LibreOffice Conference – 60m users, 150 members, 3000 volunteers and contributors at Robert Pogson

Florian Effenberger, chairman of The Document Foundation, opening the second annual conference:

“As of today, LibreOffice is being used by close to 60 million people. It is the standard free office suite on all major platforms, available in over 100 languages. Large cities and organizations are deploying it very successfully, more and more schools and universities are rolling it out, and there’s not a single month where it is not covered by major media around the globe – because we always have good news to share. The Document Foundation has become a member of leading organizations for free software and open standards, and at the very same time, is widely seen as a the leader in its area, built on strong reputation and credibility. Last but not least, the ecosystem is growing rapidly, as more and more enterprises discover the business benefit of truly free software.”

“We are now a family of thousands of contributors around the globe. I not only have colleagues all over the world, but more important, true friends, and I am honoured to be part of a large family. Everyone with their very own story, their very own background, and their very own skills. Different ages, cultures and languages, all united by one goal: providing the best free office suite ever, and giving power to those who contribute by passion. By living our values day by day, we make possible what we never dared to dream of two years ago.”

As of September 30, 2012, TDF has over 150 members and over 3,000 volunteers and contributors worldwide.

see Conference Announcements | The Document Foundation Blog.

Not only is LibreOffice soaking up converts from OpenOffice.org many recent roll-outs involve greenfield conversions from M$’s office suite.

So, many users of that other OS are switching to LibreOffice as well. FLOSS (Free/Libre Open Source Software) works for real people around the world. I use it on Debian GNU/Linux, a FLOSS operating system for computers of all kinds. I switched to using mostly FLOSS systems 12 years ago and have never regretted doing so. It was interesting and challenging at times but performance has been much better than what I have seen of that other OS. No malware, no re-re-reboots, no critical updates waiting for a lull in the workday… and LibreOffice is one of my most-used applications.

My Mission

My observations and opinions about IT are based on 40 years of use in science and technology and lately, in education. I like IT that is fast, cost-effective and reliable. I do not care whether my solution is the same as yours. I like to think for myself.

My first use of GNU/Linux in 2001 was so remarkably better than what I had been using, I feel it is important work to share GNU/Linux with the world. I have been blessed by working in schools where students and school systems have benefited by good, modular software easily installed in most systems.

I have shown GNU/Linux to thousands of students and hundreds of teachers over the years and will continue in some way doing that until I die in spite of the opposition.