Norton's Textra was fun. I still miss FM.COM (From Simtel. Dated back to like 1986. 20k COM file. You wanted to change colors or buffers? You used it to hex edit itself.
If MS Office compatibility is your main goal, you should really look into OnlyOffice before settling on Softmaker.
Its entire core engine is built around OOXML (docx/xlsx), so the formatting retention is miles ahead of LibreOffice. The desktop editors are free and feel very modern. Plus, since this is LES, you can always self-host the OnlyOffice Document Server on one of your idle VPS nodes. 😉
But yeah, if you want absolutely zero friction, that €5 OEM key is hard to beat.
I do like SoftMaker Office, bought mainly because their Excel competitor, PlanMaker, is the only one I've found that does dark mode in a sensible ways while also working well with Norwegian Locale (as in both number formatting and names of Weekdays etc.)
@Joseph said:
Isn't WPS Office cluttered with ads?
Zero ads, as you can see:
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
Softmaker is okay, but as an OG, I’d suggest giving OnlyOffice a shot before committing.
Its engine is built specifically for OOXML compatibility, so formatting retention is miles ahead of LibreOffice or Softmaker. Plus, since we are all server nerds here, you can even self-host the document server on one of your idle VPS nodes for a private cloud experience.
By the way, I registered for the free older Softmaker Office Standard 2021 that the OP in this thread linked to. A couple of weeks later Softmaker emailed me an offer to upgrade from that to Softmaker Office Professional 2024 for only $20.
@kako1talk said:
Softmaker is okay, but as an OG, I’d suggest giving OnlyOffice a shot before committing.
Its engine is built specifically for OOXML compatibility, so formatting retention is miles ahead of LibreOffice or Softmaker.
I believe that Softmaker is also specifically built for OOXML. And for what I've read, Softmaker has a slight advantage over ONLYOFFICE in conforming to the OOXML standards.
@Joseph said:
Isn't WPS Office cluttered with ads?
Zero ads, as you can see:
Are you using the paid version of WPS Office or the free version of WPS Office?
As you can see on the top right asking me to start "free trial", it's the free version
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
@Joseph said:
Isn't WPS Office cluttered with ads?
Zero ads, as you can see:
Are you using the paid version of WPS Office or the free version of WPS Office?
As you can see on the top right asking me to start "free trial", it's the free version
Interesting. From the reviews I've seen users reported that the free version of WPS Office they place ads that keep nagging you to upgrade to the paid version.
@somik said:
As you can see on the top right asking me to start "free trial", it's the free version
Interesting. From the reviews I've seen users reported that the free version of WPS Office they place ads that keep nagging you to upgrade to the paid version.
I use it on and off and have yet to see any annoying ads. That is one of the reasons i use WPS office. It's more compatible and does not have too many ads.
FYI, I hate ads and have a whole house ad blocker DNS setup. Not sure if that's blocking the ads from WPS office...
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
@somik said:
As you can see on the top right asking me to start "free trial", it's the free version
Interesting. From the reviews I've seen users reported that the free version of WPS Office they place ads that keep nagging you to upgrade to the paid version.
I use it on and off and have yet to see any annoying ads. That is one of the reasons i use WPS office. It's more compatible and does not have too many ads.
FYI, I hate ads and have a whole house ad blocker DNS setup. Not sure if that's blocking the ads from WPS office...
What do you use for your whole house ad blocker DNS setup?
@somik said:
As you can see on the top right asking me to start "free trial", it's the free version
Interesting. From the reviews I've seen users reported that the free version of WPS Office they place ads that keep nagging you to upgrade to the paid version.
I use it on and off and have yet to see any annoying ads. That is one of the reasons i use WPS office. It's more compatible and does not have too many ads.
FYI, I hate ads and have a whole house ad blocker DNS setup. Not sure if that's blocking the ads from WPS office...
What do you use for your whole house ad blocker DNS setup?
Unbound DNS with "Steven Black List" on OPNSense network router that I use.
I also had a lot of success using PiHole so you can consider that an option as well.
Note that this will not work for youtube app which uses their own dns. Chrome on android also has the same issue (so i use firefox on chrome as that supports ublock origin). It works fine on the rest of my windows/linux devices with chrome/firefox and other apps.
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
@Joseph said:
Isn't WPS Office cluttered with ads?
Zero ads, as you can see:
Are you using the paid version of WPS Office or the free version of WPS Office?
Is this the Linux or windows version?
I'm running it on windows.
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
Since Softmaker Office Standard 2021 is available free, an interesting question is whether it is worth paying $20 to upgrade to the Professional 2024 version. What do you get by upgrading from 2021 to 2024 plus from Standard to Professional?
The second question is, what is the difference between Standard 2021 and the current version of FreeOffice (2024).
@Joseph said:
Since Softmaker Office Standard 2021 is available free, an interesting question is whether it is worth paying $20 to upgrade to the Professional 2024 version. What do you get by upgrading from 2021 to 2024 plus from Standard to Professional?
The second question is, what is the difference between Standard 2021 and the current version of FreeOffice (2024).
I think SM2021 will continue to work for Win11, so no need to upgrade for now imho. Free Office 2024 is likely also good. You could probably also ask them via support. I'm sure Sales will mention some good reasons to upgrade.
@Joseph said:
Since Softmaker Office Standard 2021 is available free, an interesting question is whether it is worth paying $20 to upgrade to the Professional 2024 version. What do you get by upgrading from 2021 to 2024 plus from Standard to Professional?
The second question is, what is the difference between Standard 2021 and the current version of FreeOffice (2024).
Another approach could be: What features are you missing in SM2021 or FO2024, and are they included in SM2024? A quick Google search sounded like only SM NX (the sub version) has remarkably new features while SM2024 is just more recent with few optimizations. FO2024 might also be just sufficient.
@Joseph said:
Since Softmaker Office Standard 2021 is available free, an interesting question is whether it is worth paying $20 to upgrade to the Professional 2024 version. What do you get by upgrading from 2021 to 2024 plus from Standard to Professional?
The second question is, what is the difference between Standard 2021 and the current version of FreeOffice (2024).
Another approach could be: What features are you missing in SM2021 or FO2024, and are they included in SM2024? A quick Google search sounded like only SM NX (the sub version) has remarkably new features while SM2024 is just more recent with few optimizations. FO2024 might also be just sufficient.
That's true. Though, if both SM2021 and FO2024 are both free, from the best I can tell SM2021 is much more feature rich than FO2024.
@Joseph said:
Since Softmaker Office Standard 2021 is available free, an interesting question is whether it is worth paying $20 to upgrade to the Professional 2024 version. What do you get by upgrading from 2021 to 2024 plus from Standard to Professional?
The second question is, what is the difference between Standard 2021 and the current version of FreeOffice (2024).
Another approach could be: What features are you missing in SM2021 or FO2024, and are they included in SM2024? A quick Google search sounded like only SM NX (the sub version) has remarkably new features while SM2024 is just more recent with few optimizations. FO2024 might also be just sufficient.
That's true. Though, if both SM2021 and FO2024 are both free, from the best I can tell SM2021 is much more feature rich than FO2024.
Yup, I'd probably also use that one. Upgrade could make sense if you need more devices than are included in the free license.
@Joseph said:
Since Softmaker Office Standard 2021 is available free, an interesting question is whether it is worth paying $20 to upgrade to the Professional 2024 version. What do you get by upgrading from 2021 to 2024 plus from Standard to Professional?
The second question is, what is the difference between Standard 2021 and the current version of FreeOffice (2024).
Another approach could be: What features are you missing in SM2021 or FO2024, and are they included in SM2024? A quick Google search sounded like only SM NX (the sub version) has remarkably new features while SM2024 is just more recent with few optimizations. FO2024 might also be just sufficient.
That's true. Though, if both SM2021 and FO2024 are both free, from the best I can tell SM2021 is much more feature rich than FO2024.
Yup, I'd probably also use that one. Upgrade could make sense if you need more devices than are included in the free license.
You can place as many orders as you need for additional no cost licenses of SM2021.
Nextcloud, Ionos and other partners are developing an open-source office suite under the project name „Euro-Office“ as an alternative to the market-dominant Microsoft Office. The software is scheduled to be released in a first stable version in the summer. Ionos and Nextcloud announced this jointly in Berlin on Friday. „The product is intended for the entire market, from small businesses to the public sector,’“said Ionos CEO Achim Weiß.
Nextcloud and Ionos justify the decision for the Only-Office fork with its more modern architecture and code base compared to LibreOffice and its browser variant Collabora. „Libre Office is 35 years old and no longer the most innovative and fluid,“ said Nextcloud CEO Frank Karlitschek. „You can also notice that in the browser.“ However, they want to continue working with Collabora and possibly incorporate Collabora components into Euro-Office.
The two partners are not starting from scratch, but have forked the components of OnlyOffice available as open-source code and want to build on them. In the summer, the software is then intended to replace the previous office component Collabora in Nextcloud and the Ionos Nextcloud Workspace. A ‘technical preview’ is already available on GitHub.
OnlyOffice has roots in Russia. However, this does not pose a security risk for Euro-Office, Ionos and Nextcloud emphasized. The partners have checked the open-source code. According to their own statements, they have rebuilt components that were not available as open source. „We can vouch for our version,“ said Karlitschek. Weiß stressed: „Anyone can check it themselves.“
Nextcloud, Ionos and other partners are developing an open-source office suite under the project name „Euro-Office“ as an alternative to the market-dominant Microsoft Office. The software is scheduled to be released in a first stable version in the summer. Ionos and Nextcloud announced this jointly in Berlin on Friday. „The product is intended for the entire market, from small businesses to the public sector,’“said Ionos CEO Achim Weiß.
Nextcloud and Ionos justify the decision for the Only-Office fork with its more modern architecture and code base compared to LibreOffice and its browser variant Collabora. „Libre Office is 35 years old and no longer the most innovative and fluid,“ said Nextcloud CEO Frank Karlitschek. „You can also notice that in the browser.“ However, they want to continue working with Collabora and possibly incorporate Collabora components into Euro-Office.
The two partners are not starting from scratch, but have forked the components of OnlyOffice available as open-source code and want to build on them. In the summer, the software is then intended to replace the previous office component Collabora in Nextcloud and the Ionos Nextcloud Workspace. A ‘technical preview’ is already available on GitHub.
OnlyOffice has roots in Russia. However, this does not pose a security risk for Euro-Office, Ionos and Nextcloud emphasized. The partners have checked the open-source code. According to their own statements, they have rebuilt components that were not available as open source. „We can vouch for our version,“ said Karlitschek. Weiß stressed: „Anyone can check it themselves.“
Comments
Norton's Textra was fun. I still miss FM.COM (From Simtel. Dated back to like 1986. 20k COM file. You wanted to change colors or buffers? You used it to hex edit itself.
My pronouns are like/subscribe.
lol.. saw this in my YT feed, viewed it at 1.5x.. and..posting here for old times' sake.
blog | exploring visually |
What old times' sake lol
If MS Office compatibility is your main goal, you should really look into OnlyOffice before settling on Softmaker.
Its entire core engine is built around OOXML (docx/xlsx), so the formatting retention is miles ahead of LibreOffice. The desktop editors are free and feel very modern. Plus, since this is LES, you can always self-host the OnlyOffice Document Server on one of your idle VPS nodes. 😉
But yeah, if you want absolutely zero friction, that €5 OEM key is hard to beat.
I do like SoftMaker Office, bought mainly because their Excel competitor, PlanMaker, is the only one I've found that does dark mode in a sensible ways while also working well with Norwegian Locale (as in both number formatting and names of Weekdays etc.)
Isn't WPS Office cluttered with ads?
Zero ads, as you can see:
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
Are you using the paid version of WPS Office or the free version of WPS Office?
Softmaker is okay, but as an OG, I’d suggest giving OnlyOffice a shot before committing.
Its engine is built specifically for OOXML compatibility, so formatting retention is miles ahead of LibreOffice or Softmaker. Plus, since we are all server nerds here, you can even self-host the document server on one of your idle VPS nodes for a private cloud experience.
By the way, I registered for the free older Softmaker Office Standard 2021 that the OP in this thread linked to. A couple of weeks later Softmaker emailed me an offer to upgrade from that to Softmaker Office Professional 2024 for only $20.
I believe that Softmaker is also specifically built for OOXML. And for what I've read, Softmaker has a slight advantage over ONLYOFFICE in conforming to the OOXML standards.
As you can see on the top right asking me to start "free trial", it's the free version
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
Interesting. From the reviews I've seen users reported that the free version of WPS Office they place ads that keep nagging you to upgrade to the paid version.
I use it on and off and have yet to see any annoying ads. That is one of the reasons i use WPS office. It's more compatible and does not have too many ads.
FYI, I hate ads and have a whole house ad blocker DNS setup. Not sure if that's blocking the ads from WPS office...
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
What do you use for your whole house ad blocker DNS setup?
Unbound DNS with "Steven Black List" on OPNSense network router that I use.
I also had a lot of success using PiHole so you can consider that an option as well.
Or if you just want to give adblocking dns a try, https://adguard-dns.io/en/public-dns.html
Note that this will not work for youtube app which uses their own dns. Chrome on android also has the same issue (so i use firefox on chrome as that supports ublock origin). It works fine on the rest of my windows/linux devices with chrome/firefox and other apps.
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
Is this the Linux or windows version?
We're the source, no cap. Address us: We/Our/Ours.
https://lowendspirit.com/discussion/comment/221016/#Comment_221016
I'm running it on windows.
If you want information, feign ignorance reply with the wrong answer. Internet people will correct you ASAP!
It’s OK if you disagree with me. I can’t force you to be right!
Its not fully usable. Some benefits are only listed after payment.
Such as?
And are you referring to WPS or to Softmaker?
Since you can get a free
Since Softmaker Office Standard 2021 is available free, an interesting question is whether it is worth paying $20 to upgrade to the Professional 2024 version. What do you get by upgrading from 2021 to 2024 plus from Standard to Professional?
The second question is, what is the difference between Standard 2021 and the current version of FreeOffice (2024).
I think SM2021 will continue to work for Win11, so no need to upgrade for now imho. Free Office 2024 is likely also good. You could probably also ask them via support. I'm sure Sales will mention some good reasons to upgrade.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Another approach could be: What features are you missing in SM2021 or FO2024, and are they included in SM2024? A quick Google search sounded like only SM NX (the sub version) has remarkably new features while SM2024 is just more recent with few optimizations. FO2024 might also be just sufficient.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
That's true. Though, if both SM2021 and FO2024 are both free, from the best I can tell SM2021 is much more feature rich than FO2024.
Yup, I'd probably also use that one. Upgrade could make sense if you need more devices than are included in the free license.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
You can place as many orders as you need for additional no cost licenses of SM2021.
More: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Microsoft-alternative-Nextcloud-and-Ionos-develop-open-source-Euro-Office-11228123.html
How is this better than what OnlyOffice already offers?
OnlyOffice roots, I understand, are in Latvia, not Russia.
@Joseph this is btw the "Upgrade" Link from 2021 to 2024: https://www.softmaker.com/en/softmaker-office-2024-whatsnew
To me the upgrade is not worth it. All features that may be nice are locked to NX/Sub version.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.