from the surprise-surprise-surprise dept.
Infoworld: Google's surprise: ODF support launches ahead of schedule
As promised in London's ODF Plugfest early this year, Google announced today that it’s now officially supporting ODF files in Google Drive allowing users to import all three major ODF file formats. That includes .odt files for documents, .ods for spreadsheets, and .odp for presentations, the file types used by applications like Open Office and others supporting the open platform.
Google, like Microsoft, has not made it easy to use ODF as part of a workflow, with change tracking information, annotations, and other metadata left off the import and export process. For both companies, ODF has been seen as a migration format rather than as a working format, however Google faces significant pressure securing government business in many countries around the world, and especially the U.K. now that ODF is a requirement in so many procurement policies.
Official interest in ODF around the world is growing, and since Google wants to sell Drive and Chromebooks into government-controlled markets, ODF is becoming a gating factor.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by novak on Thursday December 18 2014, @03:51AM
My first reaction was "big deal, I'm never using anything from spyware central no matter what the feature set." But thinking about it, this is actually a good thing. Companies like Microsoft lock people into using their software by using proprietary formats that are difficult to reverse engineer. If ODF becomes a common enough standard that many people support it, perhaps we'll see decreased reliance on the ridiculous .doc and .docx standards. I can hate google's guts and still be glad they did this.
novak
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Thursday December 18 2014, @04:35AM
I never put anything of real value on Google Drive.
But I do use it. Mostly for documents I want to share with others, all of a non-confidential nature.
I've never found any indication of leakage from my test documents that placed on Drive. I've got strings in some documents that never show up in any search engine, and links I've embedded in documents (back to my own server) never get any hits. Those documents are not linked anywhere else, (not even to others on the same server) and I use them as my canary, and have scheduled log scans looking for any such hits.
So far I haven't got any complaints about Google Drive, but the same tests have shown hits from Microsoft OneDrive.
Most of my use is to store pdfs, because I don't like how it presents documents from word processors and offers to edit them every time you access them. The changes made on Drive aren't always compatible with the Word or OO/LO computer based packages, so you have to view placing documents there as a one way street. Any fancy formatting will be lost on upload.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Marneus68 on Thursday December 18 2014, @07:55AM
Not to play devil's advocate and all, but Microsoft Office has supported the ODF formats for a long time. Much longer than Google Drive.
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Thursday December 18 2014, @10:58AM
I had the same basic thought. I was very interested in the Linux port of Kingsoft/WPS Office until I read that it can't open ODFs (which makes it useless to me), and there aren't enough resources to work on adding it in in the foreseeable future. Perhaps seeing even Google take ODF seriously will nudge the WPS folks in the right direction...
(Score: 1) by MuadDib on Thursday December 18 2014, @08:40PM
What's wrong with libre office?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 18 2014, @03:59AM
This sounds weird. I've never had any problem opening and working OO files in GooDocs, or vice versa. Only problems I have with either is the weird formatting hassles I get moving either to Windoze Office.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday December 18 2014, @07:50AM
About Fracking Time. That is all there is to say. (For those who not recognize RICO, it is an American law aimed at Racketeering and Corrupt organizations, like Micro$oft.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 18 2014, @09:59AM
Even the Big Fuckers will listen to what you say if you dangle the Allmighty Buck in front of them. Free software and open standards should get priority today and eventually mandated.
(Score: 1) by quornicus on Thursday December 18 2014, @11:30PM
How free is it if it is mandated?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 19 2014, @06:46AM
Like always, exactly as free as the license states.