Weekly Edition
Return to the Development page
| |||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||
OpenOffice.org Newsletter
#########################################################################
OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER
Volume 02 - Issue 1 - 07/2004
Please send news clippings to:
newsletter@marketing.openoffice.org
#########################################################################
Highlights in this Newsletter
#########################################################################
* OpenOffice.org learns Welsh (Announcements)
* Anyone interested in writing an Open Office book? (Announcements)
* Free online OpenOffice.org support program available (Resources)
* New website aids Sun JDS users, IT managers (Resources)
* The Open Source Alternative to Microsoft® Project (Resources)
Announcements
#########################################################################
Secure your seat at the OpenOffice.org Conference now!
------------------------------------------------------
"The clock is ticking! We are less than two months away
from the second OpenOffice.org Conference!
Information about how to register can be found at:
http://marketing.openoffice.org/ooocon2004/registration.html
The agenda will include sessions about different community
projects, case studies from companies and administrations,
developer talks, and lots of fun!"
Source: Erwin Tenhumberg
New snapshot: OpenOffice.org 1.9.m47
----------------------------------------------------
"A new snapshot m47 of the upcoming OpenOffice.org 2.0 release is ready
for download.
* <
http://download.openoffice.org/680/index.html>>
This snapshot identifies itself for the first time as 1.9.x to indicate
that 2.0 release is not that far away. Please visit
http://development.openoffice.org/releases/OpenOffice_o[...] for
more information on the release plan for 2.0.
Release notes are available on
* <
http://development.openoffice.org/releases/1.9.m47_snap[...]>
The 1.9.x series offers you to get insight into many of the new features
and bug fixes coming with the 2.0 release. Therefore, please download
RC3 and test it. If you find any bugs or regressions, file an issue
describing it. To learn how to file an issue,
visit our QA Project:
* <
http://qa.openoffice.org/issue_handling/project_issues.html>>"
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announc[...]
OpenOffice.org learns Welsh
---------------------------
"OpenOffice.org, Sun’s open source office software package, is now
available in Welsh from Meddal.com. The package includes a word
processor, spreadsheet, drawing and presentations package, and a Welsh
language spell checker."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/22/mewngofnodi/
Download at:
http://meddal.com/
Anyone interested in writing an Open Office book?
-------------------------------------------------
Chris Mills, Senior Editor for Apress open source books (find more
details at
http://www.apress.com) is looking for authors for an
OpenOffice book.
The book will probably gloss over the basic word processing/graphics
/spreadsheet functions etc, and then concentrate on more advanced topics,
such as macros, extensions, data access, single source documents using
the XML functionality, etc. More of a book for power users/developers
than normal users, which will be tutorial based, and a bit more concise
and less academic than some of the documentation available.
If anyone is interested, contact Chris for more details at chris@apress.com.
Source:
http://documentation.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?li[...]
Announcement Archive
--------------------
All new and past annoucements can be found in the announcement list
mailing list archive at
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listNa[...]
Updates from the Native-Lang Project
#########################################################################
Brief update from Charles Schulz:
"Project Announcements:
-The Korean project led by Mr Jeongkyu Kim has been announced
-The Vietnamese project led by Mr Pierre Dao-Duy
-The Croatian project led by Mr Denis Lackovic and Robert Sedak
More projects are in set up phase such as:
-Ukrainian project
-Bengali Project
-Gujarati Project.
There are other news such as the ongoing talk and work between the
StarOffice Globalization team led by Young Song at Sun and the NL leads
who have their builds "natively developped by Sun": the de, fr, it, ja,
br, ko, zh (Chinese). A lot of very interesting stuf is going on on the
dev@l10n.openoffice.org list at this time. A lot of very useful ideas
and communication is going on and, best of all, everybody seems to be
very pleased by that."
Success Stories
#########################################################################
Canada
======
Canadian university picks Xandros Linux desktop for laptops
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Xandros has announced that Canada's Acadia University has selected the
Xandros Desktop Operating System (OS) as the Linux offering for its
undergraduate program. The Nova Scotia-based facility, credited as the
first university in Canada to integrate notebook computers into the
curriculum, is offering a customized version of Xandros on Dell D600
laptops through a three year program that is expected to outfit 9,000
laptops to students and faculty."
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7130153723.html
Ireland
=======
Press release: Allied Irish Bank Selects Sun Microsystems Java(TM)
Desktop System
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Global Trend Continues as One of Ireland's Biggest Banking and
Financial Services Groups Turns to Sun's Java(TM) Desktop System for a
Secure, Reliable and Affordable Desktop Platform"
"Key features of the Java Desktop System include Sun's StarOffice
productivity suite, a familiar look and feel and file and printing
interoperability."
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZ[...]
Denmark
=======
The Psychiatry in the County of Aarhus switches to OpenOffice
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Why OpenOffice?
The Psychiatry has to change its office suite as the Corel office
suite is no longer supported/upgraded in Danish language and the
file exchange format in the public sector is Word97 .DOC format.
OpenOffice is an open-component product based on APIs and an
XML-based file format.
By changing to OpenOffice the Psychiatry saves an initial
investment of DKK 4,8 mill. in license expenses to Microsoft Office.
During 2004 the IT-department designs new templates and macros,
program setup, and plans education, etc. in cooperation with a
test group and our superusers.
Finally, on 2 February 2004 OpenOffice 1.1.1 in Danish is introduced
on all workstations. By Mid May 2004 OpenOffice is the sole office
suite in the Psychiatry in the County of Aarhus."
http://ph.auh.dk/ookompetence/openoffice_uk.htm
Italy
=====
Dell Puts Linux On European Desktops
------------------------------------
"Dell on Tuesday unveiled its first line of desktops equipped with
Linux for the European market through its partner Quester, which will
pre-load the Linspire OS on the OptiPlex systems.
The Dell desktops -- Quester sells the OptiPlex 170L with or without an
LCD display -- come with Lindows' Linspire desktop Linux and
OpenOffice, the open-source productivity suite."
http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20040706S0004
"The Linux version is actually sold by Dell partner Questar, an Italian
system builder which favours the open source operating system."
http://dell.questar.it/
Turkey
======
Yatirimlar, Inc
---------------
"Turkish OpenOffice.org project group (tr.openoffice.org) has
announced another success story with Yatirimlar, Inc. Yatirimlar
publishes an adjudication newspaper every Monday in Turkish and
English, and this newspaper is distributed to thousands of readers
throughout Turkey. All the editors work with OpenOffice.org, so we
decided to have an interview with Filiz Keskin from Yatirimlar.
It can be reached at: tr.openoffice.org/yatirimlar.html (in Turkish)."
Source: Görkem Cetin
Philippines
===========
" THE ADVANCED Science Technology Institute (ASTI), the research and
development arm of the Department of Science and Technology, has
developed several open source solutions designed for small to medium
enterprises (SMEs) and schools, INQ7.net learned over the weekend.
The agency has released the latest version of its Linux desktop system
called Bayanihan Linux 3.0, which features a graphical user interface
(GUI) similar to Microsoft Windows, according to Chivas Sicam, ASTI
senior science specialist.
[...]
However, a CD package is available for 200 pesos. This package
contains an OpenOffice suite, a browser, multimedia applications,
e-mail software, and a Bluetooth synchronization module, among other
items."
http://www.inq7.net/inf/2004/jul/27/inf_1-1.htm
Asia & South Africa
===================
HP unveils 4-user computer with OpenOffice.org
----------------------------------------------
"HP has introduced a multi-user desktop PC with MandrakeLinux. Dubbed
the "441" solution, the concept system can be used by four users
simultaneously.
This new PC, available from HP for 'emerging markets' targets the
education market and ships with productivity applications including
OpenOffice.org, educational software, developer tools, and role-based
customized graphical user interfaces. The 441 boasts cost savings at
50% of acquisition costs and 65% of maintenance costs, according to the
HP website."
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3020785172.html
http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?action=view&id=3[...]
http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=316
Reviews
#########################################################################
OpenOffice is a workable and flexible alternative to Microsoft Office
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"All this by way of introduction to my pitch for OpenOffice.org, an
open-source software suite that at best is a lot more program than
Works and at worst only a little less functional than Microsoft Office.
OpenOffice.org, which was popularized as Star Office from Sun
Microsystems, is more than adequate for perhaps 95 percent of users.
Most interestingly, it is the only free Office-style program that runs
on both Windows and Linux, as well as the Macintosh, and its files are
mostly (more on that later) compatible with Microsoft Office. You can
buy Sun's version, which includes product support, for $79."
"Problems with Word are usually pretty simple to fix, but complex
formulas in Excel occasionally generate outright spurious results.
Setting up a mail list in OO isn't as bonehead simple as it is with
Works. A fair number of users would like to see an integrated e-mail
program and personal information manager, a la Outlook.
But the price is right, and the program is more than adequate for
casual users. If you're doing anything complicated, evaluate the
program yourself."
http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-txdolinar3880[...]
Review of PC with StarOffice preloaded
--------------------------------------
Microtel SYSWM8001 (www.walmart.com) - $298
"StarOffice 7 productivity suite preloaded"
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1618700,00.asp
Review: Java Desktop System Release 2
-------------------------------------
"Despite the rather "rushed" feel to Release 2, the Sun Java Desktop
System is slowly shaping up into a serious corporate competitor to
Microsoft Windows, reckons Jerason Banes. "Many managers will probably
decide that they wish to stick with their Windows laptops for the time
being, but they'll probably drool at the opportunity to replace the
rest of their very expensive Windows infrastructure," he says."
http://sys-con.com/story/?storyid=45696&DE=1&issj=on
Studies & Reports
#########################################################################
Open recipe (a case study)
--------------------------
"The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has warmly embraced the open source
movement, despite having to put up with some inconveniences. Find out
why the retail chain, NTUC Income and the Overseas Family School have
done the same despite an apparent lack of technical skills."
"Food and beverage chain, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, has been a user
of Sun Microsystems’ OpenOffice for the past three years, said Shukor
Talib, its district manager and acting operations manager, who oversees
the management of all 39 retail outlets in Singapore.
Downloadable for free off the Web (at www.openoffice.org), OpenOffice
is an open source office utility suite similar to Microsoft Office."
"Asked how he would like to see open source applications improved, his
reply is not unexpected: “I hope OpenOffice can be more compatible with
other programs so that file and data formats used in the open source
application, can be captured and accurately reflected when opened in
another application -- and vice versa.”"
http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/industry/0,39001142,39186[...]
Letter from India
-----------------
Reports on the Free/Libre Open Source (FLOSS) front by technology critic
and FLOSS advocate Niyam Bhushan
http://www.niyam.com/gnulinux/gnulinux.php
Resources
#########################################################################
Free online OpenOffice.org support program available
----------------------------------------------------
[Contributed by Charles-Henri Schulz]
"Enfobridge has announced a free support program for the OpenOffice.org
application suite, along with the launch of a new website that offers
users a way to register for support and download OpenOffice.org
software. The program is available to new and existing OpenOffice.org
users.
Free professional support is available online for up to 30 days,
through a trial program from Enfobridge. Through
DownloadOpenOffice.org, the company is offering two levels of software
support. A free version gives users unlimited access to the online
support staff for 30 days, and an extended 90 days support subscription
provides 90 days of support for US $13.95."
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS2978835938.html
To take part in the trial go to:
http://www.downloadopenoffice.org/
New website aids Sun JDS users, IT managers
-------------------------------------------
"A new community driven website launched today to support Sun's Java
Desktop System (JDS) community. The JDShelp.org website features
downloads of software applications compiled specifically for Sun's JDS
as well as howtos, tutorials, links, and resources dedicated to the
Linux desktop, on which JDS is based."
"JDSHelp aims to help ease the migration for new users and provide the
applications these users need to fully appreciate JDS. The site came
about when Adelstein began telling his business associates about JDS,
and Sam Hiser, a veteran of the OpenOffice.org project, tried it and
suggested that they write an online manual and combine Linux and
StarOffice documentation. This approach soon ended up as the basis of
an O'Reilly manual for JDS."
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS8071116512.html
Additional reporting:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-5265807.html
The Open Source Alternative to Microsoft® Project
-------------------------------------------------
"Open Workbench is the latest version of Niku’s Workbench desktop
scheduler, released into open source (internally called “Project
Apollo”). Workbench is an industry-leading project management and
scheduling tool used by over 100,000 project and resource managers
worldwide. Niku will soon be contributing enhancements to Open Workbench
to make it work even better as a stand-alone tool, and to allow
automatic import of Microsoft Project files."
http://www.openworkbench.org/
UK government backed open source CMS supports OOo
-------------------------------------------------
[Contributed by John McCreesh]
"APLAWS is an Open Source Content Management System developed to assist
UK local authorities deliver services online as part of the Office of
the Deputy Prime Minister's Local e-Government Programme.
New Functionality in the latest (July 2004) release:
* Allow searching of Word, Excel, PDF and OpenOffice.org attachments
http://aplaws.sourceforge.net/"
Customer & User Feedback
#########################################################################
Is Linux Desktop Better Than Windows?
-------------------------------------
""I thought some of the kids might be upset about needing to learn a new
operating system. There was a little bit of opposition at first, but the
kids were also curious. After they started using Linux, they didn't
notice much of a difference in the look and feel. And once they found out
that they could run computer games faster on Linux, any opposition faded
away." The kids have been using OpenOffice, too."
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reports/5465/1/
Replace Microsoft Office with OpenOffice
----------------------------------------
"Spend a few days getting familiar with OpenOffice. Pretty soon you'll
discover that it has no real liabilities. Begin exchanging documents
with customers and friends, and they won't notice the difference. Once
everyone in the office is familiar with the programs, you can uninstall
MS Office and save yourself a bundle on licensing or renewal fees."
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/biztools/article.[...]
"In the beginning was Word"
---------------------------
"It could be argued that Tindall has an animus here - after all, he is
the UK regional manager education & research for Sun Microsystems, one
of Microsoft's bitter rivals. But he has a wider point. He suggests
that we should think beyond the "current malaise" of PCs and Microsoft
applications. For example, if children learn exclusively on Microsoft
Word, that's arguably fine for the business world, but ill-equips them
for change. There's a price tag too: Tindall reckons that schools spend
£22m annually on Microsoft Office alone. That would pay for a lot of
teachers and fix many leaky roofs.
To help cut such bills, Sun Microsystems has challenged Microsoft with
free office productivity software called StarOffice, which runs under
Windows, Linux and Solaris. It features word processing, spreadsheet,
presentation, drawing and database functions, and has been licensed by
the Scottish Executive on behalf of 2,800 schools. However, there
aren't any savings yet because the deal has only just been signed, and
schools don't have to use the software - they have the choice."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/[...]
(Opinion) Strange Bedfellows Dept
---------------------------------
"We know that nearly $2 billion is far too much money to throw away
only to swap some code and make friends. The Windows OS and Sun's
StarOffice Suite are the only products generating money that dwarfs
this settlement. The word on the message boards is that Sun will do
Microsoft a favor and dump StarOffice. Sun will also pull all of its
support from the less popular OpenOffice product."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1619715,00.asp
(Opinion) Open-Source Apps Losing Desktop battle with Microsoft Corp
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Switching to open-source productivity tools would cost you plenty in
new deployment fees, user training, file conversion and more. That's an
argument that clearly resonates inside IT shops, or else they would
have embraced open-source on the desktop much as they have on servers,
where Linux, Apache, MySQL and other tools are giving Microsoft a run
for its money. But Microsoft owns the desktop, and the open-source
folks might as well give up the silly game."
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/st[...]
Linux in Government: GNU/Linux Clears Procurement Hurdles
---------------------------------------------------------
"Think of where we would stand if we didn't have Mozilla and
OpenOffice.org. As I said, main stream media even has Linux people
attacking Sun Microsystems. In a pragmatic and rational world, that
makes no sense. Do we have the Linux community doing the MS two-step
when it comes to Sun? If so, we may need to change the music."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7678&mo[...]
Developer and Administrator News
#########################################################################
2nd Open Source Software Africa conference
------------------------------------------
"July 8 2004 - Following the very successful inaugural Open Source Software
Africa conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa, last year conference
organisers Trade Conferences International(TCI) this week announced that
they will be hosting the 2nd Open Source Software Africa event next
month."
"Included on the programme for the two day event will be representatives
from the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), Novell, Obsidian
Systems, Radian, Independent Online, CSIR, OpenOffice.org, Translate.org,
Mpumelelo, Schoolnet Africa, Netday Africa, The Shuttleworth
Foundation and
the Linux Professionals Association."
http://www.tectonic.co.za/default.php?action=view&i[...]
Event URLs:
http://www.tci-sa.co.za/
http://www.tci-sa.co.za/event_detail.asp?ID=32
Linux in Government: GNU/Linux Clears Procurement Hurdles
---------------------------------------------------------
"Additionally, Sun Microsystems' OpenOffice.org and StarOffice products
have achieved approximately a 20% market share in the office
productivity market. Although the largest gains for Sun Microsystems'
open-source projects have occurred in Europe, Asia and South America,
these products have achieved some success in the education and small
business sectors in the US.
As users continue to install Mozilla and OpenOffice.org on Windows, the
jump to Linux becomes easier. Presently, this may be happening only at
the grassroots level, but eventually such gains evolve into mindshare."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7678&mo[...]
Tips, Tricks & How-Tos
#########################################################################
OOo Off the Wall: It's Numbering, but Not as We Know It
-------------------------------------------------------
"This robustness is one of Writer's main advantages over MS Word,
whose lists inevitably become hopelessly jumbled if you do any of
these tasks. In fact, the way to overcome these problems in MS Word
is to forget about automatic lists and manually place bullets and
numbers in fields. With OpenOffice.org Writer, however, you have
the convenience of automatic lists and the stability of fields
automatically. If you're a compulsive list-maker, like me, you'll
be surprised at the time you save because of this single difference."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7659&mo[...]
OOo Off the Wall: Setting Up Page Styles in OOo Writer
------------------------------------------------------
"Page styles are one of OpenOffice.org's strongest innovations. Together
with text frames and integration with Draw, these features nudge OOo
Writer out of the word processor category and into the lower reaches
of desktop publishing.
Unfortunately, page styles also are one of the hardest features for new
users to master. Users of other word processors may be familiar with
paragraph and character styles but probably do not know page styles.
If they are used to master pages in FrameMaker or PageMaker, users are
only slightly better off, because page styles take a different approach
to layout than do master pages."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=7203&mo[...]
Using Impress-ive Charts In OpenOffice.org
------------------------------------------
"The process of integrating charts into your Impress slide show is
fairly straightforward, although it does involve a few steps and two
different components of OpenOffice.org."
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/5492/1/
OpenOffice Tips: Writer, Calc and Impress
-----------------------------------------
"Making the switch from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice can save you
a lot of money on licensing fees, and it isn't difficult--most people
get used to the changes quickly. But if you've been using MS Office
for the best part of a decade and learned a few of its tricks along
the way, you may find yourself baffled about how to do certain tasks
in OpenOffice. Here are a few tips on using Writer, Calc and Impress."
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/5502/1/
Competitive/Market Info
#########################################################################
Xandros Introduces Business Linux Desktop
-----------------------------------------
"LinuxWorld is less than a week away, but Linux distributor Xandros is
beating other vendors to the punch by announcing its new desktop:
Xandros Desktop OS 2.5."
"In addition, it includes the full commercial version of StarOffice 7
with support."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1628312,00.asp
Additional reporting:
http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=F66BA458[...]
FTA copyright nightmare
-----------------------
"An example would be Microsoft Office which is popular, however if most
illegal copy users were asked to pay the $1000 plus cost for a full
licence they would simply use OpenOffice.Org which is available free of
charge under the GNU licence."
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,1025225[...]
Tadpole spawn has Via legs
--------------------------
"Staying on the different track, the Talin12 comes with Windows
pre-installed, and also comes with a dual boot SuSE configuration.
To top off the different claim, it has the Java Desktop System
installed, and Staroffice 7.0 on the Windows side."
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17243
Sun Unveils New Opteron Machines
--------------------------------
"The 64-bit workstations include the Java Desktop System running on
either the Solaris x86 OS or Linux. Starting prices are $1,995 and
$4,695, respectively, for the W1100z and the W2100z models."
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Sun-U[...]
Iomega Micro Mini USB 2.0 Flash Drive
-------------------------------------
"To unlock the potential of the Micro Mini, you have to try Iomega's
proprietary ActiveDisk, allowing you to run software straight from the
flash drive. There's one caveat though, you won't be able to install a
second title even if there's enough space on the flash drive. This
limitation is probably due to the original design since ActiveDisk was
designed with Zip media in mind. Among the titles (most of them free),
the most popular are OpenOffice 1.1 (requires 256MB or better model),
Preclck Photo Organizer, IrfanView, MusicMatch JukeBox and Iomega Sync.
There's even an instant messenger with Yahoo, MSN and AIM support."
http://www.dvhardware.net/review/2848
Microsoft offers the French 60 per cent off software licences
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Microsoft has offered a 60 per cent cut off the prices of its licences
for three years to the city of Paris. It's a tactic that bore no fruit
in Munich when the German city government opted for open-source software
on 14,000 desktops earlier this month.
Will the software giant be more convincing in Paris and stop the French
making the swap? Faced with the possibility of losing the French capital,
Gates and chums have opted for the same tactic that they used in Bavaria
when confronted with customers making eyes at Linux or OpenOffice:
agreeing to take a knife to the cost of licences.
According to French daily Libération, in January, Microsoft made an offer
to Philipped Schil, the Paris mayoral authorities' director of
information technology and systems – an offer cutting licence prices by
around 60 per cent for the local government's computers, which meant
some 15,000 PCs. In financial terms, the bill for three years would drop
from €13.27m to €5.65m. "
http://software.silicon.com/os/0,39024651,39121786,00.htm
ELX Plans To Sell 100,000 Linux Desktops This Year
--------------------------------------------------
"BizDesk 4.0 [ELX's Linux distribution] has come so close to imitating
Windows, that some enterprise beta users actually mistook it for a new
version of Windows, claimed Majumdar.
The desktop comes with Mozilla, OpenOffice, GIMP (Linux’s answer to
Adobe), project management software, graphical tools, and Wine enabled
technology -- an Open Source implementation of the Windows API on top
of Linux. Wine provides both a development toolkit (Winelib) for
porting Windows sources to Linux and a program loader, allowing many
unmodified Windows binaries to run on Linux. “Wine effectively forms a
layer on top of Linux, allowing it to run compiled programs in VB with
similar run time results,” added Majumdar."
http://www.cxotoday.com/cxo/jsp/index.jsp?section=News&[...]
WordPerfect's low price isn't worth compatibility hassles
---------------------------------------------------------
"If saving money is a top priority, the better choice is StarOffice 7
from Sun Microsystems (www.sun.com/staroffice), which sells for only
$79 yet provides a full word processor, spreadsheet, presentation
maker, drawing program and database. You'll encounter many of the same
compatibility problems, but at least you'll be saving a lot of money."
http://www.freep.com/money/tech/wp20_20040720.htm
Low-scale desktop software pushed again as Windows alternative
--------------------------------------------------------------
" Workplace 2 runs on Windows or Linux computers, and its dashboard can
incorporate the big three applications in Microsoft's Office software
package -- Word, PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets.
But if a user doesn't want to buy Microsoft Office software, Workplace
draws on open-source alternatives that roughly simulate the big three.
That means a Workplace user who doesn't have Word but gets e-mailed a
Word document could open the file, change it and send it back to the
source -- who would then be able to work on it in Word just the same."
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/news[...]
SimDesk review
--------------
"For years, Microsoft, IBM (IBM ), and others have painted visions of a
future in which people could easily tap into their programs and
information from whichever computer they happen to be using. But
SimDesk is the first company to provide that promise in an
ultra-affordable way. Individuals can log on to the SimDesk Web site,
use basic programs, including word processing, e-mail, and spreadsheet
packages, and store their stuff on the company's computers -- all for
just a few dollars per person per year. There's no need to spend $399
to buy Microsoft's Office suite of applications."
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_27/b389[...]
Open source miracle horse stuns MS Japan
----------------------------------------
"Microsoft can roll out countless studies that point out how
proprietary software is cheaper and more practical than open source
code. But how can Microsoft counter open source software's ability to
make a Japanese woman give birth to a horse in a convenience store?
That's the question being raised by Japanese software pioneer
SourceNext. The company has launched an astonishing advertising
campaign featuring a horse, famous actress Norika Fujiwara and a couple
of Slurpee slingers to promote StarSuite - Sun Microsystems' Japanese
Office knock off based on the open source OpenOffice. In one television
ad, Fujiwara is so overcome by the $18 StarSuite price tag that she
pops out a foal near the magazine rack of a corner store."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/06/sourcenext_horse/
Sun's JDesk Components: A Cross-Platform ActiveX?
-------------------------------------------------
"Even so, Sun technology evangelist Simon Phipps said he is optimistic
that the boost in productivity provided by JDIC and JDNC should "put
the whole SWT argument to rest. You can either write the application
once for all platforms, or use SWT and have to refactor it for every
target platform.""
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1618508,00.asp
Search in MS Office
-------------------
"* Microsoft to Integrate Search into MSN, Windows ... and Office
Microsoft has made a lot of noise about its search plans for Longhorn
and MSN, but this week Microsoft group vice president Jeff Raikes
revealed that improved search will also be an integral part of the next
Microsoft Office version, currently codenamed Office 12. This makes a
certain amount of sense: For many users, Office is the conduit through
which most of the documents on their system are created. However, it's
still unclear how Office will use this technology, which Raikes says is
coming out of Microsoft Research.
http://www.winnetmag.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/Ar[...]
Paris offered Microsoft discount
--------------------------------
"Faced with the possibility of losing the French capital,
Gates and chums have opted for the same tactic that they
used in Bavaria when confronted with customers making eyes
at Linux or OpenOffice: agreeing to take a knife to the
cost of licences.
According to French daily Libération, in January, Microsoft
made an offer to Philipped Schil, the Paris mayoral
authorities' director of information technology and systems
-- an offer cutting licence prices by around 60 percent for
the local government's computers, which meant some 15,000
PCs. In financial terms, the bill for three years would
drop from €13.27m to €5.65m. "
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/applications/0,3902038[...]
Statistics
#########################################################################
OpenOffice.org
==============
Highlights
----------
* More than 29,800,000 have downloaded OpenOffice.org
so far (as of July 24, 2004).
* The OpenOffice.org project has more than 24,700
unique people subscribed to the mailing lists
(as of July 24, 2004).
* 434 people and companies have signed a JCA and are thus
either already contributing or considering to do so
(as of July 28, 2004).
* 1565 people have participated in the OOo developer
survey so far (as of July 28, 2004).
* OpenOffice.org User Survey Data
(Provided by Cristian Driga)
Total number of responses: 582302
Number of responses last month (July2004): 22705
-----
Last month's survey responses by country (Top20):
United States 5231
Germany 2450
France 1543
United Kingdom 968
Brazil 811
Italy 740
Canada 704
Netherlands 586
Australia 547
Japan 488
Spain 380
Belgium 359
Switzerland 315
Poland 261
Mexico 219
Denmark 218
Portugal 205
India 203
China 194
Czech Republic 182
-----
Operating systems among OpenOffice.org users last month:
os_win2000 12.72%
os_winnt 1.62%
os_winxp 41.65%
os_win98me 11.34%
os_win95 1.02%
os_linintel 17.23%
os_linppc 1.94%
os_linarm 0.66%
os_linalpha 0.35%
os_freebsd 1.17%
os_netbsd 0.21%
os_openbsd 0.44%
os_macos 6.66%
os_solaris 1.19%
os_beos 0.23%
os_irix 0.16%
os_tru64 0.12%
os_other 1.29%
-----
This month's "How did you find about OpenOffice.org ?"
Press Article 17.92%
TV/Radio 1.59%
Website 31.83%
A friend 26.43%
Search engine 7.95%
No answer 14.29%
-----
Since when are you using OpenOffice.org ?
Over 1 year 24.86%
6-12 months 8.41%
1-6 months 50.31%
No answer 16.42%
-----
Where are you using OpenOffice.org ?
Home 56.88%
Work 27.19%
School 5.01%
NoAnswer 10.92%
-----
What do you think about the way OpenOffice.org handles
document import/export ?
poor 1.39%
fair 3.11%
good 20.13%
very good 24.42%
excellent 10.93%
No answer 40.02%
Events
#########################################################################
Upcoming
========
LinuxWorld Conference & Expo
----------------------------
San Francisco, USA
2004/08/02-05
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/
2nd Open Source Software Africa Conference
------------------------------------------
Johannesburg, South Africa
2004/08/26-27
http://www.tci-sa.co.za/
http://www.tci-sa.co.za/event_detail.asp?ID=32
Open Source, Open Standards conference
--------------------------------------
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
2004/09/12-14
http://www.openstandardsalliance.org/
Expert meeting on Free and Open Source Software:
Policy and development implications
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geneva, Switzerland
2004/09/22-24
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/meeting.asp?intItemID=1[...]
OpenOffice.org Conference 2004
------------------------------
Berlin, Germany
2004/09/23-24
http://marketing.openoffice.org/conference
Invex
-----
Brno, Czech Republic
2004/10/11-15
http://www.invex.cz/
Newsletter Archive
#########################################################################
Past issues of the OpenOffice.org Newsletter can be found in the archive
of the announce mailing list:
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listNa[...]
Contact Information (regarding this newsletter)
#########################################################################
newsletter@marketing.openoffice.org, erwin.tenhumberg@sun.com or
deepankar_datta@hotpop.com.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: announce-unsubscribe@openoffice.org
For additional commands, e-mail: announce-help@openoffice.org
(Log in to post comments)
|
|||||||||||||