OpenOffice Could Soon Become Web-Based Apps

An anonymous reader writes "Via Linuxtoday.com, a message from the OpenOffice Dev mailing list in which a new company is introducing the GravityZoo OpenOffice porting project. The unusually named group aims to bring OpenOffice to the Internet as a series of online apps. 'When OpenOffice.org is GravityZood, it will become a suite of productivity applications that are always available, online, via a broad range of devices. It will be possible to share and collaborate in real-time, to switch from one device (e.g. a PC) to another (Mobile) device. There will also be no need to save data, because everything you produce is saved automatically on the network. There is no need to download, install or update, the latest version is just available and accessible from any GravityZoo enabled client.'"

Slow Down There, Tiger

[AKAImBatman (238306)]

OpenOffice Could Soon Become Web-Based Apps

GravityZoo is NOT, I repeat NOT converting OpenOffice into a webapp. I don't really want to detract from their idea, so I'll try to be succinct. Basically, GravityZoo has a special client that interacts with the application running on the server. The application on the server is always available, and autostores your data in a GravityZoo Object Storage database.

Supposedly, it's an actual conversion of the application to a networked form rather than a simple remote desktop concept. If I were to make a W.A.G. of the Day, I'd say they're probably going to bus the normal IPC communications over the network. Not revolutionary by itself, but possibly nice if they have a good framework.

Re:

[fireboy1919 (257783)]

So...uh...how is this not exactly like X?

More specifically, if I installed a chrooted nxserver [nomachine.com], and then made a series of launch profiles that I handed out that launched openoffice rather than running anything specific, wouldn't that be the same?

Or is this like that, but also tacking on something like UNO/CORBA/SOAP/DCOM?

This topic seems to be one such that it may be worth mentioning jooreports. [sourceforge.net]

If your goal is to do version control on your content while keeping your layout separate this is probably ideal.

Re:

[xtracto (837672)]

Open Office code is famous for being a deformed beast without head or tail. It is by itself as an OS native app slow as a turtle...

Yay, imagine the bloat of OpenOffice and Firefox together in one big horrible web based office suite :P

On the other side, about the "would you use it?" question, I used to say "NO" until 2 months ago when I started planning my brother and mother's trip to the UK and our trip trough Europe. Google Docs is really a useful thing... of course it is more of a Wordpad than a Word repl

Mobile apps suck

[aquaepulse (990849)]

I have an Axim, and its great for a lot of things. Calendar, tasks, note taking, note recording, some light web surfing. But document creation. No. Even using Powerpoint on it is just horrendous. I have no faith that these apps with be nearly as enjoyable across devices that are not desktops.

ick sp!

[Mateo_LeFou (859634)]

These guys seem cool and all, but dude, get a proofreader
"distributing Data, Information and Intelligence. A development that should not be dependent upon the whimp of a few very affluant and powerfull entities."
http://www.gravityzoo.com/developers/openSource.py [gravityzoo.com]

Error 404 ClosedOffice

[LiquidCoooled (634315)]

I like the internet, I use it an awful lot, but for most uses I cannot see needing an Office package to be online.
It will be nice as a compliment though for those very rare occasions.

Re:Error 404 ClosedOffice

[cayenne8 (626475)]

"I like the internet, I use it an awful lot, but for most uses I cannot see needing an Office package to be online."

I'm with you...I'm a bit queasy about keeping any mail I use on Gmail...but, since Katrina forced me on the run awhile back, I've not been able to set down roots and set up my email server again yet.

However, in general, I just don't want a bunch of personal docs out there on a webserver, and I can't imagine a business with any kind of security concience would want to trust a web based office application with their work and possibly trade secrets.

I'm just kind of amazed that there is a market for these web based office applications. I mean, if you've got a computer with you....don't you generally have your document processing software with you too?

It is a proprietary layer on top of OO code

[140Mandak262Jamuna (970587)]

From www.gravityzoo.com: The GravityZoo Framework employs patent pending technology to achieve its goals. It can be divided into three major components, all fulfilling a special and important task:

Re:It is a proprietary layer on top of OO code

[bky1701 (979071)]

Or they just used "patent pending" as a synonym for "good" without even realizing the phrase has a meaning, like so many people these days.

Re:

[tempestdata (457317)]

well said. I guess what they are trying to imply by saying that there is a patent pending on their technology/mechanism (or that it is patented) is that its 'innovative', 'revolutionary' and that they cannot find it elsewhere.

Licensing Unclear

[drinkypoo (153816)]

As per "Open Source [gravityzoo.com]" at the GravityZoo website [gravityzoo.com], [...]"this requires the involvement of a global community of Information Analysts, IT architects and Engineers from both the Open Source and Commercial environment. Open Source because to achieve an egalitarian development of tomorrow's information society requires the free flow of Data Information and Intelligence to those in need. Commercial because certain developments require upfront investments and thus risktaking, a step the Open Source community is not always willing or capable to take. In the latter case the risktaking should be rewarded by limiting the access on a for Pay basis.
It is therefore that The GravityZoo Company from day one decide to implement a Dual Licensing model.
More information about our Open Source projects and activities will be available at this page soon."

Until they clarify their licensing, I refuse to be interested, let alone excited.

There is also so far only a Windows client. They don't even have a beta for other platforms. So I'm not interested in that way, also.

Also: if it requires a special client, it is not (repeat not) a web-based app. I don't fucking care how it's delivered. The web is browsed with a web browser - see how that works?

Why?

[squoozer (730327)]

This has about a much chance of flying as your common or garden stone. Aside from the fact that the article appears to be fundamentally flawed who would really want this functionality? Networks are just too slow for this to really work well. Even dumb terminals have lag and they are generally connected via a high speed network with minimal hops. Factor in the Interweb and this is just another web 2.0 pipe dream. Why is there this obsession with putting everything on the network even when it's not suitable for it?

Business plan

[Animats (122034)]

1. Put open source desktop app on server.
2. Sell as web service.
3. Profit!

Another great Web 2.0 concept.

Some days I think the Web peaked at HTML 3.2.

Nothing new here?

[jonbryce (703250)]

I can't see how this is different to what you can do already with FreeNX, except that FreeNX is available now, and this is vapourware.

Sure this will work

[Seraphim_72 (622457)]

'When OpenOffice.org is GravityZood, it will become a suite of productivity applications that are always available, online, via a broad range of devices.

...and when that fails I hear there is good money to be found in verbing nouns.

Re:

[flyingfsck (986395)]

Verbing nouns weirds English, but in Germanic languages it is quite common.

Re:Sure this will work

[Logic and Reason (952833)]

Come now, he's simply trying to embiggen the language. "GravityZood" is a perfectly cromulent word.

Firefox

[Dan East (318230)]

What I'm looking forward to is a web-based version of Firefox.

Dan East

Re:Firefox

[ralmeida (106461)]

Here you have it: chrome://browser/content/browser.xul [chrome].

Great Idea, Ok not...

[TheNetAvenger (624455)]

Ok, we all kind of understand that there will come a time when bandwidth allows profile concepts to be moved to a universally accessible secure location. But it will have to be a highly secured and trusted service or user created server service. (i.e. A home BSD box or even Windows Home Server for example for home users.)

However, I don't want my personal documents stored on their servers, and I know most business policies will not allow documents to be stored in this manner.

Also, why are they 'reinventing' the wheel with patented technology to do this? There are many known and secure remote app technologies that could be already put into place for something like this.

I'm open to ideas here, but I don't see how this is 'Open' or a good thing...

Architecturally, it's possible.

[IGnatius T Foobar (4328)]

Although the title of this story is a little misleading, I should point out that it is possible for something like a web-based OpenOffice to come into existence.

OpenOffice is built using a retargetable GUI framework -- that's what allows it to work on both Windows and Linux without the need to resort to cheap and sleazy WINE tricks. So, theoretically at least, it's possible to build a front end to OpenOffice that targets the browser as a remote desktop.

Can't do it

[ichthus (72442)]

I just can't use a product associated with the name "GravityZoo." GravityZoo sounds too much like GravityGlue... which sounds too much like CavityGlue... which sounds just a little too close to CavityJew... which reminds me of the dentist (sorry for the anti-Semitism -- I needed this for the joke to work. I love you guys. Shalom!) Anyhoo, so... the dentist. I don't like the dentist, and so, logically, I don't like GravityZoo. QED.

Common data store

[misleb (129952)]

Ok, it seems to me that the single biggest draw for these online desktop-like apps is to have access to your files from anywhere. Assuming that is correct, they why aren't we seeing more traditional apps that are capable of drawing from a common network data store such as Amazone S3? I know Amazon provides an API. Seem like you could extend OpenOffice to talk to S3 (or similar) directly and you'd have your "documents just about anywhere" feature that everyone (on Slashdot) seems to think is so useful. Really, it is such a relatively simple solution considering compared to trying to coerce a web browser into doing things God never meant it to do.

-matthew

I liked this idea better...

[realinvalidname (529939)]

...when it was called ThinkFree Online [thinkfree.com]. Oh wait, we have to hate ThinkFree because it's written in Java. Even though it works well, lets you use your own fonts and printer, opens and saves real MS Office docs, and installs into the JVM cache faster than an MS Office or OpenOffice install.

Oh well, trying to write an Office suite in Ajax has kept people busy for a few years, now they can try to get the native OO.o app working in a browser. Maybe next we can port it to Flash. That'll be fun.

Re:

[drinkypoo (153816)]

Do anyone care? openoffice has about one third of the options of Microsoft Office... No serious user can be satisfied with openoffice.

You appear to be under the mistaken assumption that you are a serious user.

But anyone who would use any part of microsoft office but excel and perhaps outlook is by definition not a serious user.

Powerpoint has support only for crap low resolutions. Word is a pathetic joke in terms of layout and typesetting ability and publisher frankly is not noticeably better. Access? Don