Apache OpenOffice™ 3.4 Blows Past 1M Downloads
Okay, I'm impressed. Clearly, there is a hunger for OpenOffice, and that is not too surprising, given just how many millions had downloaded pre-Apache OpenOffice. Apache OpenOffice is, in many ways, improved.
But now we have to re-establish the ecosystems* that had begun to form. I'd be interested to start by leaning the scope and location of OpenOffice (old) and Apache OpenOffice (new) use. We can start with the old account: Major OpenOffice.org Deployments - Apache OpenOffice.org Wiki .
* Ecosystem here means not just those companies selling support and services related to OO but also a lot of other business that derives in whole or in part from the use and production of the application and its extensions. Consider: Nearly every public sector adopter of OpenOffice is legally required to buy support and offer training; they also often want services (migration, ad hoc work) and certification. And as OO is available in many immensely popular languages, the possibilities of making money in this ecosystem is not insignificant.
2012-05-12
AOO 3.4.0 Release Notes
AOO 3.4.0 Release Notes
These notes are really well done. I think a good release note ought to describe not only what is new and how it affects what is old, but also give a sense of the narrative underlying the changes made, including, when feasible, identifying the actors who did the work. (Usually, that is done by citing the relevant issue.) With the release of AOO 3.4, thoughts slide to future milestone releases....
These notes are really well done. I think a good release note ought to describe not only what is new and how it affects what is old, but also give a sense of the narrative underlying the changes made, including, when feasible, identifying the actors who did the work. (Usually, that is done by citing the relevant issue.) With the release of AOO 3.4, thoughts slide to future milestone releases....
2012-05-11
South Korea Still Paying The Price For Embracing Internet Explorer A Decade Ago | Techdirt
South Korea Still Paying The Price For Embracing Internet Explorer A Decade Ago | Techdirt
Moody's article is excellent. It accurately describes the terrible situation South Korea finds itself in: Locked in to an antiquated technology and unable to take advantage of modern software. This is the fate that choosing proprietary standards leads to: costly, very costly, isolation.
Moody's article is excellent. It accurately describes the terrible situation South Korea finds itself in: Locked in to an antiquated technology and unable to take advantage of modern software. This is the fate that choosing proprietary standards leads to: costly, very costly, isolation.
2012-05-08
Apache OpenOffice Downloads
Apache OpenOffice Downloads
Try it. I've been using early versions for some time now and have yet to experience a crash--more than I can say about many other applications. But to me, the most important part is it's use of ODF 1.2 and what that means for interoperability among so-called office applications--and then some.
Here the issue. What makes a document? The physical form? The logical frame? Sheer convention? So, too, the "office" document. A generation has come to expect of a suite those things that are found in the prevailing application. But that assemblage is, however useful, nevertheless rather arbitrary. It was also spawned by the desires of white-collar workers in large corporations, not by the needs and desires of those outside of the corporate walls. Times have changed. Today, and even more so, tomorrow, virtually all people will have access to some form of a computer, and they will be wanting to create, edit, distribute their works. The number of those coming to this 21st century table is not small, it's in the billions.
The ODF can accommodate them, as can open source implementations of the format. I'd imagine that people will be using tablets and other thin devices to access Web services (aka "the cloud"), so it's probable that the implementation we will see on these devices may differ from what we see on the desktop. But the implementations will still offer all users the productivity tools they need and want for their creations, be they text or graphic or musical or voice or some wonderful combination.
Finally: Open source is a community effort. It works best when the community of users substantially overlaps the community making it. In its best form, open source products defy the static and disposable quality of the shrinkwrapped commodity. Open source products are dynamic, they are not limited to a specific slice of time and place, and the old commodity is. The future of an open source product is endless, that of the closed commodity landfill or its electronic equivalent.
Try it. I've been using early versions for some time now and have yet to experience a crash--more than I can say about many other applications. But to me, the most important part is it's use of ODF 1.2 and what that means for interoperability among so-called office applications--and then some.
Here the issue. What makes a document? The physical form? The logical frame? Sheer convention? So, too, the "office" document. A generation has come to expect of a suite those things that are found in the prevailing application. But that assemblage is, however useful, nevertheless rather arbitrary. It was also spawned by the desires of white-collar workers in large corporations, not by the needs and desires of those outside of the corporate walls. Times have changed. Today, and even more so, tomorrow, virtually all people will have access to some form of a computer, and they will be wanting to create, edit, distribute their works. The number of those coming to this 21st century table is not small, it's in the billions.
The ODF can accommodate them, as can open source implementations of the format. I'd imagine that people will be using tablets and other thin devices to access Web services (aka "the cloud"), so it's probable that the implementation we will see on these devices may differ from what we see on the desktop. But the implementations will still offer all users the productivity tools they need and want for their creations, be they text or graphic or musical or voice or some wonderful combination.
Finally: Open source is a community effort. It works best when the community of users substantially overlaps the community making it. In its best form, open source products defy the static and disposable quality of the shrinkwrapped commodity. Open source products are dynamic, they are not limited to a specific slice of time and place, and the old commodity is. The future of an open source product is endless, that of the closed commodity landfill or its electronic equivalent.
2012-03-22
Microsoft and Skype set to allow backdoor eavesdropping | memeburn
Microsoft and Skype set to allow backdoor eavesdropping | memeburn
The issue of privacy is really one of understanding domains and limits of personal power. "Power" is the term, as it is that which identifies and then defends against intrusions.
The issue of privacy is really one of understanding domains and limits of personal power. "Power" is the term, as it is that which identifies and then defends against intrusions.
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