Gabriel Harper's Blog

OpenOffice.org is an awesome alternative to Microsoft Office, and it’s completely free. OpenOffice.org matches Microsoft Office on almost every feature that a typical user needs. Unfortunately, it’s still destined for failure. There’s too much “open source” in OpenOffice.org – people don’t want a geek tool, they want a friendly tool. OO is not polished for the typical end-user, and at this rate is destined to always be the underdog.

Why is OpenOffice.org failing?

1. The icons suck. The visual interface of the app is critical. Every icon needs a remake with maximum “bling factor” to appeal to the typical user and establish a consistent & polished appearance.
2. Drop the .org – is this a Web site or an app? OpenOffice.org is a crappy, geeky name and it needs to go before OO can ever hit prime time.
3. Get a new extension – ODT is hard to remember and totally not catchy. Wouldn’t your rather just say DOC? People stumble over the name and sometimes just say doc anyway! Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Of course, these aren’t actually important issues, per say. They don’t involve anything except user experience and brand name clarity. Except that in a world of real human beings, these are some of the most important issues for a successful product.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Software & Scripts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.