LibreOffice hits back at critics, says its UI is better than Microsoft Office's(www.neowin.net)
16 pointsby bundie6 hours ago7 comments
  • ggm5 hours ago
    Having discussed this with people who use MS Office, I can say the key point is this:

    Libreoffices UI is DIFFERENT to Microsoft Office.

    Thats the real impediment. I have applied "make it more like that" changes including font uploads. It's good. But it doesn't get over the user "principle of least astonishment" which is what drives the resistance.

    There is a similar problem with the UI differences on OSX. otherwise rational people find the experience of moving to Office on OSX too hard.

    (happy MS Office user on OSX, tolerably happy Libreoffice user on OSX and other platforms)

    • hulituan hour ago
      > Libreoffices UI is DIFFERENT

      The difference is that in Libreoffice, you don't have to search for a "ribbon item" every fscking time. Ribbon sucks. Yes, I know Libreoffice also has a ribbon, but it gives you a choice.

  • linguae5 hours ago
    I prefer the classic Microsoft Office toolbar/menu interface to the ribbon, but I grew up on Office 97. A thought that dawned on me is that the ribbon has existed for nearly 20 years; it debuted in Microsoft Office 2007. There is now an entire generation of computer users who have never used pre-ribbon versions of Microsoft Office.

    I don't know what it's like using modern Microsoft Office with no experience using toolbars and menus and then switching to LibreOffice, which still uses traditional toolbars and menus.

    I prefer traditional toolbars and menus, but I remember Microsoft doing user studies when developing the original Office 2007 ribbon. It showed that the ribbon was more productive for beginners and casual users. Given that many office suite users are casual users who use word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation tools, Microsoft Office may be more productive for them than LibreOffice. It would be good if LibreOffice did user studies.

  • crossroadsguy5 hours ago
    I tried OnlyOffice once (because I was trying MS Office alts) and I really liked it. That's what I've been using it for the last 3-4 years. Although I don't use these tools a lot.
  • ymgch6 hours ago
    True.
  • ocdtrekkie6 hours ago
    The irony is I remember the ribbon interface was universally hated on launch. It buried a ton of previously single click options behind tabs and dropdown menus.
    • garciansmith5 hours ago
      You also couldn't modify it. I had previously customized Word to suit my needs. When the ribbon version came out I had a new laptop with that version of Word and was just starting grad school. I lasted a semester before it drove me mad just trying to write papers and I switched to OpenOffice (and I now use LibreOffice). I had some compatibility issues back then when sharing documents but I could write without getting angry. I'm thankful for the ribbon though, since it prompted that change and got me started using open source software.
  • Vibeguy9006 hours ago
    It's just as good
  • altitudinous5 hours ago
    Arrogant. End users decide by deciding what they want to use. Thats all there is to it.
    • themadturk4 hours ago
      Eh, except that a huge number of Office users are there because their employers make them use it, and then use it at home because it's what they know. Not sure it's much of a choice for a lot of them.
      • sanjayjcan hour ago
        Moreover, students are indoctrinated in MS Office from a young age, given the extent to which it's been baked into official curricula. The books that a lot of Indian students use are available online [1] and MS' stranglehold is very evident.

        [1] https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/leca102.pdf