Should I wait

I see that LibreOffice 5.0 is due to be released soon. Should I install the latest version and update when 5.0 is released or should I wait ? I want to ditch MS Office because it’s a big space hog. I’m thinking LO + Thunderbird would hog less space. Is that true? If I ditch MS and install LO + TB will I realize a good gain in available disk space?

About diskspace: MS2013 (full version /w Access) 2.15GB, LO4.4.4 530MB, TB 68MB. So MS about >3 times than LO+TB.

About LO Versions: 5.0 is very new that means more new functions and new unresolved bugs, also first Windows version in 64bit. If you are an adventurer go for it. LO 4.4. is sort of ripe with lesser functions and lesser bugs. More suitable for production.

You can check the Release Notes here 4.4 and other versions to see if you need the new functions or if you can live with less to help you decide.

I am reasonably happy with LO 5.0.0 RC4. Some considerations:

  • 64-bit support: I prefer not to have to install a separate 32-bit version of Java Runtime Edition. Yes, it is possible to have 32-bit and 64-bit JRE on the same system, but I had a visceral reaction to the LO 4.x “Selected JRE is defective” error message.
  • All of the bugs and quirky behaviors that I have found in LO 5 also exist in the earlier versions.

Frankly, given the quirkiness of all versions of LO and OpenOffice, I would be hesitant to recommend them to less computer-literate users as an alternative to MS Office. MS Office is, IMO, more user-friendly and much better documented. And if any of your office documents include Visual Basic, you will need to convert that code. For my part, I decided to make the jump for portability (I am migrating some of my computing from Windows to Linux), to save money, and to develop my professional skills.

Your willingness and ability to ask intelligent questions here suggest to me that you might not need the better support and documentation of MS Office and could be happy with LO 5. Go for it!