I would be happy to use Abiword & Gnumeric if they'd work. But last time I checked, Gnumeric on os2008 couldn't correctly read Excel files and Abiword wasn't even ported for os2008.

There is a definite need for the n8xx's to be able to at least read (and preferably edit) Excel & Msword files. They also need a good calendar with alarms, a serious contact manager and a flatfile database app. I would certainly pay money for a suite that could do those things. Right now I'm running Palm apps under the Garnet VM to fill in for the contact manager and database, and translating Excel & Msword into html & rtf files via OpenOffice to get SOME functionality there.

The Nokia tablets are very good hardware crippled by the lack of good software. Unfortunately, the Open Source Linux community isn't much help here, because the apps have to be 'hildonized'. That's not a knock on the folks here who do great work to port apps to the tablets. There just aren't enough of them, and they do it as a sideline. I don't know if there IS a good solution to this...

Gnumeric on os2008 works great for me so far - I was shocked when I was able to import a complex .xlsx (office 2007) file and use it pretty effectively. There were a couple of small bugs, like my select boxes didn't come over, but my long functions worked great, and most of my formatting stayed intact.

And as far as Abiword, as mentioned, it seems to be on its way...

Well, in scanning this thread, I don't see what seems to me to be an obvious answer, which is KDE. Isn't KOffice a part of KDE?

It's likely that I have missed something basic, since I don't know Linux, but I can't resist a plug for KDE while I'm here!

For word processing, I know I've been able to use Kword quite successfully in KDE, and there are other word processors in there as well. As for spreadsheets, issues with KSpread notwithstanding, it seems like it will be able to meet my needs (multiple sheets + formulas) for inventory management. And this doesn't touch the PIM (I'm just getting into that) or the image editing...

Yep, Gnumeric is on it's way (thanks Chelli!) and no doubt a port of Abiword will be presented to the community by a civic-minded individual, but by then, thanks to Penguinbait, I may not need them!

id throw in $50 - $100 easily....honestly, i bought the n810 because i was intrigued by its hardware capabilities and how it looked, i had no idea about the software issues

ive been a microsoft user my whole life, i didnt know the transition would be this painful...i really need microsoft compatability to get the most use out of my n810

i know a lot of linux users despise windows, but .doc, .xls, and .ppt are the popular formats used

$100 if someone will port a light, IT friendly, version of openoffice. If the IT could read/write word/excel/powerpoint documents I would seriously s**t a golden brick for the developer. Bring forth the openoffice port!

re: Koffice: from what I understand, that would require adopting KDE for the Maemo GUI. I don't have an opinion about whether or not it's good, but it might take a bit more effort that it's otherwise worth.

that's assuming koffice requires kde... if not, then maybe it would be good.

Gnumeric is working fine for me on excel (2003) spreadsheets, but they aren't doing complex charts or such.

I haven't had need for a word processor, but abiword would likely be sufficient.

I'm not going to do major work on the n810, good as it is. I have a laptop for that with a keyboard and screen I can comfortably work on for a while.

Just thinking out loud here.... puppy linux is a small OS, and they have Open office and abb
yword etc... Are those compatible for porting to maemo? Could you mmc boot an IT with puppy linux?

I'd be in for this provided the database could be encrypted and files could be synced or at least copied between Win and Nokia.
RTF would be good enough for me too.
As a sideline, people may hate MS Office but it's a fact of business life and that won't change in a hurry. A well chosen subset of MS functions is all that's necessary for the IT. I use Open Office and find that just as bloated as Office for my purposes (I stress, MY purposes).

You at least get the point WRT a "light, IT friendly, version", whereas others are stuck on Hildonization. Apps don't have to be hildonized to work under maemo, that's just some nice polish. There are (awkward, but smoothable) ways of dealing with non-hildonized apps. If someone had OOo running on the ITs, I'm sure someone would package it with Xvnc and the right scripts to make it reasonably user-friendly.

But OOo is a bloated beast, and is heavily java-based to boot. Starting with that and trimming down to a IT-friendly app is the wrong way to go. The way I see it, there are 3 promising ways forward:

1. Use KDE. This is only for advanced users who want to run a "normal" desktop environment in the first place. But if you are among them, it seems to work well, so Koffice should work for you right now.
2. Abiword and Gnumeric. These will be simpler and more integrated, so they're better choices for basic users, or those who want a tablet-oriented finger-friendly environment. But... they aren't ready yet. IDK about Gnumeric not handling MSExcel files; it works fine for me. But Abiword isn't packaged for OS2008 yet (that I've seen).
3. Remote access:
   • RDP/SSHVNC+MSOffice
   • RDP/SSHVNC+OOo
   • Google Docs
   • ...
   Great if you have an always-on internet connection.
   On a well-wifi-ed campus? <-- That's me
   Have BT phone & SERO?
   Normal person?

magog: IT is ARM, puppy linux is x86. Different architectures, so you can't run it natively.
I believe Bochs (a software x86 emulator) has been ported to the IT, but it would be painfully slow. While OOo in Bochs is theoretical possible, it's of only academic interest.