Well, thanks Florian for being interested in me I'm Gallo, and I'm a mac. I have used apple computers for many many years, since the days of AppleWorks 1, all the way up. I have limited experience in programming, and some formal teaching in a University setting. I'm still trying to grasp the different version control systems and how exactly they work for submitting and reviewing changes, and I'm trying to branch out into Xcode, ObjC, Cocoa and iPhone development. My current experience is editing using BBEdit or nedit, compiling using GCC from the command-line, and coding with the languages of C++ and java.
While I hate the fact that this project is a near perfect mirror image of the Microsoft line of the same solution which encompasses the most famous bloatware in the history of software, I appreciate very much the fact that the project is: 1.) Free 2.) Open Sourced, with a thriving community contributing in many aspects 3.) Every Platform 4.) Gaining serious ground against the vastly overpriced Microsoft suite of office tools. I heard of Open Office quite some time ago, perhaps as early as the 1.1 version. It was not much to write home about, and got quietly tucked into a pocket somewhere never to be taken seriously. I Picked up version 3.0 around a year ago and began earnestly recommending it to friends and colleagues. This software has come quite a distance since I last heard about it from a linux-geek friend. So far I have a rather limited point-of-view of the user-experience that is provided by the software. I have only installed the PPC-Mac Version of OpenOffice on my own system, and have once or twice installed the Windows version for a friend or two, but did not use nor maintain a Windows version. I hope to improve this point of view for development and testing reasons as time passes. The software seems to work pretty well once installed and running, however the distribution and installation seems to be a bit clunky. So far I haven't seen any updaters. I haven't looked at the language packs which are available, nor how they integrate with an existing installation. I have seen listings of files on http/ftp mirrors, as well as the same for the experimental p2p distribution, and the sheer number of files, duplicated information, and the size of the repository is staggering. It even has a tendency to be difficult to understand from filenames alone. In addition I found the RSS file containing lists of all torrents in the p2p distribution system to not work for me. No idea why, or if it was a problem with my client, but I mean to figure that out and make sure it works for myself and everyone. I am currently drawing up a rough draft for a project I want to embark upon within the OOo community. It will encompass distribution, installation, and native language, and some of the goals of my project may have been started or finished. The primary reason for this project would be to improve the user (or administrator) experience as a whole right up until the point where they launch the program and create/open their first document. I also want to look into the possibility of patches/updaters. So for now I want to lurk, get to know the members of the community, and research how the product works, is put together, organized, and contributed to. I have a lot of learning to do before I can even formulate a plan for my project. It seems there are some things that have been somewhat done, thought of, and worked upon already. For example I am reading a rumor about a java installer program that's been around since some subversion of OOo2. So far I have a few notes, and I don't want to share them until I've discovered some things about what kind of work is going to be involved. Well. That's all for now. Hope to get to know all of you better soon. Oh. And if any of you wants to make a suggestion for where I look for some of the information I need in order to draft my proposed project, feel free to contact me off-list, or... on list if that's what you think is best. On Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 1:23 AM, Florian Effenberger <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello, > > you recently applied for the observer role in the OpenOffice.org > Distribution Project at http://distribution.openoffice.org - thank you very > much for showing your interest and support! We would like to ask you to > introduce yourself to our community, so other people know who you are and > how you want to contribute. It also helps you, because you get used to the > way we work and to the people behind the project. > > Please subscribe to our mailing list, [email protected], by > sending an empty e-mail to [email protected]. Once > you have confirmed your subscription, please send your introduction to the > list, which is read by all members of the Distribution Project. Please also > copy me directly on that e-mail so I don't miss it, and don't forget to > mention your username. Shortly afterwards, we will grant you the observer > role. > > We look forward to working with you! Again, thank you very much for your > interest in OpenOffice.org! Should there be any questions, please don't > hesitate to ask them. > > Florian Effenberger > > >> User gallomimia has requested the Observer role in the distribution >> project. >> >> To approve or reject this request, go to: >> http://distribution.openoffice.org/servlets/ProjectMemberList >> > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
