In an open letter released today, the OpenOffice.org community invites Michael Dell to work with it to pre-install OpenOffice.org 2 office software on Dell computers. Dell’s own IdeaStorm Web site has recorded an overwhelming customer demand for this feature, currently showing over 70,000 requests for OpenOffice.org 2.

The OpenOffice.org community is the home of the leading free software competitor to Microsoft’s Office suite. The letter claims that OpenOffice.org 2 software and Dell hardware make a perfect match, sharing identical values of delivering high quality at unbeatable value. A joint development by Dell and OpenOffice.org raises the prospect of an “OpenOffice.org supplied by Dell” product, with finance from Dell helping to built security for the Open Source community.

Text of the letter:

Dear Michael

Dell Computer Corporation has become one of Fortune’s “America’s Most Admired Companies” by providing great value, high quality computers and peripherals, but most of all, by listening to your customers. Your recent “IdeaStorm” initiative is the latest example of this. Here at OpenOffice.org, we were delighted to see that the second most requested feature by Dell customers was to have our office software pre-installed on Dell systems. This request attracted more than 25,000 votes in two days.

We believe that OpenOffice.org 2 software perfectly matches Dell’s values. OpenOffice.org 2 is high quality office software, the result of over twenty years’ continuous software engineering. It runs under all common operating systems. It offers everything users expect from office software, plus some bonus features that may pleasantly surprise them. It’s easy for customers to use, with a familiar look and feel, and can read and write a wide range of file formats, including Microsoft’s. On top of all this, being licensed under Open Source terms, it represents outstanding value for money for you and your customers.

Let’s have a conversation about how we could build an “OpenOffice.org supplied by Dell” product to give your customers what they are asking for. We’d also be happy to accept any financial contribution that Dell might offer to help ensure that OpenOffice.org continues to evolve in the future.

Sincerely

John McCreesh , Marketing Project Lead of OpenOffice.org

[tags]openoffice, dell, open source, open letter, microsoft alternative[/tags]