Using Zoho Web Service as an Alternative to Open Office in Ubuntu

zoho-webservices-mainWhen it comes to alternative to Microsoft Office, most people will think of Open Office. But if you are just doing simple word processing or spreadsheet calculation, Open Office can also be an overkill, especially if you are using a netbook. Personally, I have a netbook running Ubuntu Lucid with Open Office pre-installed. Whenever I wanted to edit a word document, Open Office will take a long time to load. Several times, it even brings the whole system to a standstill.

Google Docs could become a good alternative since it is web based and does not require any installation at all. The problems: you have to login everytime and you can’t set it as the default word processing application.

The solution? Zoho Webservice.
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9 More OpenOffice Extensions

openoffice-logoMoving all of your apps and information in the cloud has been adopted by a great number of people. However, there are also a large number who still prefer having a desktop application. Pretty much everyone like free.

I am typically use Google Docs for my word processing and spreadsheets, but do on occasion tinker with OpenOffice. I tend to use OpenOffice if I am on my netbook and not connected to the internet. I can use the word processor to write and not be tempted to go on Twitter or use Stumbleupon to find random sites.

At first, I didn’t realize you could use extensions; once I found that out, I was hooked. One of my favorites was covered in a previous post about OpenOffice extensions. It allows you to import, export and update documents you create in OpenOffice with Google Docs and other cloud office apps.

Below are several more extensions to help you tailor this opensource app to the way you use it.
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How to Remove OpenOffice Splash Screen For Good

OpenOffice logo

I have been using OpenOffice for the past few years and on the whole, I am very happy with it. If there is anything that is causing me frustration, it has to be the splash screen that forcefully take over your desktop when you load an OpenOffice application.

If you are feeling the same frustration as me, here is the way to remove the splash screen. It works for StarOffice and NeoOffice as well, since they are basically a branch out of OpenOffice.

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Twittering From Open Office

Using clients like twhirl or twitterfox, you can post tweets to twitter from your desktop and Firefox browser. However, if you spend a lot of time on Open Office, you may want a quicker way to get your twitter updated, without having to leave Open Office.

OOoTwitter is a simple Open Office extension that allows you to post to Twitter. Once installed, it will load an input field where you can submit your message to Twitter. It is very easy to use and it is unobstructive and can be loaded from the menu Tools -> Add-ons -> Post to twitter.

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