OpenOffice 3.0 - Now in PortableApps Format

The 8-year old OpenOffice (OOo) has reached version 3.0 in October, but for USB apps fan, the portable version has only gone gold in mid December. Ported by none other than John Haller from PortableApps.com, OpenOffice 3.0 is designed to run directly on a USB flash drive - supposedly without concern that temporary files will be left behind on the host machine. The package weighs at a hefty 240MB after installed, but its size shouldn't be much of a problem given today's thumbdrives' capacities.

The latest version of OOo now boasts a fresh look, including a new start center, splash screen, and icons; it also comes with plenty of improvements for the suite's Writer (word processing), Calc (spreadsheet), Draw (graphics) and Impress (presentation). The most notable addition is perhaps the ability to read MS Office Open XML files, enhancing interporerability with rest of the Office world. Since OOo is essentially in PortableApps format, the integration allows the free office to work with PortableApps.com suite's menu and backup utility.

Filed under USB Apps for Flash Drives