Samstag März 31, 2007

Solaris porting guide for developers available
I was always wondering why we did not have a guide explaining developers how to port applications to Solaris. I just found that we actually have one now. The 54-page white paper can be found here or here. I'll probably give the document a try myself sometime soon.
( Mrz 31 2007, 08:17:43 AM CEST ) Permalink

Extremadura publishes Microsoft Access to OpenOffice.org Base conversion tool
If I correctly understood this and this, Extremadura just published a first version of a Microsoft Access to OpenOffice.org Base conversion tool.
( Mrz 31 2007, 08:02:57 AM CEST ) Permalink

"OpenOffice.org Calc functions, part 1: Understanding functions"
Bruce Byfield just published a new article. Here is his summary:
"A function is a pre-defined calculation entered in a cell to help you analyze or manipulate data in a spreadsheet. All you have to do is add the arguments, and the calculation is automatically made for you. Beginners might be content to use Calc for lists, but, for advanced users, functions are the main reason for spreadsheets. If you understand functions, then you can start to use the real power of a spreadsheet. In Part 1 of this article, I'll give a brief overview of functions and how they operate. Then, in Part 2, I'll talk about how to work with them, and give some examples of what they can do."
The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 31 2007, 07:55:34 AM CEST ) Permalink

Freitag März 30, 2007

OpenOffice.org, "the price is right"
"Users tend to love it. Reviewers across the Internet give OpenOffice thumbs up for being just as good as office suites by Microsoft and Lotus. They always point out the price is right when you consider that the 2007 version of Microsoft Office for individuals ranges from US$150 to $450."
Found here.
( Mrz 30 2007, 10:24:44 AM CEST ) Permalink

"OOoBasic crash course: Adding GUI goodness"
"Some OpenOffice.org macros have rudimentary dialog boxes that allow you to define a few parameters. If you're ready to take your macro programming skills to a new level, you can learn how to create graphical interfaces for your macros. Once you know how to do that, you can build advanced macros that are close to full-blown applications."
The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 30 2007, 10:20:34 AM CEST ) Permalink

Medical record system with OpenOffice.org support
I don't know if the following Google Summer of Code proposal found any students, but I find the idea interesting, anyway:
"MVC data entry alternatives - This project intends to build on work already done by OpenMRS that allows for client side entry of medical record data using Microsoft InfoPath. This project aims at implementing open source alternatives, such as OpenOffice and Orbeon Forms."
The full proposal can be found here.
( Mrz 30 2007, 10:17:32 AM CEST ) Permalink

Search tool with OpenOffice.org support
Again, another application supporting OpenOffice.org:
"Product line. dtSearch Desktop with Spider instantly searches files on a PC. dtSearch Network with Spider searches across a network. Both instantly search and display with highlighted hits a wide variety of content, including: email messages (Outlook, Outlook Express, Exchange, Eudora, .MSG, etc.) along with the full text of email attachments, MS Office, OpenOffice, PDF, XML, HTML, ZIP, CSV, Unicode and other content. Through the dtSearch Spider, both applications can also add Web-based content to a local or network search." Found here.
( Mrz 30 2007, 10:14:36 AM CEST ) Permalink

You "barely notice the difference"
"Highlights
The Ooo experience is so similar to using Word and Excel that you'll make the switch seamlessly and barely notice the difference - and you can open all your old documents. It's also currently free of the viruses that blighted previous versions of Microsoft Office."
Found here.
( Mrz 30 2007, 10:11:10 AM CEST ) Permalink

CAD software with OpenOffice.org support
More and more applications start to support OpenOffice.org in addition to Microsoft Office. Here is another example: "Template Manager requires Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc installed."
( Mrz 30 2007, 10:10:03 AM CEST ) Permalink

OpenOffice.org wins Softpedia Pick Award
OpenOffice.org 2.2 has been awarded by Softpedia with 5 stars and the SoftPedia Pick Award! Check this out!
( Mrz 30 2007, 09:24:33 AM CEST ) Permalink

Donnerstag März 29, 2007

Dell will ship Linux on desktop computers
I just read this article: "In light of overwhelming customer demand, Dell has officially confirmed it will soon offer Linux pre-installed on select consumer desktop and notebook systems."
Considering that almost all Linux distributions include OpenOffice.org, I'm sure that Dell's decision will boost the adoption and market share of OpenOffice.org and ODF as well.
( Mrz 29 2007, 05:00:20 PM CEST ) Permalink Kommentare [1]

Microsoft employees met in Olso
"To the beautiful city of Oslo to attend the first SC 34 meeting of the year, and in particular to progress DSDL. SC34 suddenly has a lot of new P member countries ('participating member' countries) sending representatives, and I am interested to note the majority of their representatives are, as individuals, also Microsoft employees. However, thoughts of Office Open XML (OOXML) are far from my mind, and far from the agenda for this meeting, a point strongly made by our secretary who emphasised that OOXML was outside the bounds of what we were going to be discussing."

Found here. I guess the Microsoft folks will have talked quite a bit about OOXML anyway considering the following:

"Microsoft Corp's director of corporate standards has conceded that 'legitimate concerns' have been raised in response to its attempt to fast-track the approval of its Open XML format by ISO." (see this)
( Mrz 29 2007, 04:45:04 PM CEST ) Permalink Kommentare [1]

OpenOffice.org 2.2 released
OpenOffice.org 2.2 has just been released:

"While OpenOffice.org 2.1 functions well on Microsoft's Windows Vista, version 2.2 makes use of some of the new cosmetic changes available in Vista, the new file dialogues being an example. Apple Mac users will notice a smaller download and a smaller installed size. The Apple Mac Intel version has many stability improvements, and bug fixes ranging from .ppt export to improved UNO connections. Version 2.2 now requires Mac OS X 10.4.x running X11.

Turning to some of the enhancements made to the individual components of OpenOffice.org, the Calc spreadsheet has received additional enhancements to its support for Microsoft file formats, including improved support for Pivot Tables and some specialised trigonometric functions. Base, the database component, has improved SQL editing functionality as well as a new "Queries within Queries" feature. Compatibility options for some database drivers, such as Oracle ODBC, have been improved. Impress, the presentations component, offers improvements in the handling of hidden slides which has been made more intuitive."
( Mrz 29 2007, 04:40:59 PM CEST ) Permalink

Mittwoch März 28, 2007

OpenOffice.org on Intel Classmate PC's
I just realized that two of the three Intel Classmate PC configurations include OpenOffice.org, at least according to this website.
( Mrz 28 2007, 09:41:12 AM CEST ) Permalink Kommentare [1]

"CHOICE: THE KEY DIFFERENTIATOR OF OPEN SOURCE"
"Open source allows its users and members to make money, have great tools, but it also gives them choice. It is not just about writing and licensing software, but also about open standards, which is alien to Microsoft. A case point here being Microsoft's refusal to just work on ODF in collaboration, instead of creating a new, bloated standard (OOXML). In response to an attendee’s question on this issue, Hilf clarified that the file format was a part of the software, which is why they could not adopt ODF as the file format for subsequent versions of MS Office.

Dinesh Nair reacted to this by saying that the whole OOXML, ECMA and ISO standards play is not about standards nor about Microsoft vs. IBM but about legitimising a specific isolated technology from a single company as a standard. Nair said, “It was an eye opener, and in my opinion, quite damning to Microsoft. Are they really trying to push through their software, in the form of the inseparable OOXML/MS Office as an international standard? Is this all about ensuring that future generations of MS Office have a purpose on the planet in the face of competition from other office suites like OpenOffice.Org?”"

Found here.
( Mrz 28 2007, 09:35:52 AM CEST ) Permalink Kommentare [1]