1
Business Day
To Expand Offshore Power, Japan Builds Floating Windmills
The project’s backers say that offshore windmills could be a breakthrough for this energy-poor nation.
2
World
Between Big Cities, a Road Passes the Russia Left Behind
Along the highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg — a 12-hour trip by car — one sees great neglected stretches of land that seem drawn backward in time.
3
Sports
Hitting the Wall: For Marathon Charities, Numbers Are Slowing
Some race and nonprofit organizers are worried that charitable fund-raising tied to marathons may be wheezing like a runner at Mile 25, with fewer charity runners and less money raised.
4
Technology
Editing Microsoft Word Files on an Android Tablet
Google Play has several apps for working with Microsoft Word files on Android tablets.See also
- List of office suites
- List of collaborative software
- Comparison of word processors
- Comparison of spreadsheet software
- Online office suite
- Online spreadsheet
- OpenDocument software
- Office Open XML software
External links
- DMOZ / Office Suites
- Comparison of online office suite with reviews and cost
- Review: Open-Source Office Suites Compared
This story originally appeared Dec. 8, 2008.
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 The big new things in OpenOffice 3.0 are actually a lot of small new things. |
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| (click for image gallery) |
In this review I've taken a look at OpenOffice.org's most recent release, along with the commercially-supported StarOffice from Sun, IBM's reworking of OO.o as Lotus Symphony, the KOffice suite for Linux, and the minimal but still useful AbiWord. Talking about how these would entirely replace Microsoft Office would be misleading, since not everyone might be doing that -- so I've looked at each product as far on its own merits as possible.
OpenOffice.org 3
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org 3 is an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, step forward from OO.o 2. It doesn't make as radical break from previous editions the way Microsoft Office 2007 was such a total departure from 2003. That should come as a comfort to those already alienated by Office '07. (Disclaimer: I like the ribbon interface, but I'm just as comfortable with plain old dockable toolbars as well.)
The big new things in OO.o 3 are actually a lot of small new things. Mac users, for one, will be happy to know version 3's now a native application. All of the applications in the suite can be summoned through a single unified interface, which can also be brought up from a system-tray launcher, which also doubles as an accelerator for the suite. The overall performance of the 3.0 suite is markedly better than 2.0, even without the app-launch accelerator -- a gimmick I resent on general principles, so I turned it off anyway.
Other new things include an equation solver and workbook-sharing functions for Calc (the spreadsheet app); support for multiple monitors in Impress, the presentation program; and support for VBA macros -- the latter being one of the bigger obstacles towards adoption from professional-level MS Office users.
Those who are already on Office 2007 can open that suite's OOXML-format files directly in OO.o. You cannot save as OOXML, though, and some things still don't seem to translate correctly from existing OOXML documents. One document with character sets from multiple languages on the same line (English and Japanese in this case) had its line spacing mangled when I imported it. The same document's line spacing was fine when I saved it as a Word 2003 document and imported that, however.
One of my longstanding favorite features of OpenOffice has been the ability to export directly to PDF without needing a plugin or virtual printer driver, with advanced things like encryption and form functionality all included. The range of options in OpenOffice.org's PDF exporter is a little broader in 3; the big new addition is PDF/A (archival) support, which insures that the PDF in question has all the properties and elements needed to be read in the future.
6
Movies
Wildlife Is Tame; Not the Humans
Ridley Scott and Cormac McCarthy team up for “The Counselor,” a tale of a corrupt, high-flying lawyer dealing with a drug cartel.
7
Business Day
Hyundai Will Recall 27,500 Genesis Sedans for Braking Problem
Corrosion from brake fluid is causing a brake system malfunction, which has resulted in 23 customers complaining to N.H.T.S.A.
8
Arts
Social Media, the Spiritual Version
Centuries of iconography are depicted in “Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium From Greek Collections,” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
9
Automobiles
The Benefits of Having Your Own Moving Truck
Why rent a U-Haul for a cross-country move when you can live life to the fullest and buy your own moving truck?
10
N.Y. / Region
Fracking Fight Focuses on a New York Town’s Ban
A lawsuit against a zoning ordinance that effectively banning hydraulic fracturing in Dryden, N.Y., could decide the future of the oil and gas industry in the state.
11
Fashion & Style
A Night to Pay Homage With Their Wardrobes
Miley Cyrus, Sofia Coppola and Linda Wells were among the guests at the Fashion Group International Awards.
12
N.Y. / Region
A State Inquiry Is Said to Target Job Agencies
The New York State attorney general’s office is investigating employment agencies that may have cheated job seekers, even charging placement fees for nonexistent jobs.
13
N.Y. / Region
Folding a Neighbor's Laundry
Metropolitan Diary: A woman, late to pick up her laundry from dryers in her building’s basement, found someone already folding it.
14
15
Arts
They’re ... They’re Still Alive!
New collections of stories and artwork from the 1950s comics company EC demonstrate the enduring popularity of its singular brand of horror and humor.
16
Technology
Chip Sales Help Push Profit Up at Samsung
Samsung Electronics reached another high in its quarterly profit thanks to a revival in its semiconductor business, which offset flat growth in high-end smartphone sales.Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd.  | Last | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 80,600.00 KRW | –3,100.00 –3.70% |
80,600.00–3,400.00–4.05%
Data as of market close 10/25/2013
| Trading on Korea Stock Exchange (Koscom) | |
| 1-day high | 84,100.00 KRW |
| 1-day low | 80,400.00 KRW |
52-week range
|
|
| 52-week low | 76,600.00 KRW |
| 52-week high | 110,000.00 KRW |
| 52-week % change | –14.53% |
| 1-month % change | –3.36% |
| Volume | 725.7K |
| 10-day average | 336.0K |
| Dividend (Yield) | 1,000.00 KRW (1.24%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 12/27/2012 |
Copyright © 2013. Quotes and other information supplied by independent providers identified on the vendor disclosures page.
17
Arts
Rihanna Asked to Leave Mosque in Abu Dhabi
Rihanna, the pop and R&B singer, was asked to leave the site of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi after posing for photographs that the shrine’s overseers said violated its”sanctity.”
18
Opinion
Are Chicks Brighter Than Babies?
Chickens may be better at math than toddlers. They don’t deserve to be tortured.
19
Business Day
CBS Orders Full Seasons for 3 New Comedies
“The Millers,” “The Crazy Ones” and “Mom” won early votes of confidence from CBS, which needs a successor to “How I Met Your Mother.”
20
U.S.
Contractors Describe Limited Testing of Insurance Web Site
Democrats and Republicans were united in expressing anger and dismay over failures with the Oct. 1 opening of the online health insurance exchange.
1
Automobiles
Cross-Country Run in 1930 Ford Cut Short by Engine Failure
An effort to drive a 1930 Model A Ford from New York to Los Angeles in 60 hours ended in Texas when the crankshaft broke.
2
World
Between Big Cities, a Road Passes the Russia Left Behind
Along the highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg — a 12-hour trip by car — one sees great neglected stretches of land that seem drawn backward in time.
3
Style
Ronan Farrow: The Youngest Old Guy in the Room
Mr. Farrow, 25, the son of Mia Farrow, already has the résumé of someone twice his age and in the last year has come into his own as a public figure.
4
N.Y. / Region
Almost a Year After Massacre, Newtown Begins Razing Sandy Hook
The demolition will continue for the next several weeks, a town official said, and is to be completed by the first anniversary of the shootings.
5
N.Y. / Region
A Thrill Now Sadly Rare
Bat sightings used to be common in New York, but millions of bats in the Northeast have died of disease since 2006.
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7
Real Estate
Where St. Vincent’s Once Stood
A look at the transformation of the St. Vincent’s Hospital site in the West Village, a mega-work-in-progress.
8
Business Day
End of a Line Reflects a Weakened Peugeot
By the time the last car rolled off the assembly line in Aulnay-sous-Bois on Friday, the plant’s importance had declined amid ebbing profitability for the subcompact cars it produced.
9
Opinion
The Bad News for Local Job Markets
The number of education and health care jobs could grow in the coming years, but this does not imply job growth in small and midsize cities that depend on these sectors.
10
U.S.
Laid to Rest in the Front Yard
James Davis has been involved in a dispute with the town of Stevenson, Ala., for burying his wife on his property.
11
U.S.
A First-Person Defense Of Writing in Jesus’ Voice
Sarah Young responds to the criticism she has received for writing books in Jesus’ voice, saying her popular “devotionals” were guided by prayer.
12
Business Day
How No-Strings Aid Affects the Poor
A new study in Kenya shows that giving money to the poor without dictating how they use it can have a powerful impact on their quality of life, not just a one-time effect on consumption.
13
N.Y. / Region
New York State Seeks to Scale Back Student Testing
Critics say that the state’s plan is not aggressive enough, and that too many schools rely too heavily on test scores.
14
U.S.
Ohio: City Strikes Deal on Sidewalk Writing
An Occupy group got a temporary permit to write chalk messages on the sidewalk in the City of Defiance after the American Civil Liberties Union reached a deal over a ban.
15
Health
The Long Trip Into a Dark Season
Just when you thought there couldn’t be another caregiving memoir worth reading, “The Fifth Season” arrives.
16
U.S.
Some Wary as Lobstermen Unite
While hundreds have embraced a new union, others have questioned whether a local organized by a machinists’ association could, or should, unite lobstermen.
17
Opinion
A Peace Prize Worthy of the Name?
Readers respond to an Op-Ed article defending the Nobel Prize.
18
Science
Balloon Ride to Offer Expansive View, for a Price
World View, a new space tourism company, unveiled its plans on Tuesday to loft passengers to the stratosphere as early as 2015, not by rocket but by giant balloon.
19
N.Y. / Region
Video: Obama Visits a Brooklyn School
President Obama went to Pathways in Technology Early College High School, and spoke to students Friday afternoon.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/26/nyregion/obama-visits-brooklyn-high-school.html
Doing as instructed.
20
Business Day
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