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OPENOFFICE.ORG NEWSLETTER Volume 07 - Issue 26 - 08/2009 Please send news clippings to: d...@marketing.openoffice.org ######################################################################### Contents ######################################################################### 1. Announcements ================ * OpenOffice.org Bloggers * OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 Available for Download * OpenOffice.org Conference 2009 is in Orvieto/Italy 2. Success Stories ================== * ZDNet Asia: Malaysian public sector bolsters OSS adoption 3. Featured News ================ * Infoworld: Best of Open Source Software Awards 2009 * Datamation: OpenOffice.org and the 'Ribbons' Interface Brouhaha * PC Pro: OpenOffice 3.1 deep dive * OO.o TNT: Meta and the Semantic Web * OSTATIC: Ten Productivity-Boosting OpenOffice.org Extensions * GullFOSS: Feedback on Feedback * German OpenOffice.org conference on economic and management * Cross-project Open-Source Meeting [German] 4. Tips & Tricks ================ * gHacks: Creating forms to aid OpenOffice.org Base data entry * Solveig Haugland: Using SUMIF() in OpenOffice Calc spreadsheets * OO.o TNT: Creating images with multiple hot spots 5. ODF News =========== * CIO.com: Group: 2008 progress shows ODF will prevail * eWeek: ODF safe from Microsoft / i4i Lawsuit * Andy Updegrove: So What About Those XML Patents, Anyway? * The H: ODF and OOXML only just compatible * Rob Weir: How Not to Read a Patent * Microsoft offers Office 2010 file format 'ballot' ######################################################################### The Community Needs your Help ! There are dozens opportunities to support the community and you do not have to be a developer to help out. Here are just two of many examples: Are You Interested in Marketing? Go ahead an help the OpenOffice.org marketing project! Help spread the word and by the way it looks good in your resume. Do You like to Write Articles? The documentation project is always looking for new and exiting articles. Don't be shy and start volunteering today! http://contributing.openoffice.org/index.html ######################################################################### Announcements ######################################################################### OpenOffice.org Bloggers ======================= The OpenOffice.org Planet has the widest collection of OO.o content with community members blogging on a wide variety of helpful topics. http://www.openoffice.org/editorial/blogs.html OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 Available for Download ============================================ Full details of the bugs fixed may be found in the release notes http://development.openoffice.org/releases/3.1.1.html. http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announce&msgNo=398 OpenOffice.org Conference 2009 is in Orvieto/Italy ================================================== The annually OpenOffice.org Conference (OOoCon) will be this year in Orvieto, Italy on November 4rd to November 6th 2009 http://conference.services.openoffice.org/index.php/ooocon/2009 Do you have something to share? =============================== If you do, then this conference is the place to do it! We particularly welcome proposals from developers with information to share with fellow developers, ranging from how to get started on simple extensions, to the deepest most complex technical aspects of the OpenOffice.org codebase. Success Stories ######################################################################### ZDNet Asia: Malaysian public sector bolsters OSS adoption ================================================================== ...295 agencies have deployed OpenOffice.org, totaling almost 20,000 installed seats and saving the Malaysian government over 18.8 million ringgit (US$5.4 million) in licensing fees... http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62056398,00.htm Featured News ######################################################################### Infoworld: Best of Open Source Software Awards 2009 =================================================== OpenOffice.org won the Infoworld Bossies award 2009 http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source/best-open-source-software-awards-2009-628 Datamation: OpenOffice.org and the 'Ribbons' Interface Brouhaha =============================================================== Two weeks ago, Project Renaissance, the OpenOffice.org team tasked with overhauling the interface of the popular free office application, unveiled its first prototype. http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3834986/OpenOfficeorg-and-the-Ribbons-Interface-Brouhaha.htm PC Pro: OpenOffice 3.1 deep dive ================================ OpenOffice 3.1 brings some welcome new features and some much needed polish, says Simon Jones http://www.pcpro.co.uk/realworld/350737/openoffice-3-1-deep-dive OO.o TNT: Meta and the Semantic Web =================================== ...If you are into technical writing, publishing documentations, you will need standardized metadata in your documents. Every document should have a feedback link, and creation data, page count, copyright information, and more.... http://blogs.sun.com/oootnt/entry/meta_and_the_semantic_web OSTATIC: Ten Productivity-Boosting OpenOffice.org Extensions ============================================================ OpenOffice.org is a terrific suite of office applications in its own right, but it's out of this world when paired with extensions that add extra functionality. There are plenty of extensions to choose from, but let's take a look at a few that will really make your productivity soar. http://ostatic.com/blog/ten-productivity-boosting-openoffice-org-extensions GullFOSS: Feedback on Feedback ============================== The prototype phase didn't end on July 4 after as originally planned. It is still going strong and eliciting a great deal of enthusiasm and feedback. In this blog post we want to provide answers to some of the negative comments we've received. http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/prototyping_a_new_user_interface Tips & Tricks ######################################################################### gHacks: Creating forms to aid OpenOffice.org Base data entry ============================================================ In the first entry to this “series” I worked through the process of creating a database with OpenOffice.org Base. Upon completion of that article you found yourself with a working database with no data http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/30/creating-forms-to-aid-openoffice-or-base-data-entry/ Solveig Haugland: Using SUMIF() in OpenOffice Calc spreadsheets =========================================================== SUMIF(), like other functions, works the same way in Calc as in Excel. However, it's a powerful function that I want to make sure readers know about, if they don't already. http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2009/08/using-sumif-in-openoffice-calc-spreadsheets-.html OO.o TNT: Creating images with multiple hot spots ================================================= Here are the two very nice shortcut features that let you slap in a bunch of text with just a couple keystrokes. http://blogs.sun.com/oootnt/entry/dont_be_shy_of_pictures German OpenOffice.org conference on economic and management =========================================================== The first German OpenOffice.org conference dedicated to public administration will be held in the thermal city of Wiesbaden, Germany, on 6 and 7 October 2009. http://www.osor.eu/events/german-openoffice.org-conference-on-economic-and-management http://www.oookwv.de [Page of the conference. [German]] Cross-project Open-Source Meeting [German] ========================================== The open source meetings, organized jointly by OOo and Mozilla will take place in more cities http://www.opensourcetreffen.de [German] ODF News ######################################################################### CIO.com: Group: 2008 progress shows ODF will prevail ==================================================== It was a good year for Open Document Format (ODF), which gained support from governments across the world in 2008 as its backers continued to promote it as an international standard for XML-based document exchange, according to the ODF Alliance. http://www.cio.com/article/472514/Group_2008_progress_shows_ODF_will_prevail eWeek: ODF safe from Microsoft / i4i Lawsuit ============================================ Open Document Format uses different technology and so is immune to the lawsuit that struck Microsoft, according to experts http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/odf-safe-from-microsoft---i4i-lawsuit-1620 Andy Updegrove: So What About Those XML Patents, Anyway? ========================================================= The wars to which I refer, of course, broke out with the announcement early in the month that Microsoft had been granted an XML-related patent... ...second front opened when a small Canadian company, named i4i, won a stunning and unexpected remedy http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20090821090244256 The H: ODF and OOXML only just compatible ========================================= The Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communications Systems (FOKUS) has been investigating the compatibility of the ISO standardised document formats, Open Document Format (ODF, the standard format of OpenOffice) and Open Office XML (OOXML, from Microsoft) and have now published the results of their studies. http://www.h-online.com/open/Fraunhofer-ODF-and-OOXML-only-just-compatible--/news/114045 Rob Weir: How Not to Read a Patent ================================== There is perhaps no occasion where one can observe such profound ignorance, coupled with reckless profligacy, as when a software patent is discussed on the web. Note the recurring pattern, which is repeated every two weeks or so. http://www.robweir.com/blog/2009/08/how-not-to-read-patent.html ComputerWorld: Microsoft offers Office 2010 file format 'ballot' to stop EU antitrust probe ================================== Microsoft will add a file format "ballot" to Office 2010, part of a wider move to fend off European Union (EU) antitrust regulators and block massive fines. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136296/Microsoft_offers_Office_2010_file_format_ballot_to_stop_EU_antitrust_probe?taxonomyId=125 Unsubscribe ######################################################################## To unsubscribe send an e-mail: announce-unsubscr...@openoffice.org 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) ######################################################################### d...@marketing.openoffice.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: announce-unsubscr...@openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: announce-h...@openoffice.org
