Mittwoch April 05, 2006

New OpenOffice.org T-Shirts on CafePress.com
Check out the new OpenOffice.org t-shirts on CafePress.com! The design ideas come from the recent Sun Redmond bus campaign.
( Apr 05 2006, 06:00:55 PM CEST ) Permalink

Minnesota joining open standards discussion
Andy Updegrove has just posted another interesting piece of news. Apparently Minnesota is now also looking closely at open standards. Here is an extract of Andy's blog entry:

"The fact that such a bill has been introduced is significant in a number of respects. First, the debate over open formats will now be ongoing in two U.S. states rather than one. Second, if the bill is successful, the Minnesota CIO will be required to enforce a law requiring the use of open formats, rather than be forced to justify his or her authority to do so. Third, the size of the market share that can be won (or lost) depending upon a vendor's compliance with open standards will increase. And finally, if two states successfully adopt and implement open data format policies, other states will be more inclined to follow."
( Apr 05 2006, 03:41:13 PM CEST ) Permalink Kommentare [2]

Wow! Users seem to like the T2000
I just came across this blog entry which includes links to other blogs that contain user comments about the T2000 server. I just took a look at the numbers and comments in these blogs. I'm not really a hardware guy, but according to the comments people really seem to like Sun's new T2000 server.
( Apr 05 2006, 01:49:13 PM CEST ) Permalink

ODF and Accessibility
Read Peter Korn's recent blog entry about "ODF @ CSUN" to learn more about accessiblity in the OpenDocument format context!
( Apr 05 2006, 11:10:43 AM CEST ) Permalink

StarOffice 8 finalist in eWEEK Excellence Awards
See Chhandomay's blog for details!
( Apr 05 2006, 11:05:33 AM CEST ) Permalink

"Office 2007 and Vista not automatic selections: analyst"
"IT organisations should take this opportunity, Dr McIsaac says, to review desktop strategy this year and undertake an initiative to understand what users really need from their desktop.

"I recommend organisations compare the cost/risk/benefits of upgrading Windows and Office against a migration to an alternative solution that uses a mixture of Microsoft, open source and web service,” said Dr McIsaac. "Some companies will use this review to negotiate significantly better licensing terms with Microsoft while others will implement Open Office or Star Office, and so radically change their desktop upgrade cycle and their ongoing desktop cost structure."

Found here.
( Apr 05 2006, 11:03:30 AM CEST ) Permalink

OpenDocument reader for Symbian
According to this web page, SEPT-Solutions is developing an OpenDocument reader for the Symbian operating system:
"Odendahl SEPT-Solutions is proud to announce a new software which will be released in the 2nd quarter. This will be an OpenDocument reader for the Symbian platform and will be therefore the first implementation of this format regarding smartphones."
( Apr 05 2006, 10:59:34 AM CEST ) Permalink

"National Archives Embrace OpenDocument"
Here is another success for the OpenDocument format:

"The National Archives (NAA) will be the first government department to move to the OpenDocument file format as the Digital Preservation team migrates its current Xena preservation software to the OpenOffice 2.0 suite."

You might also find this related article insteresting:

"Because the bulk of the material received by NAA deals with office productivity suites, converting it to an open format ensures the longevity of the information. Carden said its paper documents, if kept in perfect conditions should last well over 100 years. Digital information should also be afforded that luxury, he said."
( Apr 05 2006, 10:55:00 AM CEST ) Permalink

"UK Group Develops 'Openness' Test to Help Council Buyers"
"A new program for gauging the openness of IT solutions has been unveiled for UK local government by Open Source Academy -- a consortium backed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister through the e-Innovations program.

Called Certified Open, the new program will ensure that local government IT managers will be able to make informed procurement decisions based upon the openness of products, services and staff that have been assessed against an open framework."

Found here.
( Apr 05 2006, 10:51:00 AM CEST ) Permalink

Bristol City Council saving £1m with StarOffice
Here are great news from Bristo City Council:

"Bristol City Council is set to save 60 per cent on software costs over five years following its decision to switch from Microsoft Office to Sun’s StarOffice. ... Including implementation costs (migration, training, support, etc.) over a five-year period, the TCO for Microsoft Office would be £1.7m and StarOffice £670,000."

I guess these numbers demonstrate that it is at least worth evaluating alternative office solutions like StarOffice instead of continuing to do business as usual. Read also "We Are Not Alone: Bristol City Council Converts 5,500 desktops to StarOffice" by Andy Updegrove.
( Apr 05 2006, 10:45:51 AM CEST ) Permalink

Back from vacation ...
In case some people were wondering why I haven't updated my blog for about two weeks, here is the answer. My wife and I spent two weeks in California where we hiked and met friends. If ever want to spend a few days in the Monterey Bay / Pacific Grove area I can definitely recommend the "Gosby House Inn" in Pacific Grove! The water in the shower/bath tub can be a little on the cold side depending on the time. Maybe this is because of the antique plumbing!? However, except for that the place is great.

The freshly made breakfast is very tasty. The afternoon tea including the freshly baked cookies and cakes are yummy as well. Both the breakfast and the afternoon tea are included in the room fee. Many rooms have a fire place and all rooms have nice antique Victorian furniture. You can find teddy bears in all the rooms, which can be adopted by the way. The best thing is, during less busy times they have special last minute offers if you book the room after 5pm.

Another hotel that I really like is the "W Silicon Valley" in Newark, CA. The rooms are huge. The bed is very comfortable. The interior is very nice. The breakfast is very tasty as well. The only downside of the W Silicon Valley is the breakfast service. It's o.k., but it does not meet the same level as everything else in the hotel. Often the waiters don't pay much attention to details, e.g. sometimes cups have a crack or it takes for ages to get milk for the tea. If the breakfast service would improve the W Silicon Valley would be the perfect hotel from my point of view. Nevertheless, I really like staying there.

BTW, I don't get paid by any of mentioned hotels and I'm also not related to the owners! ;-)

Now I have to get some news added to my blog. Quite a few exciting things happened while I was away from work.

Oh, one last thing, during my vacation I unfortunately had to get a root canal treatment during my vacation. I went to my old dentists from the time when I lived in California. If you are in need of a good dentist in the Fremont area, I can recommend Dr. Evans and Dr. Wong on Paseo Padre Parkway close to Lake Elizabeth! They do a great job and are very helpful and sweet. My German dentist is impressed by their work as well.
( Apr 05 2006, 10:39:49 AM CEST ) Permalink