As a LibreOffice user,

I applaud this initiative, but unlike Andus McCoatover above, I find the Google dig gratuituous - in the event that Italo did in fact make it and it's not something that Ian Thomson inserted into the conversation in order to confirm to Reg standards. The Google product that was in beta status longest is Gmail - released as an invitation-only service on 1 April 2004 and to the general public on 7 February 2007. Beta status was removed on 7 July 2009. Ten years in beta ? Considering the Reg's journalistic standards and the fact that it has been around since 1994 (then in the guise of «Chip Connection», perhaps we're looking here at the world's longest alpha - 17 years and counting....

Henri