content/development/releases/eol.html

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  <title>Apache OpenOffice - Information about releases that have reached "End-Of-Life" status</title>
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<h1>Information about releases that have reached "End-Of-Life" status</h1>

<p>
  With each new release of Apache OpenOffice, users are strongly encouraged to upgrade, to benefit from new features, bug
  fixes and security improvements. After a new major release, the Community supports legacy releases for a period of time
  to allow users to upgrade and migrate.
</p>

<p>
  The following releases are no longer supported by the OpenOffice Community and are declared to be at "End-of-Life"
  status:

  <br /><br />
  <b>OpenOffice.org 3.3.0 and earlier</b>
  <br />
  It was released in January 2011 and its most recent
  <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/security/cves/CVE-2012-0037.html">security patch</a> was released by Apache in
  March 2012.
</p>

<p>
  This EOL policy only applies for the version of OpenOffice obtained via the
  <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/download">OpenOffice download page</a>. Linux distributors and service companies
  often have their own product lifecycle policies and might support the productivity suite for a shorter or longer period
  of time.
</p>

<h3>Frequently Asked Questions</h3>

<p>
  <b>Q:</b> What does EOL status mean? Is the software unusable now?
  <br /><br />
  <b>A:</b> The EOL status means that support with patches, bugfixes and security updates is no longer available from the
  Community. The software may or may not still be usable, and you may still be able to obtain product support from
  Community members via email, mailing lists and forums. Please take a look at the
  <a href="http://support.openoffice.org">OpenOffice Support page</a>.
</p>

<p>
  <b>Q:</b> So, can I go on using the old version?
  <br /><br />
  <b>A:</b> Technically, yes. However, due to important bugfixes and security improvements found in newer releases of the
  software, the Community strongly encourages every user to upgrade to the latest release.
</p>

<p>
  <b>Q:</b> I'm a Linux user, and my copy of OpenOffice comes from my distributor's repository. Am I affected?
  <br /><br />
  <b>A:</b> Linux distributors often have their own product lifecycle policy and may support their versions of OpenOffice
  for a shorter or longer period of time by integrating updates and bugfixes from newer versions (aka "backporting").
  Please check with your distributor.
</p>

<p>
  <b>Q:</b> Why can't the Community support older releases for a longer period of time?
  <br /><br />
  <b>A:</b> Releasing bugfixes, patches and security improvements for older releases takes a lot of resources. Releasing
  legacy versions is as much effort as releasing current versions, with localization and QA being involved. As most users
  upgrade to a new version in a short period of time, and as rollout cycles in companies usually last from 3 to 12 months,
  the Community needs to concentrate its resources where they are most effective, in new versions.
</p>

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