Unlike OpenOffice.org of yore, LibreOffice developers have been pumping out the updates at a rapid pace. Since the inaugural release two months ago, LibreOffice has seen two minor version updates as well as associated developmental releases. The latest, LibreOffice 3.3.2, was released just a couple of days ago.

LibreOffice 3.3, the fork of OpenOffice.org 3.x, was released on January 25 to a jubilant reception. It built upon the years of work that made OpenOffice.org an excellent office suite. Many OpenOffice.org developers defected when Oracle's strategy became suspect. With the many same talented developers and supporting companies now backing LibreOffice, it is well positioned to challenge OpenOffice.org in Linux distributions and user desktops. It already pulls ahead in some polls and has replaced OOo in several popular distributions.

Version 3.3 brought nice improvements over OpenOffice.org, one of which is Scalable Vector Graphics support. Another is the long awaited support for MS Works formats and improved Word Perfect support. One of the most interesting new features is the Experimental Mode, which allows one to test upcoming features.

Version 3.3.1 was released on February 23 and brought some bug fixes, new icons, and extra language additions.

LibreOffice 3.3.2 was released March 22. This release was primarily a stabilizing update bringing further bug fixes and code clean-ups. The announcement also said this release sets the stage for the next major release, 3.4.0, due May 2. 3.3.2 is actually the renamed Release Candidate 2, so not only is the changelog essentially unchanged but those who installed RC2 will not need to upgrade.

Some of the more interesting changes include dictionary updates, fixed incorrect cursor navigation, fixed the occasional blank first slide in Presentation, fixed Writer losing ticks in check boxes, fixed erratic paint rendering in Impress, and added a workaround for IM problems with KDE4 integration.

The next release of LibreOffice should arrive with the developmental snapshots leading up to 3.4.0. The first beta is expected to appear any day now and release candidates will start appearing after April 4. 3.4.1 is due May 23.

Download LibreOffice 3.3.2