Drew's blog

Fourth of July 2011 - LibreOffice Promo video

Well the video finished up, not for release on the 4th - but with the 4th part ot it... finsihed the final voice over render at 00:21 July 5th = close, but no cigar... :-/

Naturally, I see numerous glitches...hey focusing on something for 84 hours straight tends to do that...but looking at it after some sleep - I like it..

 

While we are at it - LibO Retro - New Years Promo 2011 - not only did one not know what the branding was to be, even the icons where un-done, but some folks, such as myself, didn't quite have the right pronunciation for the name yet ;-)... anyway, I'm getting better with the a/v editors, me thinks.

 

Ohio LinuxFest 2010 - pre flight

Getting ready for this years linux festival in Columbus, Ohio. This will be only the second year, consecutive, I've attended.

Quite stoked to finally have the chance to meet up with a few individuals I've known, now for over half a decade - to date however, only via electronic transmission.

Also quite stocked by the Open Source Medical Software trak at the fest and will be attending in total.

 

 

Friday Sept 10, 2010
11:00-11:40 Ruth Suehle, from Red Hat and opensource.com/life. OS Medical Interventions Around the World
11:45-12:30 Lunch on your own - food court conveniently located right down the hall!
12:30-2:30 Susan Rose MSN RN-BC, The Electronic Medical Revolution
2:45-5:00 Dr.David Chan - Workshop - OSCAR (Number one open source medical app in Canada.)

Saturday Sept 11, 2010
10:00-11:00 Dr. David Chan
11:00-12:00 Fred Trotter - Comparing OS Medical Records
12:00-1:00 Mike Magee (by video) - What is Your Lifetime Heath Records Plan?
1:00-1:45pm Lunch
1:45-2:30 Amy Andres- Health Information Exchange
2:30- 3:30 Dr. Robert Budman - Choosing the Right Electronic Medical Record
3:30-4:30 Dr. Andrew Barbash- Virtual Medicine
4:30 -5:00 What is "Meaningful Use"? - A Panel Discussion

Joyce and I will be hitting the pavement at Oh-Dark hour sometime tomorrow for the 420 KM trip - with a littel luck and no traffic snaffus should be there with a bit more than, a wee bit of, time to spare.

Had a nice chat with Eric Bachard from the EducOO.org group about OOoLight - will have the latest OOo4Kids and OOoLight applications on a pair or mobile devices for anyone that wants to play wth either, or a quick demo

- ok a netbook and a laptop...but those aren't exactly luggables...maybe the laptop a bit. So if you see me, and I have a computing device in tow, please stop and take a look.

I've also signed up for the Diversity Workshop on Sunday and hope to see many folks from last year. I'll have some of the latest OpenOffice.org extensions for accessibility and a few utilites on the laptop, if anyone would again like to have some time checking it out or a quick demo - just find me...

More from the trip - as we go..

//Drew

OOoLight - A slimmer, nimbler office productivity suite?

This week the folks at EducOO.org announced the release, for Windows only and in Norwegian Bokmål, only a new package - OOoLight.

A trimmed down version of OpenOffice.org. Second in a series of OO.o derived works.

The first being the, early education focused, OOo4Kids and with nearly 1/2 Million downloads to date, seems well received.

Here is Eric B's blog on the new offering. - from there should find your way to tar files containing either DEB or RPM packages for 32 and 64 bit Linux and OSX.

With the package available for other platforms, besides MS Windows - but yes, only in Norsk...well why let a little thing like language slow one down - at least for a quick peek.

Eric added some additional imformation in a comment and I'm happy to add it here:

1) the whole behavior of the suite and the toolbars can be modified in the preferences. Please try :
Beginner, then Average and Expert in a Writer document : you'll see the toolbar being modified *in real time*

2) other important point you missed: the new fonts, like Ecolier, who are cursive fonts, the Calc assistant, depending on the user's level, and a lot of other things who are different form OOo.

Please have a look at the changelog :
http://wiki.ooo4kids.org/index.php/Changelogs

And please have a look at the roadmap :
http://wiki.ooo4kids.org/index.php/RoadMap_v20

Thanks

Two fresh package installs on Ubuntu Studio 10.04 (AMD64) desktop. The file storage is a weee bit lighter, laddies.

OOO330m_6 is one of the current OpenOffice.org 3.3 beta builds, and both it and the OOoLight1.0 installed are 64 bit builds.

So how light is light?

Granted this is a bit slanted in OOoLight favor, but gross numbers, at least when looking at the disk footprint.

OK, how about nearly half

That is

• OpenOffice.org taking up a full 432.9 MB
• OOoLight at 271.2 MB 

Information on installing multiple copies of OpenOffice.org derived applications can be found on the OpenOffice.org Wiki.

OOoLight drops some of its size from the loss of Java - the wizards that required Java are reworked to not - I have not verified if any wizards are removed.

The Start center is a pleasing softening and should be recognizable to anyone use to OpenOffice.org - or just about any office suite.

The tale of the toolbars

Seeing how this is in, as I say, Nordic and my name not-with-standing about all I can do at the moment is compare the default toolbar and menu item selection made by the two teams. To form an idea of just what the EducOO.org team considers light. So, here we go, in screen shots

OOoLight - Writer

OpenOffice.org 3.3 - Writer

OOoLight - Draw

 

OpenOffice.org 3.3  - Draw

OOoLight - Impress

OpenOffice.org 3.3 - Impress

OOoLight - Calc

OpenOffice.org 3.3 - Calc

 

OOoLight - Open Document Dialog / MimeType Icons

That's it from the coal country of western Maryland.

Til next we speak,

Adios

OpenOffice.org Celebrates Tenth Anniversary at OOoCon in Budapest

The following message was released via the OpenOffie.org official announcment mailing list today.

OpenOffice.org Celebrates Tenth Anniversary at OOoCon in Budapest

The OpenOffice.org Community is turning ten years of age. Launching the celebration of a decade of open and free office productivity, the project's annual conference will take place in the city of Budapest from August 31 - September 3. Organized by the local community, supported by major sponsors and filled with life by a highly engaged, vivid community, the OpenOffice.org Conference (OOoCon) is the premier event for all those interested in OpenOffice.org development, OpenDocument technology and the future of free office software.

Since OpenOffice.org was created in 2000, the community behind the software has shaped a new era of open and free office productivity and is responsible for the creation and adoption of open standards. With studies showing more than 20 percent market share, coupled with an increasing number of governments, enterprises and private end-users taking advantage of OpenOffice.org technology, this year's conference will not only be our annual gathering for developers, adopters, enthusiasts and evangelists, but also the start to well-earned celebrations in local communities around the world.

At the event, attendees will find:
* More than 100 speakers will present their thoughts and visions in four parallel sessions.
* An ODF 1.2 Interop Demo. Hosted by OASIS, the international open standards consortium, the ODF 1.2 Interop will showcase applications processing ODF documents on the desktop, in the cloud and on mobile devices.
* More than 80 presentations will show the variety of the community and highlight worldwide success stories.

"Our team has been working very hard to make this anniversary conference the best OOoCon ever", says Péter Szakál from Open SKM, the team lead for the Budapest organizational committee in charge of hosting the event. "With the help of our sponsors, and with the support of not only the local community, but the worldwide project, we're looking forward to an extraordinary event in the capital of Hungary. Framed by many community events, we're confident that the OpenOffice.org Conference 2010 will be a memorable event for everyone."

"For 10 years, OpenOffice.org has powered millions of users around the world with an award-winning, easy-to-use office productivity suite," said Michael Bemmer, vice president of Oracle Office. "At Oracle, we are proud to be the primary contributor to OpenOffice.org, as well as a Platinum sponsor of this year's OpenOffice.org conference and we eagerly look to passing yet more milestones."

Today, OpenOffice.org is the major open source office suite and one of the largest open source projects worldwide with
* over 43 million downloads of its current 3.2 version
* more than 300 million downloads since the project's creation in 2000
* support for all major platforms
* 10 years of community experience
* more than 90 languages available

This year's OpenOffice.org Conference takes place from August 31 - September 3, at the Central European University in Budapest, with the plenary session being held at the Hungarian Parliament. The event is organized by ODFA Hungary, a nonprofit organization, with support from sponsors IBM, Multiracio, Oracle and in joint cooperation with the worldwide OpenOffice.org community.

Registration is open until the end of August, and all participants are encouraged to register online at http://www.ooocon.org


Web Links

OpenOffice.org: http://www.openoffice.org
OpenOffice.org Conference: http://www.ooocon.org
Market Share Study: http://www.webmasterpro.de/portal/news/2010/02/05/international-openoffice-market-shares.html
Download Statistics: http://marketing.openoffice.org/marketing_bouncer.html


Global Contacts

Florian Effenberger (UTC +01h00)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Lead
Email: floeff@openoffice.org
Phone: +49 8341 99660880
Mobile: +49 151 14424108
Fax: +49 8341 99660889
Skype: floeff
Twitter/identi.ca: @floeff

Peter Junge (UTC +08h00)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Co-Lead
Email: pj@openoffice.org
Phone: +86 139 116 248 54
Fax: +49 3212 106 44 65
Skype: peter13j

Louis Suárez-Potts (UTC -05h00)
OpenOffice.org Community Manager
Email: louis@openoffice.org
Phone: +1 (416) 625-3843

A list of worldwide marketing contacts is available at http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html


About OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org is the leading open source productivity suite and one of the largest open source projects worldwide. It includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database, and other modules; it uses the ISO-approved OpenDocument Format (ODF) as its native file format as well as supporting other common file formats. The software runs on all major platforms, including Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X and is available in over 90 languages. OpenOffice.org may be used free of charge for any purpose, private or commercial; the license is LGPL.

Since the project's creation in 2000, over 300 million have downloaded the product; thousands contribute to it. As an international team of volunteer and sponsored contributors, the OpenOffice.org community has created what is widely regarded as the most important open source project in the world today. The OpenOffice.org community acknowledges generous sponsorship from a number of companies, including Oracle, the primary contributor.


About the OpenOffice.org Conference

This annual gathering is where representatives of all the community projects meet to celebrate and learn from the achievements of the past twelve months, and discuss how to meet the challenges of the next twelve. Come along and help the community to make the world's best open-source international office suite even better.

OpenOffice.org Resources for Primary School Faculty and Staff

2010 Back to School

A compliation of OpenOffice.org resources for primary school faculty and staff.

NOTE These links are intended for use with OpenOffice.org but any ODF (OpenDocument Format) compliant software should be acceptable.

In addtion to the standard OpenOffice.org office suite a deriviative package, specifically for primary school aged childern is also available as Free Open Source Software.

OOo4Kids

OOo4Kids is a lighter version of OpenOffice. Org, dedicated to 7-12 years with specific adaptations to the world of education.

Administration

school-organizational-chart.ots

School Weekly Calendar EN.ots

Attendance-record.ots

Visitor-sign-in-out-sheet.ots

Music Program.otg

Library / Resource Center

Manuals

On-line OpenOffice.org documentation -suitable for browser bookmark

As separate PDF files for download

In printed form

Teaching Aids

OpenCards

OpenCards is an award-winning flashcard learning extension for OpenOffice Impress.

OpenCards Card Set Repository

General Education, Math, Geography, etc.

Templates

plotdiagram.ott

Venn Diagram.ott

Multiplication Table.ots

The scientificmethod.ott

6 String Bass Template.otg

Music Sheet.ott

Accessibility resources

Odt2daisy

A Writer extension, enabling to export in DAISY 3 format, an NISO Z39.86 standard for blind, visual impaired, print-disabled, and learning-disabled people.

AMIS

DAISY Playback Software for for MS Windows XP - Win7 systems.

Faculty

Lesson plans

EFL LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

(2 file)

Lesson Plan Page 1.ott
Lesson Plan Page 2.ott

Scheduling / Calendar

class-schedule.ots

weekly-lesson-plan.ots

dailyplanner-template1.ots

Grading

gpa-calculator.ots

Report Card (3 file)

Report Card Page 1.ott
Report Card Page 2.ott
Report Card Comment Sheet.ott

Staff

Paper supplies

Grid paper

isometric graph paper

Yellow Pad Legal

White Notebook Paper legal

OpenOffice.org College Freshman Resources

2010 Back to School

A compliation of OpenOffice.org resources for The College Freshman.

NOTE These links are intended for use with OpenOffice.org but any ODF (OpenDocument Format) compliant software should be acceptable.

Yes, time to read the manuals, at least know where they are and skim the chapters now, it will make life easier later.  [TIP] This works for just about everything in life.

On-line documentation -suitable for browser bookmark

As separate PDF files for download

Guess who is in charge of your calendar...yup, You!

SchoolWeeklyCalendarEN.ots
class-schedule.ots

You are going to take notes, right?

Cornell Notes.ott
Cornel Note Taker.ott

Term paper templates - 'nough said.

APA_5th_Edition_Template.ott
APA 6th Edition template.ott

Turabian.ott

Term papers require citations, do yourself a favor and get this right of the bat.

Bibus bibliographic database

Chances are that during your college work there will be times that you are working on more then one paper simulaneousely, over a number of days or even weeks. This extension will allow easy access to this, working group of documents.

BookmarksMenu extension

Along with citations there are a number of writing aids availble:

Writer's Tools Ext.

A set of utilities designed to help OpenOffice.org users perform a wide range of tasks.

After the Deadline Grammar Checker

A smart English grammar, style, and contextual spelling checker.

okDict

Extension integrates web based dictionary searches, using DICT protocol directly into the Writer, Calc, Draw and Impress user interface.

- also some very good add-ons for working with mathematical expressions and graphs:

DMaths

Published by DMaths.org, quick formulas, stats diagrams, graphs and mcros.

CmathOOoCAS

Provides a computer algebra system (CAS) that facilitates symbolic mathematics. It allow the manipulation of mathematical expressions in symbolic form in OOo Calc (and Writer).

Some basic material templates:

College ruled template

Grid graph paper
isometric graph paper

Semi-log paper template
Log-log paper template
semilog chart

and what would an education or life be without music...

6 String Bass Template.otg
Music Sheet.ott

 

OpenOffice.org Resources for Secondary School Faculty

2010 Back to School

A compilation of OpenOffice.org resources for Secondary School Faculty and Staff.

NOTE These links are intended for use with OpenOffice.org but any ODF (OpenDocument Format) compliant software should be acceptable.

 

Administration

school-organizational-chart.ots

School Weekly Calendar EN.ots

attendance-record.ots

visitor-sign-in-out-sheet.ots

Library / Resource Center

Study Aids

Cornell Notes system overview reference for students

Cornell Notes.ott

Cornell Note Taker.ott

Manuals

On-line OpenOffice.org documentation -suitable for browser bookmark

As separate PDF files for download

In printed form

Writing aids:

After the Deadline Grammar Checker

A smart English grammar, style, and contextual spelling checker.

okDict

Extension integrates web based dictionary searches, using DICT protocol directly into the Writer, Calc, Draw and Impress user interface.

Writer's Tools Ext.

A set of utilities designed to help OpenOffice.org users perform a wide range of tasks.

Accessibility resources

Odt2daisy

A Writer extension, enabling to export in DAISY 3 format, an NISO Z39.86 standard for blind, visual impaired, print-disabled, and learning-disabled people.

AMIS

DAISY Playback Software for for MS Windows XP - Win7 systems.

Faculty

Lesson Plans

EFL LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Lesson Plan (2 file)

Lesson Plan Page 1.ott
Lesson Plan Page 2.ott

Schedule / Calendar

class-schedule.ots
weekly-lesson-plan.ots

Grading

gpa-calculator.ots

Report Card (3 file)

Report Card Page 1.ott
Report Card Page 2.ott
Report Card Comment Sheet.ott

Teaching Aids

Video

Solving Systems of Equations with OpenOffice

Nonlinear Regression using Open Office

Open Office Solver Extension Example

Templates

plotdiagram.ott
Venn Diagram.ott

6 String Bass Template.otg
Music Sheet.ott

Staff

Paper supplies

Grid paper

isometric graph paper

Yellow Pad Legal

White Notebook Paper legal

College rule paper

Semi-log paper template

Log-log paper template

semi-log chart

 

Shave and a haircut ..TWO BITS'

This isn't a about real download, in that is about an file you should go get to use to do your work with, yet - just a test download - but it is the first published binary with the new OpenOffice.org look to it.

 

This is the history of downloads for a particular Win 7 desktop installation - one of the free binary MS put out last year - as a teaser, and beta test I'd say...also, guess the time is at hand as whether to cough up some dough to the boys in Redmond or not....

Anyhow - the picture...notice a little change to the icon denoting the developers snapshot build (again this is not a release for people to USE for real work, just for testing) but turns out the changes in Look, if not feel, brought on by the Oracle purchase comes with this pending bug fix release, 3.2.1.

First thing you will notice is the new OpenOffice.org Logo

It's tucked up there in the upper right hand corner of the install dialog.

The full changes to the overall look are not fully evident until the installation finishes, and the dialog gives the all clear to proceed.

- I rather like it actually, the colors and the subtle change to the sea gulls works for me 

As you will see in a moment the app's Start Center screen gets quite a little change in tone and tenor also.

Well, there we have it then.

First impression:

Clean and fresh

Hoping that this will be a clean fresh place, proving furtile soil for new ideas to take shape and blossom

I was a bit surprised, though probably should not have been, to see the changes to the OS integration pieces. Specifically, the application launch icons.

The move to round icons surprised me, but again why I don't know - just cause it was under windows I suppose. (but then Novell has had round icons for their windows builds for a good while)

So - it looks nice, I can't get the darn odf icons to integrate into either XP or Win 7 with this build, but it is a dev snapshot and they specifically try to make that difficult - SO - when folks volunteer to test a build like this, they install it, and don't think about it, it won't reset all the file default application mappings to a NOT FOR REAL USE test build.

Now off to use it for what it was intended for, testing

/me

How would you describe OpenOffice.org

RedOffice OO.o Writer - as web 2.0 application

 

Ok - changing the RedOffice website to 'En'gish is right easy, but darned if I can get the application to use English for the UI...anyone know how?