Mon - February 26, 2007Wed - December 13, 2006The Case for ODF--Presentation Given in Seoul, December 2006I presented this talk in Seoul for the
SoftExpo conference earlier December 2006. I argue here that the open standard
OpenDocument format offers real benefits to producers and consumers of
information and should be deployed as soon as possible. My argument touches on
some of the dangers encountered with using proprietary and isolated formats,
then examines what is meant by the ODF and finishes by describing some benefits
of using the format.
Posted at 06:56 PM Read More Wed - November 22, 2006Free Software MagazineAm now also blogging for the Free Software
Magazine
Posted at 03:27 PM Read More Tue - November 21, 2006SoftExpo 2006 & DCF 2006 KoreaLater this month I will present on ODF and
OpenOffice.org at the SoftExpo conference in Seoul, South Korea.
Posted at 12:23 AM Read More Mon - November 13, 2006The Novell-Microsoft DealThe deal between Microsoft and Novell raises
questions for both the FOSS community and OpenOffice.org. My concern is that the
overall community should benefit and that the promise of the ODF should be
realized.
Posted at 09:21 PM Read More Sun - October 29, 2006The social logic of freedom: talk given at the FSOSS 2006In which I argue the social urgency of using open
standards like the OpenDocument Format (ODF) for storing intellectual property
coupled with compliant open source applications. It only really makes things
democratic, I argue, if the people can afford the work produced, and there is no
guarantee that people will be able to afford proprietary applications; indeed,
the very notion of using proprietary applications to archive a nation's
intellectual productions seems countersensical.
Posted at 07:13 PM Read More Sat - June 17, 2006OpenWengo Summer ProjectsThe open-source project OpenWengo ,
which develops communication over IP technology, [0] will soon be launching an
initiative similar to Google's Summer of Code, and OpenOffice.org community
members are invited to participate. We will need both mentors and students. If
you feel you can help mentor students (you should be a developer with a good
knowledge of OOo) let me or Julien Gilli <julien.gilli (at) wengo.fr>
know.
Posted at 01:02 PM Read More Thu - May 25, 2006Speak Out: France and ODFThere is at present a public call in France
for comments on a proposed reference set that would guarantee interoperability
for documents throughout the government. You can help ensure that France makes
the right decision and chooses the OpenDocument
Format.
This is important and you can help. Posted at 09:38 PM Read More Wed - May 17, 2006The Responsibility of Governments? Open Standards, Open Source, OpenOffice.orgA preliminary version of the speech I'll be
giving at the upcoming LinuxWorld Korea this 5 - 7 June, in Seoul.
Abstract When it comes to the public documents created by governments, what responsibility do governments have to their people? What obligations are there to ensuring that the people of a nation are able to read the flood of digital documents daily created by the public sector? Historically, we printed the words of government on paper, and if one could read—and it is the duty of government schools to teach people how to read—one could keep oneself informed, and it is the duty of a citizen to be informed, that is clear. But with the advent of digital documents in the last two decades (especially the last), this historical arrangement is shaken. It is no longer the case that knowing how to read will, in itself, lead to the satisfaction of a citizen’s duty. That’s because the governmental documents are likely to be in proprietary formats, requiring not only the purchase of expensive software but also placing the documents on the threshold of the abyss of memory loss: proprietary formats are always subject to the caprices of the market and a hundred years from now may not exist. In a way, the wealth of a nation is risked by the use of proprietary formats for digital documents. What then should a government do in order to satisfy the needs of the citizen and preserve the wealth of the nation? This presentation examines the problem sketched above and suggests solutions: the use of open standards for file formats and the deployment (and development) of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). I argue that merely using open standards is not enough. One must use FOSS, also, if the desire is to ensure that the citizens of a nation have access to public documents. Posted at 03:52 PM Read More Mon - May 15, 2006Interview by Mark Golden on the general usability of Linux for the desktopInterview via email with Mark Golden of Dow Jones
Newswire 15 March 2006. Small excerpt published in his article on the subject of
the Linux desktop's readiness for the general public on 15 May 2006, in the
Wall Street
Journal , p. R4.
Posted at 07:09 PM Read More Wed - May 10, 2006Interview by Rosa Sposito of BrazilIn mid-April, the Brazilian journalist Rosa Sposito
sent me a long set of questions on OpenOffice.org. I waited a while for it to
be published but I have not seen it on the Web yet and as I spent a while
answering these questions, thought I would make them available.
Posted at 11:44 PM Read More Sun - April 30, 2006From Workers to IllegalsIt's May 1 and today is a day of immigrant
protest in the US. I am in full support of protests against the nativism that
characterizes official debate on immigration in the US. "Official debate" means
discussing what to do with the "problem" of "illegal immigrants." The problem
with this phrasing is that it inverts the logic. The problem does not lie with
"illegal immigrants" but with "illegal employers"; it lies not with those who
are exploited but with those who are exploiting them, that is, opportunistic
employers.
Posted at 12:58 AM Read More Tue - April 18, 2006LWE Boston, politics, and moreI was described by Tina Gasperson as the "most
enthusiastic" booth-being at LWE Boston, and I probably was, at least from her
perspective: most of the journalists covering the event continued the decade
long deprecation of LInuxWorld as a place where anything actually happens. But I
think a lot actually took place this time around, and that's due mostly to Leon
Shiman's very interesting government day (4 April), where I spoke briefly,
toward the end of the long day, on OpenOffice.org and open
standards.
Posted at 12:37 AM Read More Wed - March 29, 2006Article ContestA short account: We have a developer article
contest and you can compete in it. We need articles for developers; write one,
and you can win money, fame, and the infinite gratification of knowing you are
helping others.
Posted at 10:47 PM Read More LinuxWorld Boston...This blog is not really meant to be a vehicle for
marketing or even simple advocacy but it can be used to notify people of
important things. One is the LinuxWorld Boston, which starts 3 April and ends
the 6th. I sent a note to OOo's announce list a short while ago:
Posted at 10:31 PM Read More |
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Published On: Feb 26, 2007 12:36 PM |
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