Montag Dezember 04, 2006

Article about "Perl OpenDocument Connector"
The Perl Review just published an article by Jean-Marie Gouarné about the Perl tools for ODF. The first page of the article can be found here. However, for the full article one needs a subscription.
( Dez 04 2006, 11:50:01 AM CET ) Permalink

Freitag Dezember 01, 2006

OpenOffice.org contest winners announced
"OpenOffice.org has announced the winners of its template and clipart contest. The judges distributed a total of five cash prizes totalling $1,700 for templates, and three cash prizes totalling $1,300 for clipart, as well as two Honorable Mentions for templates. In addition, the project will send T-shirts and other OpenOffice.org merchandise to many of the other entrants."
The full announcement including the names of the winners can be found here.
( Dez 01 2006, 05:08:36 PM CET ) Permalink

"MA Governor-Elect Names MS Anti-ODF Lobbyist to Technology Advisory Group"
Interesting news from Andy Updegrove:

"That person is Brian Burke, the Microsoft Regional Director for Public Affairs, and if that surprises you, it surprises me as well, given the degree of acrimonious debate and disinformation witnessed in Massachusetts over the last 15 months involving the Information Technology Division's transition to ODF.

What does that bode for the future of ODF in Massachusetts? On the one hand, it turns out that both Deval Patrick and Brian Burke were part of the Clinton administration, and their acquaintance presumably stems from that time period rather from than a recent introduction. On the other hand, it is my understanding that it was Burke who led the lobbying effort on Beacon Hill against ODF, and also urged legislators to introduce the amendment intended to take away much of the ITD's planning power generally, and as regards standards specifically, and hand it to a task force made up of political appointees."

The full blog entry can be found here.
( Dez 01 2006, 03:39:46 PM CET ) Permalink

ODF spec published by ISO
Great news from ISO! According to Michael Brauer the ODF spec has just been published by ISO. If anybody still had doubts, ODF is now really an ISO standard!
( Dez 01 2006, 03:37:30 PM CET ) Permalink

Brazil recommends ODF
More good news about the adoption of ODF:

"With the publication of version 2.0 of its e-Ping Interoperability Framework*, Brazil becomes the first country in South America to officially recommend ODF. The framework states that all .xls, .doc and .ppt files are in transition, meaning they do not comply anymore with its technical policies, and that ODF is now the Brazilian Government's officially recommended format."

The full ODF Alliance press release can be found here.
( Dez 01 2006, 12:52:35 PM CET ) Permalink

Open Schools Alliance
I just was made aware of the Open Schools Alliance. Interesting project! Great to see that open source seems to become more and more popular in the education sector.
( Dez 01 2006, 11:28:09 AM CET ) Permalink

OpenOffice.org translator wins award
As can be read here Translate.org.za, the company that localized OpenOffice.org for many African languages, just won an award for their work:
"Dwayne Bailey, Managing Director of Translate.org.za, was present to receive the award. He challeged all present by saying that they had two choices. The first is to let technology mould them and in effect become the new colonialist, and the second, to take action and be proactive in ensuring that their mother tongues are used and supported in technology. And that they would know in the future when they sit and speak to their grandchildren, that they had made the correct choice."
( Dez 01 2006, 11:24:46 AM CET ) Permalink

Open Source CD for Belgium Schools
According to this article the Flemish government in Belgium is distributing an open source CD to the Flemish schools. The article includes an interesting statement about OpenOffice.org. According to the quote, grown-ups are still reluctant to adopt OpenOffice.org because OpenOffice.org is still something new to them. Kids on the other hand really like OpenOffice.org because they can install and use the software at home for free as well.
(For the Dutch/Flemish readers of my blog, as usual, please correct me if my translation is wrong!)
( Dez 01 2006, 10:23:51 AM CET ) Permalink

OpenOffice.org at Birmingham City Council
"He admitted the council's original plans were over-ambitious, with rollouts of Linux-based staff and public PCs originally scheduled during the one-year trial period. In reality, ongoing testing of the desktop configuration means no Linux desktops have yet been installed. Instead, 96 public desktops and 134 staff desktops are running open source applications such as the OpenOffice.org office suite and the Firefox browser."
The full article can be found here.
( Dez 01 2006, 10:13:31 AM CET ) Permalink

"MS Office 2007: The great Gamble"
"The big question is: are these changes sufficient to merit a change? A change of not only an application suite, but also the way we do things. For one, there would be a whole cycle of learning and unlearning with the new Office 2007. Will enterprises be willing to spend huge sums just to teach their employees a new suite, is certainly a fear that must be plaguing the minds of Microsoft honchos.
...
Also there is the catch: if I have to learn all over, why not give it a shot with something that is free and getting kind of popular? There is something that goes by the name, OpenOffice.org. With over 40 million users, it could turn out to be a viable option. Office was first introduced in 1987, and it has been over four years since last (Office 2003) was introduced. With such radical change, Office 2007 could very well be, Microsoft’s greatest gamble. Here’s wishing luck to the giant at Redmond."

Found here.
( Dez 01 2006, 10:09:51 AM CET ) Permalink