OpenOffice.org 3

Hands on: OpenOffice.org 3 in the cloud with Ulteo.

Generally speaking, OO.org 3 performs well in Ulteo. Accessed via a Java VNC client, the suite feels as responsive, if not slightly more-so, than it did last year. Most application operations are pretty responsive, though a time limit is now imposed on free accounts. Creating new documents with other OpenOffice.org components and switching between them is fairly speedy, and naturally, all of OpenOffice.org 3's features are present.

Since we last looked at Ulteo, a business model was introduced to offer tiered accounts with more storage, longer session times, and a new document/data synchronization feature for Windows XP and Vista users. This is a clever way for Ulteo to monetize its products, and the document synchronization should comfort users who are interested in cloud productivity, but are concerned about not having backups of their documents. That said, the time and storage limits imposed on free accounts now are "about" 25 minutes per session and 1GB of space, with a single collaboration invite for bringing another user into an editing session.

The space doesn't seem like it should be a problem for most users, but 25 minutes is barely a warmup for many students and cubicle dwellers. "Premium" accounts begin at about $6.50 per month, which offer sessions of about three hours, 2GB of space, and three invites. Prices move up from there to offer unlimited sessions, faster data sync operations, larger space, and more invitations.

Read more at the source.


Later Ted

I generally like the suite. Base still needs work.