*re: NoOp* I understand you still have reservations about this, so let me clarify in brief:
1) My understanding of the term "open source" is that, if one (or a group of people) know precisely what they're doing, he/she/they can modify a program so that it fits his/her/their needs. Other programs, like regular MS Word, do not allow for this (as far as I'd guess, that is). 2) If/when mods are made, they are meant to be shared. The program was free to begin with, so therefore, so should any mods/extensions/whatever you want to call it. It's true that the idea of the writing utility may not prove to be practical to the widest audience out there in the OOo community...but then again, you could say the same for something like the Kinyarwanda spelling dictionary<http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/en/project/dict_rw>. (No offense to anyone who uses that ext. religiously.) 3) I apologize in case I did not state this earlier, but it is in fact the long-term goal of the former headmaster/founder/resident tech guru of the school to make the ultimate switch from our current, haphazard DOS/Frankenstein Windows system to an all Unix/Linux system. Of course, if the fact that we are still using DOS in the year 2010 didn't give it away, the process of making this switch a reality hasn't exactly moved forward at an ideal pace, to put it gingerly. Once it *does *happen, though, OOo would certainly be the cornerstone for the school's word-processing/drawing/graphing needs. Some of the tech staff do in fact use OOo already, but OOo has never been given the chance to work its magic in our classrooms because most students/teachers don't even know it exists, and therefore no one has ever even thought to push for it as hard as I am now. *IF*, therefore, I am able to drive the introduction of OOo into our school *now*, it would not only be a HUGE eye-opener, but it would also be a much, MUCH-needed spark to accelerate that process of transitioning over to Unix/Linux. If everyone gets comfortable with OOo on Windows, then when that switch finally comes, no one will bat an eye. (Unless, of course, OOo is in fact *radically *different on Linux. I doubt it, but I know what they say about "assume"...) 4) "in the end those familiar with your "CritiWriter" will simply get pissed off at you, and OOo, because: 1) CritiWriter works for them, 2) OOo as presented is *not* a replacement for CritiWriter." To respond to this specific point: Yes, I am looking for a replacement for CritiWriter, but only because I know that this is critical to push the school out of DOS already. *Believe me *-- nothing would make the staff happier, including the former headmaster himself (he may not admit it right off the bat because everything he's created on DOS *is *his baby, after all, but at this point in the school's history, he is starting to see the writing on the wall). Am I expecting OOo to replace CritiWriter out of the box? *NO*. That would be like buying a brownie mix and somehow expecting to bake a seven-layer cake. What I do hope for, though, is to collaborate to make an extension/widget/utility/whatever you want to call it that works either inside of or in tandem with OOo's Writer that essentially produces the same end result. As it happens, the former headmaster and the head writing teacher at the school started to talk at the end of this past school year about re-evaluating how CritiWriter suits the school's writing assessment needs, and both believe that a couple of certain aspects of CritiWriter (I know for a fact that one aspect is the output statistic relating to grade equivalents) are not quite up to speed with the times anymore, so it's time for an update. Therefore, if what I have suggested is possible for Writer, it would be *perfect.* Granted, other schools interested in a similar extension/widget/utility/etc. may not want the same output statistics that fit our school's needs, but hey -- if other schools saw that something like this is even possible, then they can hop on board too and collaborate with everyone reading this to make more minor adjustments to the extension/widget/utility/etc. So, there may be greater opportunity here for OOo to grow than it sounds. "Note: nothing wrong with actually doing that if you folks have taken the source, used your resources to modify and will maintain for the long term." Hey -- if we *do* get this made and there *is* any other school out there who would need those minor adjustments or whatever, then *count me in* as part of the team that makes it happen. And trust me: *NO ONE *at my school likes using CritiWriter. The writing teachers on staff love it just as much as the kids love using DOS, period. No one will get "pissed off" if a superior alternative can be designed and implemented. (And by "superior," I at bare minimum mean "works on the Windows side of the computer, so reenacting Isner vs. Mahut<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1289130/WIMBLEDON-2010-John-Isner-Nicolas-Mahut-longest-tennis-match-ever.html>between DOS and Windows every time it's time to grade a paper is no longer necessary.") At the end of the day, if the writing extension/utility/etc. idea I have posed is just not possible in any way, shape, or form in OOo, then fine; I can accept that and move on. In my opinion, though, to not even try is a bigger black eye. I for one think it *is *possible, however, and that if successful, it could open the doors for OOo to reach a new, wider audience, especially in the education field. Sincerely, Jeremy PS: Okay, so that was not "brief." I apologize...but then again, what do you expect from a writing teacher? > >
