Plus, I like free stuff.

MacosNerd · Sep 18, 2007, 10:15 PM

They're dusting off the old suite. I wonder why they thing they can give M$ a run for the money now when they failed after buying Lotus.

Symphony is their old suite which included lotus 123, which has been renamed.

More power to them, its nice to get more competition.

mitchell_pgh · Sep 19, 2007, 12:00 AM

I feel they should have created a "software alliance" with Apple, Google, Netscape/AOL, Dell, Gateway, Adobe, FireFox, etc. etc. and have offered it as a free alternative to Microsoft office. Fully open source... available on Windows, Mac, Linux...

I think the name IBM doesn't hold as much weight as it once did at the consumer level. If it was an alliance, who knows.

Big Mac · Sep 19, 2007, 01:53 AM

Interesting point mitchell. Perhaps we'll see things go in that direction in the future.

PaperNotes · Sep 19, 2007, 03:20 AM

The chances of Apple and Adobe giving away an office suite for free are "zero". There's no reason why companies should be blackmailed by unproductive people to produce free software. That's all we're seeing here. Just nerds who want free software (and don't use it) who make a lot of noise on the net about big companies. The same nerds who download 3D Studio Max from torrent sites because it's cool to have it installed not because they know how to use it.

The media latches on to all the noise the nerds make and think it comes from a legit need for free software. Some companies then release free crapware to get media attention for their commercial products. That's what IBM has done this week.

mitchell_pgh · Sep 19, 2007, 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by PaperNotes

The chances of Apple and Adobe giving away an office suite for free are "zero". There's no reason why companies should be blackmailed by unproductive people to produce free software. That's all we're seeing here. Just nerds who want free software (and don't use it) who make a lot of noise on the net about big companies. The same nerds who download 3D Studio Max from torrent sites because it's cool to have it installed not because they know how to use it.

The media latches on to all the noise the nerds make and think it comes from a legit need for free software. Some companies then release free crapware to get media attention for their commercial products. That's what IBM has done this week.

I don't agree.

Microsoft has artificially inflated the price of Office to the point where it's nearly half the price of a laptop. It's 2007... A word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program and email client shouldn't cost $400+

Also, you call it "crapware" which isn't really fair. The problem is, there are too many people competing against one another for the low end. If an alliance would form and support an open source platform that's properly funded, it really could hurt Microsoft. I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Firefox is a perfect example of a solid product that competes against a Microsoft product. Granted, it's a free product that competes against another free product, but still.

Shades of Gray · Sep 19, 2007, 02:54 PM

Actually, I don't think it is the old Lotus Suite at all. It is based on OpenOffice and the name has come over to this new suite.

And it is free.

TheoCryst · Sep 19, 2007, 02:58 PM

As much as IBM doesn't hold much weight with consumers, it still has plenty to throw around in big business, which appears to be the market to which the new Symphony is being marketed. The fact that it's by Big Blue should be enough to give it more of a fighting chance than OpenOffice ever had. If this works out for them, Microsoft's gonna find themselves fighting a three-front war: Apple at home, IBM in the corporate realm, and Google on the Internet.

Assuming, of course, that it isn't a bloated piece of crap.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Shades of Gray

Actually, I don't think it is the old Lotus Suite at all. It is based on OpenOffice and the name has come over to this new suite.

Correct: it's the OpenOffice backend with the Eclipse UI. A spiritual successor, rather than a direct one.

And it is free.

Even better: the software is free, and customers have the option to pay for IBM's tech support. Which is nice, because IT guys tend to be terrified of anything free - "If it's so good, why aren't they making money off it?"

PaperNotes · Sep 19, 2007, 06:40 PM

Microsoft has artificially inflated the price of Office to the point where it's nearly half the price of a laptop. It's 2007... A word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program and email client shouldn't cost $400+

When it comes with laptops it's very cheap for manufacturers who buy volume licenses. There's very little cost passed on to customers compared to retail prices.

If an alliance would form and support an open source platform that's properly funded, it really could hurt Microsoft.

Open Source would hurt them too. What do you think would happen to iWork sales or Google trying to make money off ads via their online office suite?

Firefox is a perfect example of a solid product that competes against a Microsoft product. Granted, it's a free product that competes against another free product, but still.

Now imagine if MS didn't give IE away for free. IE pushed browsers to be better and free. Before that we had Netscape. A crashy piece of crap that needed you to download many plugins that conflicted with each other and the browser cost $30 a pop. Firefox is what it is because of MS.