IBM Lotus Symphony (Microsoft Office/OpenOffice.org alternative)

[quaxo]

This software is no long in its beta version. Version 1 has just been released.

IBM Lotus Symphony... Another alternative to Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org. It includes software for documents (word processing), presentations, and spreadsheets. Here's my take on it.

Available from: http://symphony.lotus.com

Available for: Windows and Linux.

Download: Approx. 200MB (EXE)
I had trouble using IBM's Java based Download Director to download this. I was continually refused connection. After closing and reopening Download Director, I was finally granted access and the download took about 15 minutes. I also tried their direct (HTTP) download, but I kept losing the download about 25% of the way through. Not sure if this was a result of my internet connection or their website.

Installation: Approx. 481MB
Installation went without a hitch and took about 2 minutes. 481MB once installed, compared to OpenOffice.org's 300MB (give or take) and Microsoft Office 2007's 1GB+ (including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, most options (extra templates, etc.), and Outlook).

Test Run:
The interface is nice (screenshots available at website), with all three programs rolled into one. The tabbed interface allows switching between different document types without having to switch between windows (like when switching between Word and Excel, or Writer and Calc). With a single menu bar at the top and a wide (but adjustable) formatting menu to the right, I found the interface quite nice.

Compatibility:
Symphony has it's own set of file formats, but like OpenOffice.org 2, Symphony will support MS Office documents from versions 2003 and before, but not 2007 (personally tested and confirmed). It also supports OpenOffice documents. I found that some format issues I had with OpenOffice.org displaying documents from Office (both in Word and Powerpoint) did not occur in Symphony.

Final Say:
I quite like the interface and functionality of Symphony. While Office 2007 will stay on my personal desktop computer, my laptop is going to take Symphony for a spin. Goodbye OpenOffice.org... for now anyway.

Note: This software is now Version 1. The beta version has been pulled from the website and replaced with the final version.

Correction: OpenOffice.org 2 doesn't not support Office 2007 files, OpenOffice.org 3 does. Change made in this post to reflect this.

[Broni]

I may give it a spin....still issues with .docx, huh? I wonder, which free office suite will be first to finally get those to open...

[quaxo]

I may give it a spin....still issues with .docx, huh? I wonder, which free office suite will be first to finally get those to open...

OpenOffice.org is trying to get it into version 3, but they're still having issues.

[Broni]

I know, you can do it by installing Novell version of Open Office, plus translator add-on, but I didn't try it, yet.

[Broni]

They have OO 3 beta ready for download: http://download.openoffice.org/3.0beta/, but I can't see any docx add-on, unless it's included already.
I may give it a try on my test XP. Can you send me any sample docx file?

[quaxo]

Yeah, message me where you want it sent to. I'll throw something together.

[Broni]

Done.

[Broni]

It opens
Tell me, if it's correct view...

Print layout:


Web layout:

[quaxo]

Yeah, that's exactly what I sent.

Some people have reported it only displaying the first few lines of text then cutting off.

The OpenOffice.org 3 features page boasts the support for the files, so maybe they've fixed it.

[Broni]

I'll be waiting for two other types of files.

[Broni]

Excellent!

[Broni]

Power Point not that good. Some overlapping on some slides:

[Broni]

I'd say, as for beta version - good enough

[quaxo]

Yeah, the slide backgrounds didn't seem to take. But to be honest, I've run into problems with Impress running Office 2003 presentations.

The colors of those charts aren't quite right, but they seem to display fine.

[quaxo]

Just an update:

Version 1 has just been released.
http://symphony.lotus.com

[Broni]

Does it read Office 2007 files?

[quaxo]

Does it read Office 2007 files?

Not as yet. Perhaps in a later update or the next version.

[Broni]

So, it looks like Open Office 3 beta is the best choice for now.