#########################################################################
OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER
Volume 02 - Issue 9 - 3/2005
Please send news clippings to:
newsletter@marketing.openoffice.org#########################################################################
Highlights in this Newsletter #########################################################################
* OpenOffice.org Announces Version 2.0 Public Beta (Announcements)
* Availability of OpenOffice.org & Staroffice Indexer for Google Dekstop Search (Resources)
* OpenOffice 2.0 preview: OpenOffice 2.0 vs MS Office 2003 (OpenOffice.org Beta previews)
* OpenOffice 2.0 to break down walls to adoption (OpenOffice.org Beta previews)
* First Native-Lang Group has been launched (News from the Native-Language Confederation)
* Basic button-pushing with OpenOffice.org macros (Tips, Tricks & How-Tos)
* Re-usable, editable graphics in OpenOffice.org (Tips, Tricks & How-Tos)
* Sun plans StarOffice in Russian, Polish and Dutch (Competitive/Market Info)
######################################################################### 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 #########################################################################
OpenOffice.org Announces Version 2.0 Public Beta ------------------------------------------------ OPENOFFICE.ORG ANNOUNCES VERSION 2.0 PUBLIC BETA
4 MARCH, 2005 - 08H00 UTC
The OpenOffice.org project is pleased to announce that the first public beta release of OpenOffice.org 2.0 is now available for download.
OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta is immediately available in English for Windows, GNU/Linux and Solaris. Additional platforms and localisations for Brazilian Portuguese, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Turkish, amongst others, will follow shortly.
The release of OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta coincides with the Danish LinuxForum 2005 and with the Open Source Days in Turkey. Both events demonstrate the gaining power of open source and especially the force for change OpenOffice.org 2.0 represents. We are honoured to be included in these important events.
This beta release is the result of many months work in expanding the functionality, performance and compatibility of the office suite. This intense effort has yielded impressive results including the addition of a new database module, implementation of the OASIS OpenDocument XML file format and a host of other new features and capabilities.
The public beta release is made available in order to allow a broad user base to test and evaluate this new major version of OpenOffice.org, but is not recommended for production deployment at this stage.
Beta Availability
The beta version and it's source code can be downloaded from http://download.openoffice.org/2.0beta/index.html.
Feature Guide
A more detailed guide to the features can be found at http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/2.0/index.html.
Error and Bug Reporting
Users of the OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta release are encouraged to join the OpenOffice.org project and report any bugs, issues or errors at http://qa.openoffice.org/issue_handling/project_issues.html.
For ongoing updates regarding beta releases of OpenOffice.org 2.0, please subscribe to the OpenOffice.org Announce mailing list at http://www.openoffice.org/mail_list.html#general.
About OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org is a fully featured open-source productivity suite available as a free download for major computing platforms in over 45 languages. Data is stored in an XML file format standardized for office documents by the international body OASIS. OpenOffice.org is developed, supported, and promoted by an international community of volunteers with its main sponsor and primary contributor being Sun Microsystems. OpenOffice.org operates from http://www.openoffice.org.
GLOBAL CONTACTS
Jacqueline McNally (UTC +08h00) OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Lead [EMAIL PROTECTED] +61 (8) 9474-3021
John McCreesh (UTC +01h00) OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Co-Lead [EMAIL PROTECTED] +44 (0)131 523 9218
© 2005 OpenOffice.org
[Art project] Help is needed ---------------------------- "There are various tasks related to graphics which need completed for the 2.0 release and also for the new website homepage.
Many of these tasks require only basic knowledge on using a graphical program. Others require graphical creativity and artistic skills.
Some quick examples: - we need updated logos for the software to include the 2.0 version number instead of the old ones which read OpenOffice.org 1.XX. - also, we would need new CD-covers and labels, web banners and buttons based on the theme from the new 2.0 splashscreen.
We are in great need for contributions so that we are ready for the 2.0 release and if it happens for you to have a little time to help, we would be most gratefull.
For further informations please visit our Artwork To-Do page http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/to-do-artwork.html and read the corresponding issues listed there.
The Art Project's work list is art@marketing.openoffice.org and you are welcome to ask for details, help or guidance and to contribute.
Many thanks in advance for any help you can provide." [Posted by Cristian Driga] http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/to-do-artwork.html http://marketing.openoffice.org/art/about-participation.html
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##################################
News from the Native-Language Confederation #########################################################################
Bi-weekly IRC conferences ------------------------- "We are starting a series of bi-weekly IRC conferences. These are informal conferences, around 10-20min each. They are followed by a Question & Answer period, and then group discussion.
The purpose of these talks is to encourage different language communities to
exchange ideas. It also provides an opportunity for people who do not normally
meet each other, to meet in a friendly environment.
You can see the logs for last week's talk on the IRC conf web page: http://native-lang.openoffice.org/conference/";
News from the Germanophone Project ---------------------------------- "I`m sorry, that there is not much to tell about the actual marketing activities of the germanophone project. At the moment we are a very busy in coordinating the qa for the de localized build, updating the documentations for OOo 2.0 and so on, but I think, it`s roughly the same in the other NL projects.
Our plannings for march:
- Chemnitzer Linux-Tage, Chemnitz, 05.-06.03.2005 with 1 lecture: Preview OOo 2.0 (http://www.chemnitzer.linux-tage.de/)
- CeBIT, Hannover 10.-16.03.2005 with 2 lectures: 1. OOo Base vs. Access 2. OOo in Business - case studies, migration strategies (http://www.cebit.de)
- Trying to start a developer-initiative to get more helping hands for the de-project (I hope, I can tell more about this next month)
Regards,
Jacqueline Rahemipour
-- ## Co-Lead de.openoffice.org ## http://de.openoffice.org - www.openoffice.org ## Vorstand OpenOffice.org Deutschland e.V. ## Mitglieder willkommen: www.OOoDeV.org"
First Native-Lang Group has been launched ----------------------------------------- "I would like to announce that the first Native-Language Group has been launched. To those who are wondering "what is a native-language group?", it can be summed up as a group of several native-lang projects (see: http://native-lang.openoffice.org) willing to help each others and coordinate their actions. The first native-language group is the Indic Native-Language Group, composed of the following communities:
-the Hindi native-lang project (http://hi.openoffice.org) -the Tamil native-lang project (http://ta.openoffice.org) -the Bengali native-lang project (http://bn.openoffice.org) -the Malayalam native-lang project (http://ml.openoffice.org) -the Telugu native-lang project (http://te.openoffice.org) -the Gujarati native-lang project (http://gu.openoffice.org)
More Indic projects can be added to this list in the future. As part of its mission, the Indic native-lang group will have to
-coordinate localization efforts and developments -mutualize and help the projects with the localized builds'QA. -speed up the adoption of OpenOffice.org on a local basis and help coordinate its promotion -coordinate documentation writing -communicate with the other projects of OOo and the native-lang confederation -ease the communication between the Indic native-lang projects
This group comes as an answer for the native-lang projects to avoid the "walled garden" effect that some projects have to face, while at the mean time help these projects who lack ressources and time to develop and build themselves. Expect more groups to come in a near future. I would also like to congratulate Vijay Kumar and Rajesh Rajan for their newly appointed positions as the Group coordinators. Meanwhile, the rights and deeds of the native-lang projects' leads remain unchanged.
Regards,
Charles-H. Schulz, Lead of the Native-Lang Confederation, OpenOffice.org"
Success Stories #########################################################################
France ======
Linux in Business and Governments: An Idea Whose Time Has Come -------------------------------------------------------------- "At least 80,000 PCs will be concerned by the migration before the end of the year. In a first step, 35,000 PCs will be equipped by OpenOffice.org before the summer. OpenOffice will be used, as Microsoft Office, for the rapports and statements, but will offer more services than Word and Excel.
The National Gendarmerie has announced that the migration, the technical support and the personnel training will be managed without any external help.
It is expected to save 2 million euro by year through this migration."
http://www.cooltechzone.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1121&Itemid=0&limit=1&limitstart=0
Thailand ========
The case for open source software --------------------------------- "To counter the compatability issue, Sipa, Nectec and Sun Microsystems Thailand are now working to make OpenOffice 2.0 _ an open source office suite _ a standard program. In the past, there have been various office software suites, including Pladao, OfficeTLE and OpenOffice, which according to Mr Clark can create confusion.
Sipa, Nectec and Sun Microsystems are now merging some parts of Pladao and OfficeTLE into OpenOffice 2.0. "
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Database/30Mar2005_data51.php
Studies & Reports #########################################################################
On the open road ---------------- "PCs equipped with the OpenOffice.org office suite. For PCs at its factories, the company uses Linux-based thin clients. These machines are used to access a wide variety of applications from SAP to e-mail to the intranet. The company uses an OSS instant messaging application called Psi for internal communication. Applications such as petty cash and leave management systems run on Linux using MySQL as the database."
http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20050228/opensource01.shtml
Interviews #########################################################################
An Interview with the OpenOffice.org Team ----------------------------------------- "I asked the OpenOffice.org team a few questions about OpenOffice.org in general, and their upcoming release. Questions 1-3 were answered by Louis Suarez-Potts, while questions 4-6 were answered by Colm Smyth of Sun Microsystems. Louis is OpenOffice.org's Community Manager, member and chair of the Community Council, and lead of many OpenOffice.org projects including the Native Language Confederation."
http://www.adityanag.org/articles/ooo_interview.htm
Resources #########################################################################
Erwin Tenhumberg's Weblog ------------------------- Includes news and tips on the upcoming OpenOffice.org 2.0
http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/dancer
Availability of OpenOffice.org & Staroffice Indexer for Google Dekstop Search ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Allow Google Desktop Search to index all OpenOffice.org and StarOffice 6 or later files, including text documents, spreadsheets, presentations and templates. Supported file types are SXC, STC, SXD, STD, SXI, STI, SXW, SXG, and STW."
http://desktop.google.com/plugins/indextheopenoffice.html http://www.trivex.net/
Linux in Government: Linux Desktop Reviews ------------------------------------------
Part I http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8161
Part II http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8169
Part III http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8191
Review: Mandrake Corporate Desktop ---------------------------------- "While a few big corporations -- Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, and Novell --are fighting over the business desktop space, Mandrake has quietly created a competent, stable, compatible, and well-equipped operating system at a lower price and with more flexible purchase options. There's a reason why it's cheaper, though: Mandrake Corporate Desktop doesn't have any fancy EAL, Open Group, or military certifications like some of its direct competitors, so some larger companies might prefer not to use it. Mandrake Corporate Desktop is well-suited to small and medium-sized businesses that are considering Windows. In outward-facing networks, Mandrake will be much cheaper and more reliable, secure, and stable than a comparable Windows operating system."
http://os.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/03/04/183205&tid=2&tid=74
Sun Java Desktop System, Release 3 Screenshot Tour -------------------------------------------------- “Sun's Award Winning Desktop for Linux is now available on the Solaris Operating System. With Java Desktop System, Release 3 for Solaris 10, Sun delivers choice to customers, offering a uniform desktop environment and user experience on both Solaris and Linux.”
http://www.osdir.com/Article4606.phtml
OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta Previews #########################################################################
OpenOffice 2.0 to break down walls to adoption ---------------------------------------------- "Industry experts who have taken a look at the OpenOffice.org 2.0 said new database functionality included with the open source personal productivity suite will go a long way toward making the system a viable alternative to Microsoft Office -- especially in the all important small and medium-sized business (SMB) market."
http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid39_gci1073674,00.html
First Look: OpenOffice.org 2.0 Looks Good ----------------------------------------- "In addition to Base, the database app, OpenOffice.org 2.0 includes a word processor, a spreadsheet application, a presentation program, an app for creating mathematical formulas, and a nifty drawing program much more powerful and fun than Microsoft's Paint. The beta version is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac machines."
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,120154,00.asp
Mo' Beta Builds --------------- "I've been using development builds of OpenOffice.org 2.0 since last autumn, always saving documents to Microsoft Office formats since that's the standard here at PC World HQ. In that time, I've had only a couple of small problems sharing documents with coworkers using Microsoft Office. We're talking about very slight formatting inconsistencies, here--not anything that prevented work from getting done."
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,120116,00.asp
OpenOffice is a decent alternative ---------------------------------- "Don’t take that to mean I’ve explored every nook and cranny of the 2.0 beta. However, I’ve looked at enough to know that users should consider using it over paying out cash for Microsoft Office, a software that’s gotten fatter and fatter."
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/business/11197462.htm
OpenOffice 2.0 preview: OpenOffice 2.0 vs MS Office 2003 -------------------------------------------------------- "I've been itching for the pending release of OpenOffice 2.0 and so decided to give it a trial run. How is OpenOffice 2.0 going to compare with MS Office 2003 or OpenOffice 1.x?
As a quick test of the upcoming OpenOffice 2.0 release I downloaded 1.9.79 version of the software and ran through a set of tasks that an advanced office worker might use. The applications suite is full of new features, and at first glance looks nicer."
http://www.xminc.com/mt/archives/000275.html
OpenOffice.org Beta 2.0: Trouble for Microsoft ---------------------------------------------- "OpenOffice has many features, but one of the most significant features for first time users has to be the crossover between the various modules. The knowledge gained in Writers easily transferred to Calc and vice-versa. This makes working with OpenOffice.org very comfortable, even more so than Microsoft Office.
OpenOffice has reached the stage of being able to competently and comfortably replace Microsoft Office as your main office suite. Consider the fact that it is free, and yet manages to beat Microsoft Office at it's own game; itÕs a compliment in itself. The only thing that you have to do now is wait for the final version of OpenOffice 2.0 to begin your journey to the world of Open Source. If you are impatient to begin, grab the beta and dive right in. The water's fine."
http://www.cooltechzone.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1073
First look: OpenOffice.org version 2.0 beta ------------------------------------------- "OpenOffice.org has always been conservative with version numbers. Enough minor releases have boasted enough new features that the current release could easily be 3.0 or 4.0 instead of 1.1.4. Given this record, it's hardly surprising that version 2.0, for which beta code is set to be unveiled very shortly, amounts to a major rewrite of the software. Although key functionality remains largely intact, version 2.0 promises dozens, possibly hundreds, of changes. Many times during our testing of the pre-beta release, we felt we could almost have been looking at an entirely new piece of software."
http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/02/25/209222
A first look at OpenOffice.org 2.0 ---------------------------------- "It is not too bold to say that OpenOffice.org 2.0 will usher in a new era of functionality, reliability, compatibility and ease of use. The extensive changes and enhancements which are to be included in the upcoming release are all the evidence needed to justify this assertion.
For those who are impatient and unwilling to wait for the final release, today sees the public availability of the first beta version of OpenOffice.org 2.0. This beta is not for the faint of heart, and should not be considered as reliable or be used in a production environment."
http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=420
Customer & User Feedback #########################################################################
Illuminata analyst on OpenOffice.org ------------------------------------ "Illuminata analyst Gordon Hoff said that Microsoft must convince customers that Longhorn will offer more than incremental improvements. "We're reaching the point where, without more substantive changes -- more frankly disruptive changes -- improvements are more and more incremental. So something like OpenOffice can increasingly be the functional equivalent of what Microsoft does.""
http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3493416
MS Office meets its match ------------------------- "However, IÕm not here to tell you how easy the install process is or how well OpenOffice performs in terms of speed compared with Microsoft Office.
Instead, IÕm here to tell you that it has just about all the same main features Microsoft Office has and comes at absolutely no cost."
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2005/2/22/prodit/10176856&sec=prodit
User-friendly open source software befriends buyers, sellers ------------------------------------------------------------ "If you're not a programmer, however, open source software still offers several advantages. First, a great deal of open source software is free. Examples include OpenOffice ( www.openoffice.org ), which is an alternative to Microsoft Office; the Gimp ( www.gimp.org ), free graphics software similar to Adobe Photoshop; and several flavors of the Linux operating system, an alternative to Microsoft Windows."
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050227/BUSINESS05/502270301/1029/BUSINESS
How to save, make money with open source? Round up this Posse ------------------------------------------------------------- "Martin illustrated the point with examples from customers and estimates from IDC that on average, every worker spends five minutes per day on spam and/or viruses in email, a burden that can cause lost productivity, undue stress on servers and support staff time. With open source solutions Firefox, Postfix, OpenOffice and the LAMP stack -- Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP -- Martin claimed he could cut the wasted man hours, consumption of support staff time, and security risks. In addition, tools such as the Firefox browser require little or no training, Martin said."
http://management.itmanagersjournal.com/management/05/03/18/2218226.shtml?tid=85
Developer and Administrator News #########################################################################
Apache co-founder calls for "neutral" open source community work ---------------------------------------------------------------- "The move follows a decision by Sun Microsystems Inc to base its StarOffice desktop productivity suite, which is finding increased support against Microsoft Corp's Office, on APIs from the open source OpenOffice suite. Behlendorf claimed 80% of OpenOffice.org's work is done by Sun "but the other 20% [of the community] need something neutral."
Behlendorf said the strength of Projects like ASF and OpenOffice is they can deliver infrastructure products, leaving vendors to implement the software and provide support. "There is a good church versus state balance we can follow," he said."
http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=FFBD7E85-6BC9-4C59-A0F7-47B2BC0252CC
Sun open-source diva departs for Intel -------------------------------------- "Danese Cooper, who has led Sun Microsystems' interactions with the open-source community for six tumultuous years, has left for Intel.
Cooper was the self-described open-source diva at the server and software company, representing outside members of the cooperative programming movement to Sun and vice-versa. She will continue her open-source work when she joins the chipmaker on Monday, but in an interview, she declined to share specifics."
http://news.com.com/Sun+open-source+diva+departs+for+Intel/2100-7344_3-5626192.html?tag=nefd.top
Java on OpenOffice.org 2.0 -------------------------- "Overall, reactions seem to split along the open source and free software divide. As Richard Stallman is constantly pointing out, although the two communities can be grouped together for many purposes, their basic orientations are quite different."
http://software.newsforge.com/software/05/03/22/204244.shtml?tid=93
Also on this topic: http://www.libervis.com/modules/weblog/index.php?user_id=19
Tips, Tricks & How-Tos #########################################################################
Basic button-pushing with OpenOffice.org macros ----------------------------------------------- "OpenOffice.org is gaining popularity in the corporate mainstream, yet one of its most powerful features, macros, can be pretty intimidating to new users. Let's see how easy it is to create an OpenOffice.org macro and connect it to a simple pushbutton.
There are two ways to create a macro in OOo. One is to use OpenOffice.org Basic to write the macro. The other is to use the macro recorder. That will be the approach we focus on."
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/02/17/2131238&tid=93&tid=107
Re-usable, editable graphics in OpenOffice.org ---------------------------------------------- "Draw is a vector-based graphics editor that works with objects rather than pixels. Pixel-painting programs, like the GIMP, are fine for touching up red-eye in photos or blending several pictures together. They fall short when it comes to jobs where individual objects (such as boxes or lines) need to be moved or changed. For those jobs it's much easier to deal with objects than to try to move groups of pixels around the screen. You need the ability to grab an object and move it. That's exactly what OpenOffice.org Draw does."
http://software.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/03/07/2048221&tid=131
Repair tools for Word files do not help much -------------------------------------------- "However, it sometimes pays to open the defective Word file with OpenOffice, which is free. While its import filter does not work perfectly, OpenOffice is able to open quite a number of documents that cause Word to crash every time. The commercial software StarOffice produces similar effects."
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/57757
Competitive/Market Info #########################################################################
Sun Readies StarOffice 8 ------------------------ "Sun Microsystems plans to ship StarOffice 8 by the end of August, and to add Russian, Polish, and Dutch versions of the productivity suite within a year after that.
StarOffice, Sun's product to rival Microsoft's Office, is available in 11 languages. To expand the market, Sun plans to add five more language versions within a year after shipping StarOffice 8, the newest version of StarOffice, says Michael Bemmer, director of software engineering for StarOffice at Sun."
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,119998,00.asp Additional reporting: http://stuff.techwhack.com/archives/2005/03/12/1203-sun-preparing-to-launch-next-version-of-staroffice/
StarOffice 8 beta released -------------------------- "Sun Microsystems released the beta version of its StarOffice 8 productivity suite last week. The new version of the software features a new database engine known as HSQLDB, support for the OpenDocument format of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), and better support for Microsoft Office documents, including support for passwords on Word and Excel files and better importing of Microsoft Office data."
http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2005Feb/gee20050222029265.htm
Sun plans StarOffice in Russian, Polish and Dutch ------------------------------------------------- "Sun Microsystems plans to ship StarOffice 8 by the end of August, and to add Russian, Polish and Dutch versions of the productivity suite within a year after that.
StarOffice, Sun's product to rival Microsoft's Office, is available in 11 languages. To expand the market, Sun plans to add five more language versions within a year after shipping StarOffice 8, the newest version of StarOffice, said Michael Bemmer, director of software engineering for StarOffice at Sun."
http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/03/10/HNsunstar_1.html
SUSE makes a play for consumers ------------------------------- "SUSE also claims to be the first commercial vendor to preload OpenOffice 2.0, and with its particular optimised version, documents are saved by default in MS Office formats. This means that when OpenOffice documents are sent to MS Office users, Office won't balk at the file format. It also offers straightforward PDF creation."
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/70194/suse-makes-a-play-for-consumers.html
Novell Turbocharges Linux Desktop --------------------------------- ""SuSE Linux Professional provides corporate Linux users with a preview of the technologies in Novell's future enterprise Linux and a means of growing their skills to remain competitive in today's IT market," said Markus Rex, vice president of SuSE Linux for Novell.
Users will get an early view of some upcoming open-source products including Xen and OpenOffice 2.0."
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/opensource/41309.html
Groove part of Office 'trifecta,' Microsoft says ------------------------------------------------ "Groove's main product, Virtual Office, is essentially a peer-to-peer, shared whiteboard space that allows for sharing regardless of content type. Microsoft has made it clear that it is moving toward adding more collaborative capabilities to its products. Earlier this week, the company announced plans for an updated version of its hosted Web conferencing software, an update to its instant messaging server and a new, integrated multimedia client.
The addition of Groove software to the Office product line was described by Jeff Raikes, Microsoft's information worker group vice president, as the "trifecta of collaboration -- the combination of real-time, server-based and peer-to-peer communications.""
http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid1_gci1066720,00.html Additional reporting: http://www.internetnews.com/infra/article.php/3488951
New Ways Offered to 'Open Up' Windows ------------------------------------- "For instance, the functional differences between the Microsoft Corp. Office and the OpenOffice.org productivity suites are minor, but OpenOffice.org (which is nearing a major Version 2 release) is freely available, whereas the Microsoft product costs a few hundred dollars per seat."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1776370,00.asp
Linspire updates laptop-friendly Linux system --------------------------------------------- "5.0 also includes OpenOffice 1.1.3 - not quite the latest version of this admirable Office suite - plus integrated firewall, antivirus and VPN security and PhoneGAIM for instant messaging and the increasingly popular Internet voice calls."
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/70695/linspire-updates-laptopfriendly-linux-system.html Additional reporting: http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=137384&liArticle TypeID=1&liCategoryID=6&liChannelID=126&liFlavourID=1&sSearch=&nPage=1
Why Novell's internal migration to Linux desktops is a landmark story --------------------------------------------------------------------- "The migration began last summer. Actually the first phase began the previous year, with the move from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice.org. Anderson set an ambitious goal for that first phase: She wanted to migrate 90 percent of MS Office users to OOo in three months. They almost made that goal, too, with 85 percent migrated during that time frame. There were lessons to be learned from those who couldn't migrate, and feedback to the OOo developers got work started on removing some of the tougher obstacles. (Note: I've heard unconfirmed reports that Novell has hired a number of OOo developers since then.)"
http://business.newsforge.com/business/05/03/23/1755222.shtml?tid=37&tid=18
Think Sun --------- "With Microsoft animosity behind him, CEO Scott McNealy explains why Windows shops should consider his alternative desktop approach. [...] How well is the desktop concept you describe catching on with the enterprise? We just introduced in [December] the broadband version of SunRay. In the past you needed a SunRay on a corporate network or a school network. Now it works great over DSL. I am working on DSL from SBC and I notice no difference in response time versus when I'm in the office. The win here is huge and it's just now available.
A couple of things are new. One is that StarOffice is a legitimate—in fact a more than legitimate—contender to Office. The Java Desktop is now a patent peace/patent amnesty, familiar alternative to the Windows user interface, and the browser is now the dominant and in fact often the only required desktop application other than Office or StarOffice. Broadband is ubiquitous now and we have a broadband version of the SunRay."
http://www.redmondmag.com/features/article.asp?EditorialsID=468
B3 Computers Broadens Its Offerings By Delivering the Java(TM) Desktop System to Customers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Sun Java Desktop System bolsters B3's already impressive line of products and services. B3's built-to-order, high-quality desktop, notebook and server computer systems are complemented by an ever growing offering of software and peripherals. "This opens another opportunity to offer alternative solutions to our clients," said Lawrence Miller, a solution provider from Los Angeles. "We can provide a complete system with StarOffice at a fraction of the cost giving me an advantage over my competition.""
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050318/laf059_2.html
Adobe re-discovers Linux with Reader v7 --------------------------------------- "WHILE STILL not officially listed in Adobe's download page, you can get Adobe Reader 7.0 for Linux from the company's FTP server.
A link is included at the end of this article for the impatient. I took advantage of this opportunity to get rid of the ugly Acrobat Reader 5.0.9 for Linux, which is included in several Linux distros including my current distro of choice, JDS."
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=22070
A Word to the unwise -- program's grammar check isn't so smart -------------------------------------------------------------- "Microsoft the company should big improve Word grammar check.
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That sentence is a confusing jumble. However, it is perfectly fine in the assessment of Microsoft Word's built-in grammar checker, which detects no problem with the prose.
Sandeep Krishnamurthy thinks Microsoft can do a lot better."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/217802_grammar28.asp
Statistics #########################################################################
OpenOffice.org ==============
Highlights ----------
* More than 37,300,000 have downloaded OpenOffice.org so far (as of February 19, 2005).
* The OpenOffice.org project has more than 28,900 unique people subscribed to the mailing lists (as of February 19, 2005).
* 551 people and companies have signed a JCA and are thus either already contributing or considering to do so (as of March 29, 2005): http://www.openoffice.org/copyright/copyrightapproved.html
* 1990 people have participated in the OOo developer survey so far (as of March 29, 2005).
* User Survey Statistics: [Courtesy of Cristian Driga]
Total number of responses since survey start (oct 2002): 865663
Statistics for the last month (February 2005): Number of responses: 36281
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Survey respondents by country (Top 20 countries):
United States 7678 France 3826 Germany 3592 United Kingdom 1657 Italy 1200 Canada 1163 Brazil 1027 Netherlands 942 Spain 764 Australia 754 Belgium 592 Poland 554 Japan 502 Switzerland 460 Portugal 414 Denmark 412 Finland 383 Czech Republic 355 Russia 314 Sweden 306
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How did you find out about OpenOffice.org ?
Press Article: 18.56% TV/Radio: 1.26% Website: 28.23% A friend: 29.55% Search engine: 8.08% No response: 13.86%
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Where are you primarily using OpenOffice.org ?
Home: 58.32% Work: 24.04% School: 6.03% No answer: 11.61%
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What applications do you primarily use in OpenOffice.org ?
Word processor: 44.01% Spreadsheet: 24.86% Presentations: 6.65% Vector drawing: 7.62% HTML editor: 7.16% No answer: 9.7%
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Operating systems among OpenOffice.org users:
Windows2000: 10.46% WindowsNT4.0: 1.07% WindowsXP: 50.37% Windows98(SE/ME): 8.8% Windows95: 0.67% Linux(Intel x86): 13.73% Linux(PowerPC): 1.47% Linux (ARM): 0.49% Linux(Alpha): 0.3% FreeBSD: 0.94% NetBSD: 0.13% OpenBSD: 0.28% Mac OS X: 4.12% Solaris: 0.85% BeOS: 0.16% IRIX: 0.1% Tru64: 0.07% Other: 1.02% No answer: 5.0%
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Events #########################################################################
Upcoming ========
OoRegiCon Japan --------------- Tokyo, Japan 2005/03/25-26 http://ja.openoffice.org/marketing/event/oooconja2005/index.html
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/
Open Source Forum ----------------- Moscow, Russia 2005/04/27-29 http://www.opensource-forum.ru/
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) ######################################################################### newsletter@marketing.openoffice.org, [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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