If you haven't already, you can follow the creation and availability of the unofficial developer snapshots for Apache OpenOffice 3.4 on the Community Wiki: <https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/AOO+3.4+Unofficial+Developer+Snapshots>.
There is now unofficial packaging (in they are not qualified as releases) of release candidates. These are considered potentially stable enough for release and the necessary structure for being Apache-releasable is introduced: <https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/AOO+3.4+%28incubating%29+Release+Candidate>. There can be several release candidates before one is approved for release. The candidates reflect a revision level that is considered free of release blockers. It is not unusual for there to be some deficiency that leads to replacement of a candidate with another. It is valuable to have quality assurance and other exploratory use of these candidates by those in the community who feel comfortable using software at this stage of development. Designation of this first AOO 3.4 release candidate is the opportunity for expanded review and scrutiny of the software for confirmation of the candidate's readiness. HOW TO PARTICIPATE Release candidates should be handled as carefully as the unofficial snapshots. In particular, the release candidate will replace a production installation of OpenOffice 3.x if one is present. (This can't be helped - the candidate must install and behave exactly as the final release would.) It is recommended that installation be under conditions where any failure is not costly. If installation is over an existing OpenOffice 3.x, be sure to have a way to recover the older version if you find it necessary to remove the candidate. You can learn more about what the Apache OpenOffice 3.4 release will offer at < https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/AOO+3.4+Release+Notes>. There is more about the technical configuration of release artifacts too. This applies to release candidates as well: <https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/AOO+3.4+Release+FAQ>. Defects and issues noticed in the candidate can be recorded in the Bugzilla. Indicate that you are using the candidate by either the candidate number (e.g., RC1) or by the revision number (r1325589) associated with it. The Help | About menu of the software provides the identifier as well. QUESTIONS? Questions you might have around how to contribute to the confirmation of a candidate can be asked on ooo-dev. Problems using associated materials are also important to identify before wider release happens. Any difficulties with related materials and in learning how to work with the candidate are important to identify. SUGGESTIONS? The more ways that usage of a candidate and releases can be confirmed and reported by contributors to the project, the greater will be the ease and reliability with which Apache OpenOffice releases will be adopted. Ideas for how attention from a widespread group of hands-on contributors can be encouraged and supported are welcome.
