The Apache OpenOffice.org project announced it’s first release!
This is a huge milestone for the project as it means all dependencies and code are either Apache Licensed or compatible to that license. This opens the office suite for commercial work. While you are often forced to release GPL-dependent code as GPL itself, you are free to include AL-licensed code into your commercial work (Disclaimer: please consult your lawyer, because I am not one of these guys).
Besides the transfer to the new license the team had to manage lots of work with transferring the infrastructure to Apache. As I was around when this happened, I can tell it was hard work and I congratulate everybody on the project for succeeding. My expectation is release cycles are quicker now, as everything seems to work and is in place after that first release.
Apache OpenOffice.org got some great new features.
Among my favorites: improved starting time and improved encryption support.
Personally I expect Apache OpenOffice.org to leave the incubator pretty soon. The Incubator is a place for new podling at Apache, were they can build up community, work on licensing issues or anything else which is not compatible to the ASF. A first release is usually a sign that most problems are gone and the project can become a full fledged ASF project soon. Let’s wait and see.
Anyway, it was a hard ride until now. Congratulations again to the team!
