RedOffice: Chinese open-source Office suite gets ribbon interface

RedOffice, the suite of Office products based upon OpenOffice.org and optimized for Chinese users has received a new UI in its 4.0 beta. The new UI has been designed with cues from Office 2007 ribbon interface, as the group says, “provide a work area with a simple graphic interface, so that use is more concise and efficient.”

This screenshot shows how RedOffice takes cues from both Mac's OS X and Office 2007 by offering the “Red, Yellow, Green” Close, Minimize, and Fit to Screen buttons in the upper right hand corner, and by offering a template preview window in the left hand window similar to Office 2007's “Live Preview.”

Some feel that this change could predict the future of OpenOffice's domestic product, with an improved UI being the next logical step. Meanwhile, others are noting the gradual speed decrease taking place in subsequent releases of OpenOffice products.

Source:→ BetaNews