"To be sure, many efforts at commercial word processors for
Linux have faded away with the rise in popularity of free software
like OpenOffice.org's Write and AbiWord.
"To cite one of the most glaring examples, WordPerfect for
Linux, first launched in 1996, hasn't seen the light of day since
Corel pulled the plug on it back in 2005 or so. Over the same time
frame, however, many free open source word processors have either
fallen out of software maintenance or disappeared entirely.
"Meanwhile, industry heavy-hitters Sun Microsystems, Novell, and
IBM Lotus keep building on their Linux heritages with new releases
of distinctive commercial word processors. So, too, does,
ThinkFree, an innovative California-based start-up that's just
added ThinkFree Mobile Netbook to its growing line-up of
crossplatform suites. Haansoft, a South Korean distributor of Linux
OS and word processing software, just so happens to hold a majority
interest in ThinkFree.
"At the same time, German-based SoftMaker continues to perfect
its commercial crossplatform suite for Linux, Windows, and multiple
mobile platforms, which is available for English, German, and other
human languages. SoftMaker Office 2008 also affords extensive word
processing support for academic and scientific research papers and
other lengthy docs."
