OpenOffice may have started catering to the Mac with only a handful of features, but its most recent beta version may prove to offer more open-sourced office suite love to Mac users. Its latest version, OpenOffice.org 3 beta, now has some improvements in UI as well as added new functions. More info in the full article.

Come September next year, the Apple scene may be seeing the appearance of an OpenOffice office suite that will work natively with Mac OS X. That is, this new build won't require you to install the Unix windowing software called X11, which has been the source of headaches among Mac users.

This information we're picking is based on a presentation by Eric Bachard, who also noted that September 2008 may see OpenOffice v3.0 getting released. As it stands, OpenOffice most recent build is version 2.3.0. Eric is among the the lead developers of the Mac "Aqua" (the name for the MAC OS X GUI) port of OpenOffice.

At the moment, the most hassle-free OpenOffice port we've picked up is Planamesa Software's NeoOffice. This particular build reportedly works more seamlessly with Aqua since it doesn't require the X11 environment , although at the cost of higher memory usage. The latest build for NeoOffice at this point is v2.2.1, and is based on OpenOffice v2.2.1.

OpenOffice is a popular alternative for Microsoft Office, and can run on multiple platforms. It's an open-source project which is compatible with major office suites and is free for downloading and distribution. (Dontcha just love open-source?) Well, if you're already an OpenOffice user, we got some good news for you.

Next month, OS X users will be able to get a "Mac-native" version of OpenOffice. What's the diff, you say? Well, previous versions of OpenOffice required users to install the X11 Windows System. This graphical interface allows Unix-based applications to run on Macs. But now, the new version of OpenOffice won't require this anymore and will become a "true" Mac application - a native.

This updated build will most likely make its first appearance during the OpenOffice.org Convention in Lyon, France, in mid-September and will also grace the Apple Expo in Paris from September 12 to 16.