Extrapolating on my last email a bit more, one of the best ways of allowing Linux notebooks to go mainstream is if Chandler, Mozilla, and OpenOffice integrated their products together into a suite and added a common USB synching subapplication. This could allow for synchronization of user data files in these apps between a Linux notebook and the Windows / Mac versions of these same apps running on these established desktop systems. A common USB conduit system for Chandler / Mozilla / OOo could eventually also be opened up to other cross platform applications to hitch on to by releasing SDKs for third party apps.
The importance of establishing USB (or FW) connectivity between Linux notebooks and mainstream Mac and Windows desktops should not be underestimated. Historically, companies like Sharp made nice organizers but it was Palm�s USB connectivity of user data to Windows and Mac desktops that led to widespread adoption of the platform and the resulting developer network effect that drove further adoption of the platform. Likewise, Apple�s iPod also was a nice toy for just Mac enthusiasts initially but when data connectivity to Windows PCs was established, the iPod quickly shot up to becoming the most dominant player in the portable music industry. Establishing a common USB synchronization module for Chandler / Mozilla / OOo may provide the connectivity needed for Linux notebooks to see similar rapid uptake into mainstream office and home environments. In terms of what exactly needs to be synchronized, for Mozilla, this would of course be the bookmarks; for Chandler this would be the user�s PIM data; and for OOo this would largely be Writer and Calc user files. To facillitate the development of common synchronization module, it would be very useful to designate a common user name for all three apps. Regarding user names, I now touch on a slightly different but related subject which I previously discussed with someone at Palmsource with cc to Mitch Kapur. This is sort of a more advanced use of user names that might be employed by users of handhelds and smartphones. We should consider having Chandler display a separate Tab for each user name entered. For those that own handheld / smartphone devices, this would be the same user name that they would have provided on their handheld device for USB hotsynching with the desktop PIM. Right clicking on a User Tab should then provide the option to open the user�s desktop Chandler app in it�s own separate window so that both users� Chandler windows can be displayed side by side or one on top of the other. I would suggest that double clicking on a User Tab should also allow for this event to occur. Allowing the two users� Chandler windows to display simultaneously would make it possible to drag and drop events from one User�s Chandler to another which may be useful in some situations. More importantly, it may also be useful to allow for the ability to drag and drop the entire Datebook data from one User�s Chandler Desktop to the the other instead of having to drag and drop single Datebook events one at a time. This is discussed in further detail below. For example, the act of dragging the Tab of User A Chandler Desktop onto User B�s Chandler Desktop could create in the recipient Chandler Desktop, two Categories within the Datebook subapplication which can be named as desired. For instance, one might be Business use category and one Personal use category for the same Datebook app on the recipient Chandler Desktop. An example of how this might be used is when one wants to use Chandler on a large screened PDA for use in the office and a small screened Treo for personal / mobile use. The business data in the large screened handheld could then be synched with it�s own Chandler Desktop under it�s own user name ex. Joe Business. However if you drag the Tab of this user name�s Chandler window onto the Chandler Desktop of your Treo then the Chandler Desktop of the Treo should then automatically offer to create two categories within the Treo Datebook app which you can then name as desired. One might be named �Joe Business� and a second Datebook category might be �Joe Personal�. Hence, when you are on the road with your Treo, you can then see just your personal calendar or your business calendar by itself through use of pull down list categories on the Datebook app. Furthermore, it would also be useful to be able to view both your personal and business calendars together in a �combined view� category on the Treo where say, personal datebook events are in blue font and business datebook events are in red font. Using this type of system, every time you would update your large screen office Palm to your Chandler Desktop, you would simultaneously update the Treo�s Chandler Desktop�s Datebook category which you assigned for business use. This type of system may also be used for married couples who want to integrate their schedules with each other. For this type of usage, you might assign three categories (i.e. user names) for Chandler Desktop such as Joe Business, Joe Personal, and Mrs. Joe�s Datebook, all of which get updated automatically as all three Palm devices get synched to a common desktop either at the office and / or at home. Getting back to the original topic of this post, I think USB synchronization of Chandler / Mozilla / OOo under a common user name would be very useful for not just extension of Chandler to PDA�s and smartphones, but also for connecting user data from Linux notebooks to Windows and Mac desktops. Judging by the past successes of a *connected* strategy as experienced by Palm handhelds and Apple�s iPod, the powerful effect of bringing connectivity to Linux clients (especially notebooks) should not be underestimated. By adding connectivity of user data, you may finally see potentially explosive uptake of Linux notebooks into mainstream business and home offices. At a later point in time, I hope to discuss specific features where Chandler, Mozilla, and OOo could be integrated to meet the needs of modern offices. --Selva ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Open Source Applications Foundation "Design" mailing list http://lists.osafoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/design
