NewsForge: Java Fallout: OpenOffice.org 2.0 and the FOSS Community

“Several new features of the recently released OpenOffice.org
2.0 beta require a Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Since Java’s
license is neither free nor open source, a small but vocal minority
has responded both strongly and negatively. For instance, when
NewsForge recently published a review of the beta, no other feature
attracted as much comment. Some groups, including members of the
major GNU/Linux distributions, most of whom repackage
OpenOffice.org (OOo), have responded by looking for alternatives,
often while cursing the project for the extra work it has dumped on
them. How did OpenOffice.org come to rely on Java? What problems is
it likely to cause? How are GNU/Linux distributions reacting to
this change in a key piece of software…?”

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