The OpenOffice.org community has just announced the release of a beta version of the next release of Notes to productivity suite. OpenOffice 3.0 beta was released to enable developers and enthusiasts to test and evaluate some of the new features that will be introduced; at the moment is still not advisable to use this version for everyday use.

The first new thing you notice concerning the graphical interface has been introduced the new “Start Center“, new icons with a newer look and a zoom control in the status bar. Other innovations are related to software in the suite: Calc hours enjoys sharing feature and an increase to 1024 columns per sheet, while Writer has an extension of functionality for notes and the ability to view multiple pages while editing . Finally other minor changes also Chart, Draw and Impress.

But the most substantial are under the bonnet: OpenOffice 3.0 will support the standard OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.2, and will be able to open files in. Docx, Xlsx and Pptx created with Microsoft Office 2007 suite and Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac.

Finally we have good news for Mac users: OpenOffice 3.0 will finally be able to run natively on Apple’s operating system, adopting the look and feel of the Aqua.