The Libre Graphics Meeting is taking place 4-6 May in Montréal (now). I spoke there Friday, at 09:45. I'm fairly excited about the conference, which touts itself as being, "all about participation. Artists and developers, feel free to bring your laptops and show us what you can (and can't yet) do. Organise a BOF about your favourite project or feature. We're aiming for a bazaar."
The conference's aim was true. Unlike a lot of other conferences, this one was for developers, not marketers or sales people. Louis Desjardins, the lead organizer, arranged it so that people actually spoke to each other, crossed boundaries, learned about what other projects were doing; it was terrific. I'm not a developer, but I was able to establish liaisons with the KOffice (Krita) leads, the Scribus people, and numerous others, all with the aim of bridging differences and collaborating, technologically and socially, so that users and developers can learn about FOSS solutions and use them that much easier.
I pointed out that all compatible FOSS projects can consider working with OOo and exploiting ("leveraging") its immense momentum and popularity. Even having links--friendship or partnership--on our website to these FOSS projects would help not only the projects *and* OOo but also users. The user wanting, say, a desktop publisher, can think about Scribus; she might not have if she hadn't learned of them because us. And that's just one example. And, from my perspective, having ODF implemented by Scribus and other relevant applications seems desirable, though not as compelling as perfecting import functionality. What is important here is ultimately making it easier for users and developers to use and work on the code without the mystery shrouding proprietary applications. One other possibility for collaborating with Scribus: the application is very discriminating regarding fonts; they have to meet specifications that go far beyond what most other applications demand. We discussed, over lunch, the possibility of establishing a library of fonts ("library" in the old sense: a repository) that have been vetted according to Scribus' standards but can also work with other compliant applications, such as OOo. This would not only help Scribus but also, if feasible, OOo. It is worth following up on.
Along these lines, I discussed (or vice versa) open fonts with SIL.org leads Nicolas Spalinger and Dave Crossland. Nicolas was brilliant, and showed me what his project has been doing. OOo already works with them, though given the importance of fonts I'd expect that more collaboration will occur. I asked Nicolas to send me more information about the project, as I am sure it will make an interesting article.
But back to the conference. One of the coolest things about the event (aside from the fact that it was in Montréal, during one of the most beautiful set of spring days I've seen, situated at the peak of the Université de Montréal), was the superb broadsheet published by the conference team. It shows how *good* Scribus is (I assume it was made using it--Louis D. is a project member) but also showcased the seriousness of the effort put into the event.
I only wish I didn't have to leave. The conversations I've had here have been tremendously useful and productive--but of course, that all remains to seen. One thing to talk, another to do.
The conference's aim was true. Unlike a lot of other conferences, this one was for developers, not marketers or sales people. Louis Desjardins, the lead organizer, arranged it so that people actually spoke to each other, crossed boundaries, learned about what other projects were doing; it was terrific. I'm not a developer, but I was able to establish liaisons with the KOffice (Krita) leads, the Scribus people, and numerous others, all with the aim of bridging differences and collaborating, technologically and socially, so that users and developers can learn about FOSS solutions and use them that much easier.
I pointed out that all compatible FOSS projects can consider working with OOo and exploiting ("leveraging") its immense momentum and popularity. Even having links--friendship or partnership--on our website to these FOSS projects would help not only the projects *and* OOo but also users. The user wanting, say, a desktop publisher, can think about Scribus; she might not have if she hadn't learned of them because us. And that's just one example. And, from my perspective, having ODF implemented by Scribus and other relevant applications seems desirable, though not as compelling as perfecting import functionality. What is important here is ultimately making it easier for users and developers to use and work on the code without the mystery shrouding proprietary applications. One other possibility for collaborating with Scribus: the application is very discriminating regarding fonts; they have to meet specifications that go far beyond what most other applications demand. We discussed, over lunch, the possibility of establishing a library of fonts ("library" in the old sense: a repository) that have been vetted according to Scribus' standards but can also work with other compliant applications, such as OOo. This would not only help Scribus but also, if feasible, OOo. It is worth following up on.
Along these lines, I discussed (or vice versa) open fonts with SIL.org leads Nicolas Spalinger and Dave Crossland. Nicolas was brilliant, and showed me what his project has been doing. OOo already works with them, though given the importance of fonts I'd expect that more collaboration will occur. I asked Nicolas to send me more information about the project, as I am sure it will make an interesting article.
But back to the conference. One of the coolest things about the event (aside from the fact that it was in Montréal, during one of the most beautiful set of spring days I've seen, situated at the peak of the Université de Montréal), was the superb broadsheet published by the conference team. It shows how *good* Scribus is (I assume it was made using it--Louis D. is a project member) but also showcased the seriousness of the effort put into the event.
I only wish I didn't have to leave. The conversations I've had here have been tremendously useful and productive--but of course, that all remains to seen. One thing to talk, another to do.
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