I already did the upgrade from 2 to 3 route. The link:
http://ppa.launchpad.net/openoffice-pkgs/ubuntu
is still in my Third-party software source.

The update button which is supposed to be in the tools section is not
there - not grayed out, just not there at all.

I've installed OO 3 several times including the OO 2 to OO 3 update.
That's the way I did it the last time. The "About" screen says OO is
3.0.0, OOO300m9 (Build:9358) As far as I know this is what I
downloaded as opposed to an online update, and it should indicate I'm
actually running a ver 3. In other words the upgrade must have
worked. I also put all the previous OO files and folders in the trash
prior to downloading a new version. Have done it this way more than once.

I followed the directions located here:
....softpedia.com/.../How-To-Install-OpenOffice-org-in-Ubuntu-8-10-9644\
9.shtml
the last time I loaded OO 3. In fact, the screenshot showing the
version is exactly the same version as my system shows. It just never
has updated, and the OpenOffice updates that come out every day or so
are grayed out and updated.

So, the questions remain. Is the system showing this info based on
holdover OO 2 code that no longer exists? Is OO 3 ever updating?
Have there been updats since my installation? Why doesn't my copy of
OO give me a button to check for updates on line?