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

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27426660

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.

  • isles@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    It’s a silly, self-reinforcing cycle, isn’t it? Admins see MS Office in the workplace and think it’s important for kids to learn it.

    • namingthingsiseasy@programming.devEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      You’re right! But I see this as a perversion of education. Education should not be a job training programme. It should teach you how to think and learn. It should be a place where you “learn how to learn” to put it more accurately.

      So if you learn how to use LibreOffice in schools, you should be able to adapt when you arrive in the workplace and use MS Office instead - especially if you are still young.

      And in my opinion, having experience with two office suites makes you more productive in the end anyway. I think it helps teach you how to translate capabilities from one product to another and makes you more knowledgeable about how each of them works. At least that’s what happens to me in my experience when I learn two analogous pieces of software.