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LibreOffice downloads on the rise as users look to avoid subscription costs | The free open-source Microsoft Office alternative is being downloaded by nearly 1 million users a week (www.computerworld.com)

submitted 1 week ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Interest in LibreOffice, the open-source alternative to Microsoft Office, is on the rise, with weekly downloads of its software package close to 1 million a week. That’s the highest download number since 2023.

“We estimate around 200 million [LibreOffice] users, but it’s important to note that we respect users’ privacy and don’t track them, so we can’t say for sure,” said Mike Saunders, an open-source advocate and a deputy to the board of directors at The Document Foundation.

LibreOffice users typically want a straightforward interface, Saunders said. “They don’t want subscriptions, and they don’t want AI being ‘helpful’ by poking its nose into their work — it reminds them of Clippy from the bad old days,” he said.

There are genuine use cases for generative AI tools, but many users prefer to opt-in to it and choose when and where to enable it. “We have zero plans to put AI into LibreOffice. But we understand the value of some AI tools and are encouraging developers to create … extensions that use AI in a responsible way,” Saunders said.

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[–] Brotha_Jaufrey@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (10 children)

I’ve used Libre Office, but unpopular opinion, the formatting sucks. I just pirated word, never paying for that again

[–] alsimoneau@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 week ago

LaTeX is your friend

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[–] M33@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 1 week ago

See it wasn't that hard:

Common sense ? ⛔ IDGAF
Freedom ? ⛔ IDGAF
Privacy ? ⛔ IDGAF
Subscription ? ✅ Let's crack this software or find something free instead

[–] Admetus@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I used OnlyOffice thinking 'Hey, this is a really similar alternative to MSO!' Then bugs with slide previews and their ordering happened in the middle of presentations and even worse, memory usage ground my laptop to a halt (electron apps open up with close to 1GB of memory, such as obsidian).

Libre office still hasn't crashed and the slide previews are accurate. The interface has always been a bit...unrefined even with the new tabbed layout but I can live with that.

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[–] Xanza@lemm.ee 8 points 1 week ago

Hahahahaha nice

[–] nul9o9@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

I like LibreOffice, but I prefer Onlyoffice.

[–] PacMan@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago (4 children)

I really like LibreOffice but I still need Excel. It’s a good 20 years ahead of the OSS software. It works find if your doing light work though

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[–] BassTurd@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

And IIIIII helped!

[–] orins@lemmings.world 6 points 1 week ago

nice hahaha

[–] sommerset@thelemmy.club 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Haven't used ms products in a decade.
My Microsoft boycott was longer

[–] poopkins@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Obligatory comment that endorses pirating software. We need to make sure this stereotype about Lemmy remains accurate.

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