Since it's generally only home and small-office users who'll be buying these office suites on an individual basis, this factor could easily affect your buying decision. If the concept of the NC takes off among cost-sensitive IT purchasers, Office for Java could do well, provided that initial concerns about performance are addressed quickly. The seemingly unstoppable trend towards more and more features might finally start to slow down, as companies question whether any of their employees actually requires the advanced capabilities of the latest, power-hungry suites. Evidence of this is that Corel is keeping version 7 of its suite on the market alongside version 8, for less demanding users. If the relentless search for new features were to slow down, the suite developers could perhaps concentrate on tying their components together more effectively and more usably.
Usability is paramount in a product that's used by the majority of PC workers.
It's clear from this review that the three products have some way to go before they perfectly integrate their three main components into a single common interface. Microsoft is closer to doing so than the others, but a new approach might be required. This type of interface might well be preferable to the current system, and could become more common in the future. Even the market leaders have to realise that not everyone uses the same product, and that file compatibility with their competitors is good for them and their customers. All rights reserved.