The public beta release of OpenOffice.org 3.0 is now ready for testing. This beta release is made available to allow a broad user base to test and evaluate the next major version of OpenOffice.org, but is not recommended for production use at this stage. If you are a regular user of OpenOffice.org, here’s a great opportunity to help make the next release the best ever.

What’s new in OpenOffice.org 3.0?

The most immediately visible change to OpenOffice.org 3.0 is the new “Start Centre”, new fresh-looking icons, and a new zoom control in the status bar. A closer look shows that 3.0 has a myriad of new features. Notable Calc improvements include a new solver component; support for spreadsheet collaboration through workbook sharing; and an increase to 1024 columns per sheet. Writer has an improved notes feature and displays of multiple pages while editing. There are numerous Chart enhancements, and an improved crop feature in Draw and Impress.

Behind the scenes, OpenOffice.org 3.0 will support the upcoming OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.2 standard, and is capable of opening files created with MS-Office 2007 or MS-Office 2008 for Mac OS X (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.). This is in addition to read and write support for the MS-Office binary file formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt, etc.).

OpenOffice.org 3.0 will be the first version to run on Mac OS X without X11, with the look and feel of any other Aqua application. It introduces partial VBA support to this platform. In addition, OpenOffice.org 3.0 integrates well with the Mac OS X accessibility APIs, and thus offers better accessibility support than many other Mac OS X applications.

More info here: http://marketing.openoffice.org/3.0/featurelistbeta.html

November last year I wrote a post about a bug in Dreamweaver CS3 that makes it crash after Daylight Saving Time Ends. Yesterday it all started again, but this time the application didn’t crash but was constantly opening an alert box informing me that an extension (MySQL) wasn’t working properly.

Luckily I found the fix on adobe.com. So in case you are having the same symptoms take a look at this article about re-creating your user configuration folder.

Quick summary

XP users can follow these simple steps first to try and correct the issue:

1. Quit Dreamweaver.
2. Go to Start > My Computer.
3. Rename Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Adobe\Dreamweaver 9\Configuration to Configuration Old.
4. Start Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver creates a new Configuration folder.

If this doesn’t solve your problems read the full article for more options.

Just a few days ago I wrote about the latest anti-virus release from AVG, AVG Internet Security v.8. Yesterday they’ve released a similar update for their FREE version. This really is great news for anyone running on a low budget, or anyone else for that matter.

Version 8 has already been acknowledged as a state-of-the-art protection solution, and I bet the free edition is equally good even though it may lack a few features when compared to the paid version.

Besides the obvious (killing threats) the GUI looks much better;

Great first impression! Installation went smoothly and so far I’ve nothing negative to say about it. Let me know what you think about it if you decide to give it a try. You can grab the source from AVG directly (much faster than download.com).

Earlier this week Microsoft announced they’re in the final stages of preparing SP3 for release to the web (i.e. you!) on April 29th, via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center. Online documentation for Windows XP SP3, such as Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and the Microsoft TechNet Windows XP TechCenter, will be updated then.

For customers who use Windows XP at home, Windows XP SP3 Automatic Update distribution for users at home will begin in early summer.

Windows XP SP3 combines all previously released performance, security, and stability updates. It also provides a limited number of new and enhanced functionalities (including NAP), although it does not significantly change the Windows XP experience or bring most Windows Vista functionality to Windows XP.

The goals of Windows XP SP3 are to:

• Provide a new baseline for customers still deploying Windows XP, to help them avoid the inconvenience of applying individual updates.
• Fill gaps in the updates users might have missed by declining individual updates when using Automatic Updates, and to deliver updates not made available through Windows Update.

For more information about Windows XP SP3, go to Windows XP Service Packs or see Windows XP Service Pack 3 Overview.

Update: XP SP3 is finally available for download. [ link ]

Google Earth 4.3 adds new and innovative features, including photo-realistic 3D buildings, improved navigation, and sunlight.

The Official Intro

And another from gearthblog

Visit earth.google.com for more information.