Note added 18th Feb :: See the new version of this how to – you must convert the RPMs on the machine you intend to install on.
Note added 7th Jan :: Thanks to Anibal and Geoff for pointing out the mistake in the alien command line. It should be
sudo alien --script --keep-version *.rpm
and I have corrected the command below.
Later on 7th Jan :: These instructions work on a Xubuntu installation where you have installed OpenOffice 2.03 from the repositories before hand and then un-installed it. I took the precaution of deleting the gnome-dekstop-integration.deb and the kde-desktop-integration.deb as well as I had visions of the desktop packages arriving! I have run into a problem installing software via aptitude after upgrading the OpenOffice to 2.1. See my post on UbuntuForums.org
Ubuntu is a minor miracle. You can download a complete operating system with fully functional desktop environment and application software – the whole ISO fits on a standard 700 Mb cd-rom. Installation is relatively easy from the ‘live’ cd. I have the basic system running (well, ok, jogging nicely) on a Dell L400 700MHz Pentium 3 laptop with 256 Mb of RAM. The ACPI system works right off the CD, so the laptop does not overheat, my Kodak camera is recognised by the gallery.
But….
Ubuntu insist on packaging OpenOffice 2.03 with Ubuntu 6.06. This OpenOffice version was unpolished and had stability problems, and had an annoying Zoom menu without a ‘fit width’ option. I must have a fully featured Office like package, it is no use at all to tell me to use AbiWord. I need to produce handouts with mathematical formulas and diagrams in them on a regular basis, and I need a basic presentation package that can save in MS PowerPoint format. Yes, I could use LaTeX for handouts and slideware, but for short handouts at level 2 (GCSE) Maths that would be like using a nuclear powered sledgehammer to peel a pistachio.
So, here is a way to install the latest OpenOffice on your Ubuntu box…
sudo alien --script --keep-version *.rpm
The instructions here are based on
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