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20 December 2011, 14:44

Apache says OpenOffice 3.4 planned for early 2012

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OpenOffice.org logo As part of an open letter to the "Open Document Format Ecosystem", the Apache Software Foundation said the incubating Apache OpenOffice project was "tentatively" planning an OpenOffice 3.4 release in the first quarter of 2012. Apache OpenOffice 3.4 will not though, be a feature release, but a first Apache IP policy compliant release of the office suite. The focus of the open letter was, however, not on the planned release, but set out to explain how the ASF sees the future of Apache OpenOffice within the larger ODF community.

The ASF says it does not want to force any vision on the ODF community noting that "it is impossible to agree upon a single vision for all participants, Apache OpenOffice does not seek to define a single vision, nor does it seek to be the only player" in the large ODF ecosystem. Instead, it wishes to offer a neutral "collaboration opportunity" and notes that its permissive licensing and development model are "widely recognised as one of the best ways to ensure open standards, such as ODF, gain traction and adoption."

But, the Foundation did point out that it retained control of its trademarks, which includes the OpenOffice.org and related marks, and that only the incubating Apache OpenOffice project can make releases which bear that name. It refers those interested to its trademark policy page.

The Apache Software Foundation also restated that "no third party has been given approval to solicit donations of any kind on behalf of the Apache Software Foundation or any of its projects, including OpenOffice.org." In October, the ASF made a similar statement after a non-profit group called "Team OpenOffice.org" made requests for donations to save OpenOffice. The Team OpenOffice.org site is still running and requesting donations.

The Foundation says that "if a communication does not come to you from a verifiable apache.org address then it is not an official Apache Software Foundation or OpenOffice.org communication", and invites anyone who does wish to help Apache OpenOffice to look at the "Get involved" page of the project.

(djwm)

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