#########################################################################
OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER
Volume 02 - Issue 7 - 1/2005
Please send news clippings to:
newsletter@marketing.openoffice.org
#########################################################################
Highlights in this Newsletter
#########################################################################
* OOoCon 2005 - Call for Location (Announcements)
* Native Language ProjectL UNESCO Calls for Proposals of Projects
for Funding Under Information for All Programme (Announcements)
* Linux in Government: Planning for Open-Source Application Deployments
(Studies & Reports)
* Venezuela opts for Linux (Success Stories)
* French police find open source arresting (Success Stories)
* Vienna to softly embrace Linux (Success Stories)
* Book review: OpenOffice.org Writer (Resources)
* Hacking Open Office (Developer & Administrator News)
#########################################################################
Want to help OpenOffice.org? Find out hot to contribute or see our
To Do List!!
http://www.openoffice.org/contributing.html
http://development.openoffice.org/todo.html
#########################################################################
Announcements
#########################################################################
OOoCon 2005 - Call for Location
-------------------------------
"Dear OpenOffice.org community members,
After Hamburg in 2003 and Berlin in 2004, we are searching for
the perfect location for the OpenOffice.org Conference in 2005.
We are collecting applications from teams who are willing to
organize OOoCon 2005 in locations outside Germany.
Interested teams should send their applications to the mailing
list conference@marketing.openoffice.org in the following format:
Key Question
============
* In 200 words or less, answer this question:
Why is your location and the date you propose the best for the
OOoCon 2005?
Your application MUST INCLUDE:
==============================
* Location (country, city, conference center/university)
* Proposed Date(s)
* Team Lead (main contact person)
* Team Members (all members should be willing and able to
commit at least 3 hours per day to planning the conference
during the last two weeks before OOoCon 2005)
* Local events that are taking place in parallel (or right before/after)
* Special visa or entry requirements, e.g. vaccinations
Your application COULD INCLUDE:
===============================
* Large local OpenOffice.org deployments (for user keynotes and
success stories)
* Names of local OpenOffice.org developers (for developer sessions)
* Names of local OpenOffice.org vendors/partners (potential sponsors)
* Travel costs (e.g. flight costs from the following cities: London,
Paris, Rome, Beijing, Sydney, New York, Hamburg, Dublin,
San Francisco, South Africa, Tokyo)
* Accomodation costs (youth hostel, hotel)
According to the OOoCon 2004 attendee survey, proposed locations
should meet the following requirements as much as possible
(order by priority):
* attract the largest number of community contributers
* be near enough to allow a large number of Sun's OpenOffice.org
developers, who are in Hamburg, to attend
* low accomodation costs
* cheap flight and train tickets
* the conference venue is for free
* alignment with large IT event (e.g. CeBIT, Systems, Comdex)
* strong local OpenOffice.org community
* strong sponsor support
The deadline for submissions is January 23, 2005. Shortly after
that date we will publish the applications at
http://marketing.openoffice.org/conference/
and call for votes.
Information about the last two OpenOffice.org Conferences can be
found at:
http://marketing.openoffice.org/conference/
http://marketing.openoffice.org/conference/OOoCon2003.html
Thank you and best regards,
The OpenOffice.org Conference Team"
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announce&msgNo=230
Solution Linux 2005
-------------------
[Post by Sophie Gautier]
"We are going to take part to Solution Linux 2005 :
http://www.solutionslinux.fr/en/index.php
We will have several conferences about OOo (about migration, next
release and development).
We will have a booth where we will make demos during the three days, we
will sell cds and T-shirts for the profit of our association Cusoon.
SL 2004 had almost 10 000 visitors, so this is a big and important event
for us.
A special event is also lead by Sun on the 3rd day
http://fr.sun.com/societe/agenda/oooday/
Several attendees (Erwin :) will be present to speak about OOo/So and
Cusoon."
http://native-lang.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=com&msgNo=814
Native Language Project: Updated guidelines
-------------------------------------------
[Posted by Charles-H. Schulz.]
"I'd like to point you to the new and updated guidelines of the
NLC. They are now available directly on the NLC homepage:
http://native-lang.openoffice.org
These new guidelines come as a result of the latest changes in
the NLC structure and from the processes' reform between the
L10N project and the NLC. Also, they formalize the concept of
project's termination.
These guidelines have been thoroughly reviewed by the
Community Council. I would like to thank Louis for having
drafted this document and having cleaned up the former one
that was getting complex and hard to understand.
Please feel free to comment them"
http://native-lang.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announce&msgNo=15
OOo version (1.9.71s1) on Mac OSX (X11/Mac OSX 10.3.4)
------------------------------------------------------
After some progress, I'm very pleased to announce I have for the
first time started an OOo version (1.9.71s1 here) on Mac OSX
(X11/Mac OSX 10.3.4) !
The first try wasn't very beautyfull, because I've made the first
start with only openoffice-core....I have put some snapshots here:
<http://eric.bachard.free.fr/mac/MacOSX_m71s1/>
But with Florian Heckl tip about the packaging , I finally obtained
a full 1.9.71-1 version on Mac OSX, as .pkg packages !
About the build, the process is complete, excepted for binfilter***
So, I couldn't resist to put some other screenshots here :
<http://eric.bachard.free.fr/mac/MacOSX_m71s1/png/>
in.png format (following Kazunari Hirano's advice ) more easy to
use for everyone.
Sure, a lot of work is to do before a completely functional
(stable over all) version of OpenOffice.org2.0 can be used on
Mac OSX, but whith this, an enormous progress is done !
This work is not only my work, but the result of help and sharing
of knowledge by/with a lot of people like Kevin Hendricks,
Pavel Janik, Rene Engelhard, Eric Hoch (of course), Torsten (b_osi),
Maho Nakata, Jim Watson, Florian Heckl and all the others.
Sorry for the one I forgot the names. And many thank's to Sun for all.
I sincerily hope this "proof of concept" will concince that
*it is possible !*
So, what about the Next Step ? (not a play on words :-) ) ...
change the look and feel of OOo, transforming this great software
in a "real" Mac OSX application ?
With best regards,
Eric Bachard, for the French OpenOffice.org project
OpenOffice.org 1.9m71 package for FreeBSD 5.3-RELEASE
-----------------------------------------------------
"Dear all,
OOo 1.9m71 has been ported to FreeBSD 5.3-RELEASE.
English version of binary package is available at:
http://osdn.dl.sourceforge.jp/waooo/12904/OOo_1.9m71_FreeBSD53Intel_install_en-US.tbz
---
o Our efforts has also been committed to FreeBSD's ports.
http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/ports/editors/openoffice-2.0-devel/
o Now almost all of the patches has #iz.
(http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=40187)
o Language packs are in preparation and testing.
---
Please refer this page for details:
http://porting.openoffice.org/freebsd/
---
Huge thanks to: Pavel Janik, and Kris Kennaway
Additional contributors. thank you very much for all:
daichi, Eric Bachard, kan, lofi, Martin Hollmichel,
nork, obrien, Sander Vesik, sem, and Stefan Taxhet
All the best,
-- NAKATA, Maho"
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=releases&msgNo=8249
Native Language ProjectL UNESCO Calls for Proposals of Projects
for Funding Under Information for All Programme
---------------------------------------------------------------
"UNESCO calls for proposals for projects to be funded by its Information
for All Programme, an international information society initiative
launched in 2001. Proposals with budgets ranging from approximately
US$25,000 (national projects) to US$45,000 (international projects)
should cover one of three areas: information literacy, preservation of
information, and ethical, legal and societal implications of the
information society.
Projects shall have specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time
bound objectives and be operationally, technically and financially
feasible. They must include an evaluation component. Projects submitted
should also contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals and correspond to the areas of the Action Plan adopted by the
World Summit on the Information Society.
Project applicants must complete on-line project proposals forms at
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/ifapprojects, where detailed submission
guidelines are available. Applications must be submitted no later than
20 February 2005.
The Information for All Programme (IFAP) provides a framework for
international co-operation and international and regional partnerships.
It supports the development of common strategies, methods and tools for
building inclusive, open and pluralistic knowledge societies and for
narrowing the gap between the information rich and the information poor.
IFAP contribute to the fulfillment of UNESCO's mandate to contribute to
"education for all", to the "free exchange of ideas and knowledge" and
to "increase the means of communication between peoples".
The Special Fund of the Information for All Programme (IFAP Special
Fund) is supported by voluntary contributions from UNESCO Member States
or any other donors. The total level of funding available for 2005 is
US$750,000."
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=17828&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Mailing list posting and discussion:
http://native-lang.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=dev&msgNo=4247
Voting Has Opened for the 2004 LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Awards
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"LinuxQuestions.org is proud to announce that voting for the 2004
LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Awards is now open. The Members
Choice Awards allow the Linux community to select their favorite
products in a variety of categories. [...] The polls will close on
February 3rd and winners will be able to pick up their awards in
Boston at the LinuxQuestions.org LinuxWorld Expo booth. Last years
winners include Firefox, OpenOffice.org and MySQL, "
http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/29014/
Announcement Archive
--------------------
All new and past annoucements can be found in the announcement list
mailing list archive at
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=announce
#################################ADVERT##################################
The Mozilla Links newsletter
---------------------------
"The Mozilla Links Newsletter is a publication covering topics about
the Mozilla open source project, the Mozilla Foundation, other Mozilla
independent projects, marketing, and mostly anything related to the
Mozilla project."
To subscribe visit:
http://mail.mozilla.org/listinfo/newsletter/
#################################ADVERT##################################
Success Stories
#########################################################################
Venezuela
=========
Venezuela opts for Linux
------------------------
"The Venezuelan president has decreed that the public administration
will switch over to use open source software over the next two years
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said this week that the country's
public administration will switch to open source software over the next
two years, according to reports."
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/0,39020645,39182957,00.htm
Chile
=====
Enlaces To Install Linux in Chile Schools
-----------------------------------------
"The Edulinux system works on a client-server model, where PCs in the
network work just as terminals and all applications run from a central
server. PCs in the network can operate productivity tools such as
OpenOffice and Internet browser Mozilla, all compatible with Microsoft
Office."
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/40330001422084057.html
Linux gets warm reception in Chile
----------------------------------
"Nearly 10,000 computers in Chilean schools will be turned into thin
clients running Linux and applications such as OpenOffice.org and
Mozilla."
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39183940,00.htm
Denmark
=======
EU's Open Source Observatory - Open Office in Naestved
Municipality, Denmark
------------------------------------------------------
"The migration to an open source solution, in a Citrix environment,
didn’t encounter any problem. A growing number of pilot users are already
using Open Office and the deadline for migrating the entire organisation is
set to 1 February 2005. Mr Anders Krabbe Moeller, the IT Coordinator of
the city, is confident “we will meet the deadline as the Citrix environment
makes technical roll out relatively easy”."
http://europa.eu.int/ida/en/document/3658
France
======
Official Police migration
-------------------------
[Post by Sophie Gautier]
"French Police (Gendarmerie) has officially announced this morning on our
list the migration of all the department to OOo (it was signed yesterday).
That mean, that today they are migrating 35 OOO users (beginning on
March on the 2.0 or the available release of it), 80 000 at the
beginning of the summer and the last part at the end of year. At the
beginning of 2006, the entire police will use OOo :)
There will be 2 communications about this migration : one during
Solutions Linux :
http://www.solutionslinux.fr/fr/conferences_detail.php?id_conference=17
the second during OOoDay :
http://fr.sun.com/societe/agenda/oooday/";
http://native-lang.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=com&msgNo=816
French police find open source arresting
----------------------------------------
"Up to 80,000 PCs from the Gendarmerie Nationale could be involved in
one of the largest migrations to OpenOffice.org to date
French police are planning to switch from Microsoft Office to open
source productivity suite OpenOffice.org, a spokesman confirmed on
Wednesday."
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,39184699,00.htm
Austria
=======
Vienna to softly embrace Linux
------------------------------
"Of its 16,000 desktop PCs, Vienna has identified 7,500 that could
be migrated to OpenOffice.org, of which 4,800 could migrate to Linux,
according to Gillich. The IT department is offering to install
OpenOffice.org or Linux free of charge on PCs and will charge
departments less money if they run these open source applications
rather than running Microsoft Office or Windows. Users that make the
change will be offered support, but not full training, said Gillich."
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,39185440,00.htm
Viennese authority to push ahead with Linux plans
-------------------------------------------------
"Vienna's Municipal Authority is pushing ahead with plans to provide
Linux as a desktop alternative to Windows for thousands of employees
this year, according to an official."
"Wienux, as the Vienna Linux system has now been named, is based on
Debian using the Linux operating system kernel version 2.6.9-1, the
Firefox Web browser and KDE 3.3 as the graphical user interface, Lutz
said at the Open Source Business Conference 2005 in Vienna. The system
includes OpenOffice version 1.1.3, the open-source version of Sun's
commercial StarOffice suite, originally developed in Germany."
http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=3013
Singapore
=========
StarOffice 7 Office Suite Momentum Scales New Heights
-----------------------------------------------------
" Singapore – 18 January 2005 - Sun Microsystems, Inc.’s StarOffice 7
Office Suite saw an increase in take up rates between November and
December of 2004 in Singapore. Local sales of StarOffice 7 office suite
retail packs and corporate licenses increased by 45% and 75%
respectively.
With recent changes to local legislation, software non-compliance can
result in criminal penalties. Infringement of this act happens through
under-licensing or with the use of unauthorised or pirated software in
a business environment. This shift has been a catalyst for various
organizations to rethink their choice of office productivity software
to ensure that they do not contravene the new rulings. Many have stated
that they are looking for more cost effective alternatives. According
to a survey conducted by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore,
it revealed that 64.8% of 115 respondents suggested the need to lower
the financial costs of software acquisition and ownership in response
to adhering to this law."
http://www.hardwarezone.com/news/view.php?id=484&cid=4
Studies & Reports
#########################################################################
Linux in Government: Planning for Open-Source Application Deployments
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Linux desktop releases will be fast and furious in 2005. Here are some
suggestions of what to do now so your office or agency can take
advantage of them.
The next wave of Linux desktop releases will fit into Microsoft network
infrastructures like a hand in a glove. Start looking for announcements
in May. You will feel compelled by the Linux value proposition, so
postpone Microsoft upgrades until you have had a chance to see the new
products."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/comment/reply/8037
Stick or twist?
---------------
"For open source, read "cheaper". It's one big reason why the
government is inching its way towards accepting that open source
software such as OpenOffice - free and downloadable from the web - can
become a viable option in education and other parts of the public
sector."
http://education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/story/0,10577,1387225,00.html
It's All About Options
----------------------
"Anyone who has used OpenOffice or StarOffice 7 knows that either of
those office suites will perform 98 percent of corporate tasks with no
problem, and both suites are only improving. For the IT power user,
there's the Windows Terminal Server client and, if you must have a
Citrix client, no problem -- it's there, too."
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Its-All-About-Options-39187.html
The alternative approach
------------------------
"Many companies have tried to challenge Microsoft’s dominance in the
office suite category and failed miserably. Even as Microsoft is adding
a host of features and trying to extend Office in the enterprise, a
couple of Indian players and Sun Microsystems are making inroads with
users who don’t necessarily want a full-blown product with all the
bells and whistles. The pace was set by Sun last year when it sold a
record ten thousand licenses of the StarOffice suite to United India
Insurance. Subsequently, the company sold around 30,000 licenses in
2004."
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=78591
This device grabs music data from the air
-----------------------------------------
"Not just MP3 music, but also video clips, Powerpoint slides, Word
documents, computer games plus Web and e-mail, can be accessed on an
MXI-enabled PDA or smartphone without storing a single bit of data on
the device."
"For example, Sun's entire StarOffice 7 (an alternative to the
Microsoft Office productivity suite) has been successfully ported over
to the MXI platform."
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/top/story/0,4136,81027-1,00.html
Interviews
#########################################################################
Interview with Linspire CEO Michael Robertson
---------------------------------------------
"Our speaker list includes Mitch Kapor of Lotus fame and Rob Glaser,
CEO of Real Networks plus many more popular speakers we've had in years
past. New this year is a half day dedicated to OpenOffice.org where
OpenOffice 2.0 and a Microsoft Access replacement will be on display."
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=9311
Resources
#########################################################################
The star of the open world: Examining office alternatives
---------------------------------------------------------
"With the addition of the StarOffice configuration manager, the product
is ready for enterprise-wide deployments as specific configurations can
be implemented depending on the job functions of the users who will
access the product, while it offers single sign-on and security features
to provide easy access yet reliable protection of information."
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/software/2005/0501280835.asp?A=BAP&S=Business%20Applications&O=FPIN
Linux on the Desktop at work and worth it
-----------------------------------------
"The organization keeps Microsoft Office97/98 as the standard document
formats, with StarOffice and now OpenOffice defaulting to saving in that
format. A few internally used documents are now being stored in
OpenOffice formats, as it is becoming the prefered format when the final
document is shipped in Adobe PDF format."
http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=5&threadID=165827&start=0
OpenOffice.org 1.9.69 Base Screenshot Tour
------------------------------------------
"The latest OpenOffice.org Snapshot reveals an office suite that
includes a personal DBMS (database management system), similar to
Microsoft Access. OSDir takes us for a quick tour of OpenOffice.org
1.9.69 Base."
http://www.osdir.com/Article3483.phtml
Book review: OpenOffice.org Writer
----------------------------------
"OpenOffice.org Writer is worthwhile for anyone already familiar with
OpenOffice.org and who wants to graduate to a more advanced level, and
people looking to use OOo Writer in a professional setting."
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/12/20/1948223
The pros and cons of free software - Part 2
-------------------------------------------
"Like Microsoft Office, OpenOffice consists of several different
applications. The equivalent of Microsoft Word is called OpenOffice
Writer. On firing it up, you'll find that it is remarkably similar
to Word and the toolbars, menus and buttons are all in the places
you would expect to find them.
It provides all the basic features of a word processor. It's simple
to enter text, change the format of text, paragraphs and margins, and
create headers and footers, as well as load, save and print documents.
It will, of course, support Microsoft Word documents as well as those
saved in its own format. Even advanced features, such as mail merge,
are available and Writer uses a wizard to take you through the process
in just the same way as Word."
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/features/1160701
UN project publishes free primer on open source software in education
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Last August, the United Nations-funded UNDP-APDIP International Open
Source Network (IOSN) published the "User Guide to Using the Linux
Desktop", a guide that introduces computer neophytes to Internet access
and applications such as email and browsers, managing files and folders,
and how to use the OpenOffice.org suite."
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS2077548596.html
Customer & User Feedback
#########################################################################
OpenOffice Prepares to Grow
---------------------------
"One of the most remarkable novelties of version 2.0 will be the
integration of the open source database engine HSQL. This addition
fills a gap that OpenOffice had in comparison to its commercial
competitors, StarOffice and MS Office: the former, based on the same
code as OpenOffice, includes Software AG's database Adabas; the latter
comes with Access."
http://www.tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4801
Shun Linux and kiss your job security good-bye, part 1
------------------------------------------------------
"Why are IT managers so reluctant to switch from Microsoft Office to
OpenOffice.org?
Miller: I don't know what the problem is. It must be that the IT managers
aren't giving their desktop users enough credit. It is just not that
different. In Office, you click 'save' to save, and you do the same in
OpenOffice. If you have any difference at all, it's in dealing with
really complicated, highly formatted documents with a lot of
illustrations. The layouts may be different between the two [office
suites], but all of the content is there.
There are enterprises that use OpenOffice. I am a successful editor,
manager and author, and I use it all day long."
http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid39_gci1041672,00.html
The wide world of Linux word processors
---------------------------------------
"If you're working in a professional environment, StarOffice and
TextMaker both offer some degree of commercial support, should you
require it. TextMaker is not very expensive at all, and is well worth
the purchase price if you need superior Word compatibility and an
interface that's easy on the eyes. If you're a starving writer,
OpenOffice.org will probably provide you with the most stable and
versatile environment for your work."
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/12/14/1957218&tid=93&tid=29&pagenum=2
Programs to help you get out of the Office
------------------------------------------
"More than a year has passed since I last wrote about alternatives to
Microsoft Office, and I thought I'd see how the landscape has changed.
As before, let me say that I like Microsoft Office, but a little
competition can't hurt.
OpenOffice.org (http://openoffice.org) remains the major contender.
It's free, although donations are accepted. With oodles of features for
its integrated word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and drawing
software, OpenOffice.org is a full-service product."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/computing/personaltech/20050110-9999-mz1b10mac.html
Freeware, open source offer free alternatives for software
----------------------------------------------------------
"Sam Crow, an EMU Computer Lab student tech assistant, said the
application OpenOffice could help students do their schoolwork, such as
viewing and writing Microsoft Word-compatible files, PowerPoint
presentations or Excel spreadsheets. OpenOffice comes from the
StarOffice productivity suite created by Sun Microsystems for the Linux
open source operating system but has since expanded to an open source
option for Windows and Mac operating systems."
http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/01/13/41e643421da32
Equip Your PC With Free Software
--------------------------------
"Like the more familiar -- and expensive -- core applications, the
excellent OpenOffice.org suite includes a word processor, spreadsheet
program, database program, presentation program (similar to PowerPoint)
and drawing program (imagine a simplified Photoshop). And yes, it can
do all the key tasks, from spell-checking your documents to opening
Word files."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25208-2005Jan20.html
A small business consultant's must-have Linux apps
--------------------------------------------------
"As a consultant to small businesses and non-profit organizations that
are too small to have any IT staff of their own, I need to be able to
support a diverse array of desktops and servers, platforms and file
formats. I've been able to do it exclusively with Linux since 1998.
Here are my must-have Linux desktop applications."
"Most of my small business clients haven't moved to Linux (yet!).
OpenOffice.org provides the file format compatibility I need to
interact with them. OOo opens and saves non-native file formats with
aplomb. The basic office documents and spreadsheets that small
businesses use daily are no problem for OOo's filters. In more than six
years of exchanging documents with clients, not one has ever even known
I wasn't using the same office suite as they, unless I told them!"
http://os.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/01/17/1645245
Developer and Administrator News
#########################################################################
Hacking Open Office
-------------------
"In this article, I'm going to explore some of the ways that
OpenOffice.org's Writer application (I'm using version 1.1.2 on Linux
and 1.1.3 on Windows XP) is open to customization and configuration.
I'll walk through some of the techniques I used to set up the first
templates I built with the application in my quest for an
interoperable, XHTML-ready system of templates and styles which will
work across Microsoft Word and Writer."
http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2005/01/26/hacking-ooo.html
AmigaWorld- OpenOffice: Are you interested in joining a porting effort
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A poll at amigaworld.net discussing the possiblity of porting
OpenOffice.org to the Amiga.
http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=9451&forum=15
Auton Document Management System 2.0-rc1 released
-------------------------------------------------
"Auton Document Management System, or just ADMS, is an easy to use and
easy to maintain document management system for use in an intranet
environment. It provides an easy to use web interface where users can
walk through a folder structure and view documents. It provides
functionality so that authorized users can add, update and remove
documents and folders. Also, ADMS provides efficient search
functionality for plain text, HTML and OpenOffice.org Writer
documents."
http://www.phpindex.com/news/news_lire.php3?element=2662
Tips, Tricks & How-Tos
#########################################################################
Reading external data sources with OpenOffice.org
-------------------------------------------------
"The OpenOffice.org suite has positioned itself as a competitive
alternative to proprietary products such as Microsoft Office and
Corel's WordPerfect Office. One of OpenOffice.org's more advanced
features is its ability to access external data sources from within its
applications."
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/12/22/2123223
OpenOffice Off-the-Wall: ToCs, Indexes and Bibliographies in OOo Writer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"A new way of thinking about and tagging a document's table of contents
and other supporting features makes sense and is more convenient."
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8012
Configuring and Running X11 Applications on Mac OS X
----------------------------------------------------
Apple Developer Guide to setting up X11 on the Mac, with
applications including OpenOffice.org.
http://developer.apple.com/darwin/runningx11.html
Publishing with OOo Writer and DokuWiki
---------------------------------------
"OpenOffice.org Writer offers a wide range of sophisticated tools for
creating complex documents such as manuals and technical documentation.
However, when it comes to publishing the finished results online, your
options are rather limited. You can, of course, use OOo Web to convert
existing files into HTML, but you might want a more powerful and flexible
tool to maintain the published documents online -- a wiki, for example,
and specifically DokuWiki, which is designed for documentation."
http://software.newsforge.com/software/05/01/06/1511255.shtml?tid=130&tid=93&tid=13
OpenOffice.org database application: A first look review
--------------------------------------------------------
"This story will discuss the OpenOffice.org Base and how it can be used
in your business. I'll touch on the similarities (plus differences)
with the OpenOffice.org database program and Access. I'll continue with
a little commentary on migration issues. We'll finish up by building a
basic contact database, a form, a query, and a report using the
wizards. If you are already an OpenOffice.org believer, you can just
skip down to the "build a quick database application" section to see
how it works."
http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/01/25/1758245
Competitive/Market Info
#########################################################################
iWork productivity software targets Microsoft's Office
------------------------------------------------------
"Apple Computer announced its iWork '05 productivity software suite as
part of a cavalcade of products putting it on a collision course with
Microsoft and its Office suite."
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5532254.html
More reporting:
http://news.com.com/Apple+office+software+seems+likely/2100-1012_3-5511929.html
Will iWork Give Microsoft a Run for Its Money?
----------------------------------------------
"Apple about Apple has unveiled its iWork '05 productivity software
that is the Mac enthusiast's answer to Microsoft about Microsoft Office
for Macintosh, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs made no bones about the
application's ability to rival Microsoft."
http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/Will-iWork-Give-Microsoft-a-Run-for-Its-Money-39620.html
Microsoft turns to Elixir for Office boost
------------------------------------------
" Convincing businesses to upgrade to new versions of Office is a
perennial challenge for Microsoft, but the company hopes a new Elixir
might speed things up.
An effort, code-named Project Elixir, will take shape later this year
as a way to promote Microsoft's Outlook e-mail and contact program,
with some additional fields, as a tool for viewing customer
relationship data. Eventually, the plan could help the software giant
elbow its way further into the customer relationship management market,
where Siebel Systems, Oracle and SAP dominate."
"While Microsoft doesn't expect to generate revenue from offering
Elixir, it does stand to benefit when companies tie Office deeper into
their business processes. Since the Elixir code Microsoft has developed
works only with Office 2003, the company sees the tool as a way to get
customers to upgrade. Longer term, such tools may also spur sales of
Windows Server and other software."
http://news.com.com/Microsoft+turns+to+Elixir+for+Office+boost/2100-1012_3-5545640.html?tag=nefd.lede
Novell puts weight behind Windows email client
----------------------------------------------
"Novell has thrown its weight behind a fledgling effort to develop a
Windows version of the Evolution groupware client. The software company
hopes the move will give Windows desktop users an open-source
alternative to Microsoft Outlook."
"Other pieces of open-source software, most notably the Firefox browser
and OpenOffice productivity suite, have now gained some acceptance
among Windows users. By giving people another piece of open-source
software to run on their desktops, Novell hopes to make the move to a
full-blown Linux client more palatable, he said. "This is all a part of
the effort to move people off of a Microsoft Windows environment and to
a Linux environment," the spokesperson said."
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/index.cfm?go=news.view&news=4472
Microsoft makes Office an 'open standard'
-----------------------------------------
"Microsoft is loosening licensing rules on Office 2003 formats in order
to get around new "open standard" restrictions to be adopted by the US
state of Massachusetts, according to a state official.
The move puts Microsoft on a better footing to compete against
open-source applications and non-proprietary document formats.
Governments around the world have begun to reconsider the use of
proprietary formats, which usually lock them into using particular
applications and may hinder archiving efforts."
http://www.techworld.com/applications/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2952
The Importance of KOffice
-------------------------
"KOffice is built on KDE. This advantage brings enormous potential in
terms of integration, performance, scalability, and with the coming
full support for the OASIS Open Document Format, even portability. All
these factors are vital for business deployments. The KOffice team is
looking for contributors and developers to significantly increase and
utilize the potential of KOffice even further."
http://dot.kde.org/1105979760/
FireFox Keeps On Blazing
------------------------
"OneStat, another analytics firm, showed similar trends – though
according to their calculations IE is down to roughly 88.9% (as of
November) and FireFox is sitting pretty at 7.4 percent."
http://www.ebcvg.com/articles.php?id=538
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/index.cfm?go=news.view&news=4486
Study: Internet Explorer continues to lose market share
-------------------------------------------------------
"Firefox still appears to be maintaining the momentum of its highly
publicised 1.0 launch ten weeks ago -- the project says users have
downloaded more than 19 million copies of the browser."
http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;1400864848;fp;2;fpid;1
Flaw found in Office encryption
-------------------------------
"The data protection feature in Microsoft Word and Excel documents has
a major flaw that could allow snoopers to decode password-protected
files, a security researcher has warned.
The problem arises because Microsoft programmers did not implement the
encryption correctly in its Office applications, Hongjun Wu, a
cryptographer at the Institute of Infocomm Research in Singapore, wrote
in a paper on the topic."
http://asia.cnet.com/news/security/0,39037064,39214570,00.htm
Running open source without dropping Windows
--------------------------------------------
"Many free and easy-to-use open source applications, including the
newly updated Mozilla Firefox Web browser and the steadily improving
OpenOffice.org productivity suite, enable company executives to
experiment with open source software while allowing users to stay with
Microsoft Windows."
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid19_gci1047632,00.html
Warning over Windows Word files
-------------------------------
"Writing a Windows Word document can be a dangerous business, according
to document security firm Workshare."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4211743.stm
Statistics
#########################################################################
OpenOffice.org
==============
Highlights
----------
* More than 35,400,000 have downloaded OpenOffice.org
so far (as of January 8, 2005).
* The OpenOffice.org project has more than 27,00
unique people subscribed to the mailing lists
(as of January 8, 2005).
* 516 people and companies have signed a JCA and are thus
either already contributing or considering to do so
(as of January 25, 2005).
* 1879 people have participated in the OOo developer
survey so far (as of January 25, 2005).
Events
#########################################################################
Upcoming
========
Solution Linux 2005
-------------------
Paris-la-Defense, France
2005/2/1-3
http://www.solutionslinux.fr/en/index.php
OOoRegiCon
----------
San Diego, USA
2005/02/09
http://marketing.openoffice.org/conference/regicon/
DLS 2005
--------
San Diego, USA
2005/02/9-11
http://www.desktoplinuxsummit.org/
LinuxAsia 2005
--------------
Delhi, India
2005/02/9-11
http://www.technetra.com/linuxasia2005/
LWE Boston
----------
Boston, USA
2005/02/14-17
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/events/12BOS05A/conference
OpenOffice.org Miniconf
-----------------------
Canberra, Australia
2005/04/18-19
http://www.openoffice.org.nz/miniconf/
LCA 2005
--------
Canberra, Australia
2005/04/20-23
http://linux.conf.au/
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?listName=announce
Contact Information (regarding this newsletter)
#########################################################################
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