On Fri, 16 May 2008 12:04:36 +0300 (EAT) "Sammy Njuguna" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > 2008/5/16 jonathon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > > >> On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 8:16 PM, Drew Jensen wrote: > >> > >> > What is being called for is the ability to say - there is one > >> > ( or > >> more ) > >> email clients that works closely with the other modules in the > >> package. > >> > >> Other than the ability to use OOo to create webpages that > >> masquerade as email, what functionality does OOo need, to better > >> integrate with email clients? > > > > > > > > My take. > > > > I have invented a *notional* program called "The Mail Program" > > which I will > > refer to as TMP. This *might* be an existing program that gets > > modified, Thunderbird for example, or a new program that gets > > written for the purpose. > > I don't much care except that Thunderbird comes close to fitting > > the bill already. But if there is a better candidate ... > > > > I also expect that whichever of OOo and TMP is installed *second* > > on a user's system will notice that the other is already there and > > configure itself accordingly, or at least to offer the user a > > choice (or series of choices) as to whether s/he wants this. > > > > I also expect that if TMP and OOo are both installed and if the > > user then uninstalls one of them, then the one that remains does > > *not* lose functionality. For example, with MS Office, if the user > > uninstalls Word, Outlook Express can no longer check spelling. As > > far as I am concerned this > > is just shoddy. > > > > The numbering below is for convenience only. I do *not* intend it > > to imply a > > priority ordering. > > > > > -- > > Harold Fuchs > > London, England > > Please reply *only* to [email protected] > > > > Could'nt have put it better myself Harold,That is the way to go! > > Sorry, I have to disagree. Firstly the assumption that an office suite should do everything one does in an office is an absolute fallacy. People might assume that's the way it is, but it doesn't make it right. But the assumption is itself contradictory. Why do we not hear any requests for integration of financial software into OO? After all financial controls such as accounting, invoices, payroll, etc. etc. are core to any business. The only reason why we don't get hundreds of emails asking "where is the accounting module" is that Microsoft doesn't do it that way. People have been conditioned to make certain assumptions about what belongs and does not belong in an office suite. Does OO have to meet that assumption? I don't think so. We can suggest alternatives ways of doing things and that's fine. Next, question is this: If we believe that email should come in pretty forms rather than just straight text, who determines what format all those pretty features are going to be in? It used to be html until MS in its infinite wisdom decided that email composition was a word processing feature not an email feature and changed the default into .doc format rather than html. So do we let people compose .doc or .odf in your TMP? Should proprietary document formats even be considered when sending documents by email (much less composed in an email program)? What about those silly schmucks like me that think email is best composed as a plain text format for most situations? What if we choose to use a non-Thunderbird, non-TMP program that is actually far better than Thunderbird (obviously I don't know what features TMP has!) at dealing with email. How would you see this working in all the different operating systems that OOo is produced on? It would be particularly galling to linux users such as myself who believe in the philosophy that an application should just do one thing really well and communicate well with other applications rather than trying to do everything in one monolithic world-dominating program that takes a super-computer to run and is prone to break by the nature of its architecture. Why should OOo, which is trying to break the stranglehold of one software manufacturer, be beholden to the same philosophy and then tied to another organisation in this way? Yes let's work on better communication between, for example, dictionaries and email composition. But let's not fall for the bigger is better, tying everything together is better belief that has really done little more than change one set of problems for another. OOo is a brilliant office application. It can do better. The way ahead is actually the way that Firefox has moved forward- plug-ins and extensions. OOo is just starting to move down that track and i think as extensions develop, many of these problems will be sorted out by third party developers working out add-ons that will meet specific needs. That's my take on it all. And why doesn't Ooo have a podcatcher built in? After all I use my office computer to download and play music- that make it an office function for me :-) -- God bless you, Keith Bates www.new-life.org.au If you don't have a reason to live JESUS IS THE ANSWER! Ask him into your life today... He really does make a difference --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
