[Solved] Is Open Office likely to get an OUTLOOK equivalent?

[d45south]

I just loaded the latest version of Open Office..... I like it a lot.

But I was wondering if there may be a related program similar to OUTLOOK, or if such a program is being developed?posting.php?mode=post&f=5#

[FJCC]

There is no sign of such development and it would seem to be unnecessary. Mozilla produces the free email program Thunderbird and I'm sure there are others.

[keme]

With Lightning installed, you also have a calendar/task manager integrated with Thunderbird.

[d45south]

Thanks Keme,
as it wasn't so much the email I was worried about, but the overall functionality, as you mention the tasks and calendar and reminders etc. Would be nice to see it in an integrated system with the rest of Apache Open Office.

This would streamline operations somewhat, not having to save work, go into Thunderbird/Lightning and digging the saved file out of the computer and using it with T'bird ...... (Simply as a time saving and method of simplifying general use of the programs involved)

However I do like Thunderbird and I wasn't aware of "Lightning" so this information will be very helpful.

Thank you

[Villeroy]

Technically the creation of office documents on multiple platforms compared to all the things that Outlook can do on its own Windows platform are too far away from each other. Install Linux and you will see that software from many unrelated projects can work very well together because they depend on free and open standards.

[d45south]

Hi Villeroy,
Linux or Mac is on my 'purchase asap' list !!!

Thanks

[Hagar Delest]

I use MS Office at work with Outlook and I don't really see the point of an integrated mail application in AOO.
The only advantage I see is the preview of an attachment in the Outlook message window. But it's not very useful IMHO.
In a corporate environment, you can have the Link integration with the mail client that lets you know the status of the correspondents (available, in meeting, ...). But we had another chat application before Link and it did work the same with Outlook (and it was better than this Skype for professionals).

Note that Lightning is now installed by default in TB (it should ask you at first install if you want to activate the extension or not).

[keme]

Note that you may need additional plugins if you want it to connect to Exchange (other providers, like Yahoo and Google and the mail/calendar accounts offered by some web hosting, seem to work without additional plugins). Check that your plugin of choice supports the features you need. Consider features such as status (Available/Busy/Away/etc.), calendar search (find common free time for meeting participants), tasks and support for multiple time zones.

[d45south]

Hi Keme,
just loaded the latest T'bird along with Lightning...it's all working well!

So tks for your suggestion.

(I am using my elderly father's computer at the moment having just returned from overseas... and his computer is so out of date, so I am gradually upgrading the old programs. I intend to get a Mac or Linux machine for my own use soon)

Also, Hagar....tks for your ideas and I have taken those onboard as well.

All info and suggestions are welcome.

[Hagar Delest]

If you want to try GN/Linux first, you can install it in parallel on a Windows machine. There are plenty of tutorials on the web showing how to create a new partition on your machine to install GNU/Linux and have a dual boot.

[RoryOF]

Or you can make a Live DVD/USB (USB better) of any Linux distro and run that, without interfering with your Windows setup. This allows you try differing distros until you find one to your liking. For an old machine I recommend Xubuntu. Antix16 may be worth looking at, ditto Puppy Linux.

Edit: My preference for a linux version, whether on new or older computers, is for Xubuntu. I have it installed on all my computers. Your preference may differ.

[MPEcho]

(I am using my elderly father's computer at the moment having just returned from overseas... and his computer is so out of date, so I am gradually upgrading the old programs. I intend to get a Mac or Linux machine for my own use soon)
All info and suggestions are welcome.

How old is "old" on the computer you are using? If the computer is modern enough to run Windows 7, it will run most of the current distro's fine. Xbuntu is certainly a good choice, but many of the "light weight" distributions like "Puppy" have a steeper learning curve. I have an old laptop, and ACER Aspire 5100, that runs Ubuntu 16.04 standard install just fine. It's a 64 bit chip, but old enough that it was designed for Vista It's a bit slow, but not painfully so. A quick search found one on ebay for $100. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/1319933894 ... noapp=true
Note: I am NOT suggesting you go buy that one. (I've had mixed results with computers bought on ebay). But one of the benefits of Linux is that it requires less resources than windows.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Insta ... quirements
Maybe there is a computer shop in your town that will sell you a solid refurbished model for about the same. The benefit being that you can lay hands on it before you buy.

Good luck with it.