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Open Source Office Suite Apache OpenOffice Could Shut Down Soon


Short Bytes: Apache OpenOffice, the open source office suite, is considering retirement. An email by the VP of OpenOffice has thrown light on the possible retirement of the office suite in the coming future. The project has not been able to push regular updates due to lack of volunteer developers, who have shifted to LibreOffice.

One of the major OpenOffice.org derivatives Apache OpenOffice may be packing its bags soon. The news is floating around that the open source office suite backed by the Apache Software Foundation won’t see the light of the day in the coming future. An email sent by the Apache OpenOffice VP Dennis Hamilton is serving as the wellspring of speculations regarding the retirement of the OpenOffice.

“I have regularly observed that the Apache OpenOffice project has limited capacity for sustaining the project in an energetic manner. It is also my considered opinion that there is no ready supply of developers who have the capacity, capability, and will to supplement the roughly half-dozen volunteers holding the project together. It doesn’t matter what the reasons for that might be.”

— Hamilton wrote in the email.

Hamilton has listed a roadmap of how the retirement process will continue. The source code has been put on The Attic and the external libraries are not a part of the source code. The list also includes termination of the Apache OpenOffice blogs, social media accounts, and any future official release claims won’t be related to the Apache OpenOffice.

Don’t worry, LibreOffice is here to stay

OpenOffice has been on a downward popularity track ever since another OpenOffice.org spin-off LibreOffice is being considered as an alternative to Microsoft Office.

The LibreOffice is being widely adopted, being a pre-installed office suite on many Linux distros. This has changed the minds of the contributing developers and many of them have started investing their efforts on the LibreOffice. The lack of contributors has disabled Apache OpenOffice project’s ability to push regular updates and bug fixes.

— Via Softpedia

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