PRNewswire and SUN news announcement
Sun Microsystems, Inc., the largest code contributor to free and open source communities, today announced the upcoming availability of the StarOffice(TM) 8 Conversion Technology Preview plug-in application for Microsoft Office 2003. The early access version of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) plug-in, available as a free download, will allow seamless two-way conversion of Microsoft Office documents to ODF.
The StarOffice 8 Conversion Technology Preview is a plug-in for Microsoft Word 2003 that allows users of Microsoft Word 2003 to easily import and export to the OpenDocument Format (ODF). The early access version of the ODF plug-in will be available as a free download from the Sun Download Center in mid to late the month of February. Please check back at this site or at sun.com/staroffice for the latest status. Note that the converter will be renamed to Sun ODF Plugin for Microsoft Word with the final version.
The initial plug-in application will support the conversion of text documents (.doc/.odt) only and full support of spreadsheet and presentation documents will be available in the final version, expected in April. The converter is easy to setup and use, the conversion happens transparently and the additional memory footprint is minimal. Microsoft Office users now have seamless two-way conversion of Microsoft Office documents to ODF.
"Organizations can now consider switching to ISO/IEC 26300 OpenDocument Format while protecting employees needing assistive devices only supported by legacy Microsoft software," said Rich Green, executive vice president, Software at Sun Microsystems. "ODF is important because it ensures documents will still be readable long into the future while allowing a wide choice of proprietary and open source software choices to work with the documents."
The Executive Department of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is currently using the converter to meet the previously identified January, 2007 compliance date for the start of a phased migration to the ODF format. In addition to allowing the Commonwealth's existing Microsoft Office applications to read and write ODF text files, the converter permits the continued use of the state's chosen accessibility technologies to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
OpenOffice.org is an open-source project, home of the OpenOffice.org software, the most widely distributed open-source multi-platform productivity suite. The OpenOffice.org community was founded by Sun Microsystems in 2000. An active community, of which Sun is a key member, enhances and supports the OpenOffice.org office suite.
The OpenOffice.org application runs on most major operating system platforms including Windows, Linux and the Solaris Operating System, and more than 60 localizations are in different stages of development. Some platforms and languages, such as Mac OS X, might not yet be available in the most current version.
The StarOffice Office Suite is the professional office productivity solution based on OpenOffice.org that provides enterprise value-add components including administration tools, commercial quality spellchecker and relational database. Additional information on StarOffice can be obtained from http://www.sun.com/staroffice
The OpenDocument Format was accepted as an official OASIS standard in May 2005, and adopted by the International Standards Organization in May 2006.
The StarOffice 8 Conversion Technology Preview is expect to be available mid-February 2007 at sun.com/openoffice with the final release expected later this spring.
Links;
SUN announcement
Get Open Office, free M$ office replacement from here
SUN staroffice suite
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
SUN gives ODF coverter plugin for M$ Office
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
M$ creeps into MA Technology Advisory Group, one that is ANTI -ODF at that.
The Standards blog article made me sigh, After all the work went in to Massachusetts standardization in common document format, ODF, now the Governor elect has appointed an out of state, M$ Regional Director for Public Affairs, Brian Burke, to the technology Advisory group. What do you think he will advise on? Yes I am surprised but the author of the article, Andy Updegrove, has a better view of this whole affair. So instead of my rantings, I think you should read the article to get a better picture and who the other members are.
I will steal on line from him ;)
"Good fences not only make good neighbors, but good political sense as well. Deval Patrick should ask Burke to stay outside of one that should be built around ODF."
Also tied to this article is one from CIO Mag,
A Win for Microsoft in Massachusetts?
The battle to convert Massachusetts government to an open source format, and phase out MS Office, cost the state’s CIO his job and scared other government CIOs.
Links;
Standards Blog article, "MA Governor-Elect Names MS Anti-ODF Lobbyist to Technology Advisory Group"
CIO Mag Article.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Microsoft pays millions (300-400) to Novell in their latest deal and Novell answers community questions.
I still cannot understand what drove Novell to sign pacts with M$. Not many understand it either as both sides are very close mouthed about the deal. This worries me if another FUD session like SCO in the making. M$ had a large hand in the SCO saga and I don't believe that M$ is kissing the hand of Linux.
Trust me I am a paying Linux customer of Novell, It was decided due to corporate policies while Suse was still owned by Suse. But the contracts got carried over. And we remained a loyal customer. I was also a Redhad customer too, Server and workstations. But I switched those to CentOS and I am very happy with the results.
Now I have to worry about Suse too. But before jumping or leaping I need to find out more about the nature of Novell/M$ pact. I am sure it will be dissected as soon as the people have enough information.
For now I visit Groklaw to keep updated. Also I have a few Mono projects under my belt and have to think about them too.
Today I found some answers on the Novell site on an article titled "Novell Answers Questions from the Community"
Here are the questions and Novells answers;
Q1. How is this agreement compatible with Novell's obligations under Section 7 of the GPL?
Our agreement with Microsoft is focused on our customers, and does not include a patent license or covenant not to sue from Microsoft to Novell (or, for that matter, from Novell to Microsoft). Novell's customers receive a covenant not to sue directly from Microsoft. We have not agreed with Microsoft to any condition that would contradict the conditions of the GPL and we are in full compliance.
Novell's end user customers receive a covenant not to sue directly from Microsoft for their use of Novell products and services, but these activities are outside the scope of the GPL.
Q2. Why did Novell make this deal with Microsoft? Was Microsoft threatening a lawsuit?
Novell started discussions with Microsoft in order to solve problems for our customers by improving Linux/Windows interoperability in areas like virtualization, heterogeneous server management, and office document compatibility. By securing a commitment from Microsoft to support the use of Linux and open source software, we have allayed any potential concerns for our customers and removed a barrier to enterprise-wide Linux adoption.
There was no threatened litigation.
Q3. Is this agreement an admission that Linux products from Novell infringe Microsoft patents?
No.
Patent concerns did not drive our entry into this agreement. Novell makes no admission that its Linux and open source offerings infringe on any other parties' patents. Our position has not changed as a result of this agreement.
Q4. With this agreement, will Novell include Microsoft patented code in its contributions to the open source community?
No. Novell will not change its development practices as a result of this agreement. It has always been our policy in all development, open source and proprietary, to stay away from code that infringes another's patents, and we will continue to develop software using these standard practices. If any of our code is found to infringe someone else's patents, we will try to find prior technology to invalidate the patents, rework the code to design around the infringement, or as a last resort remove the functionality.
Novell is committed to protecting, preserving and promoting freedom for free and open source software.
Q5. Novell's November 2 press release states that, "Novell will also make running royalty payments based on a percentage of its revenues from open source products." Are these payments for a patent license to Novell?
No. Novell has no license or covenant not to sue from Microsoft under this agreement. The payments are for Microsoft's covenant directly to Novell's customers. By the same token, Microsoft's customers receive the same covenant from Novell in return for payment from Microsoft to Novell.
Q6. Will Novell's involvement with the Open Invention Network (OIN) change due to this agreement with Microsoft?
No. The Open Invention Network is an independent organization formed to protect many commonly distributed open source and free software packages, including Linux, from legal attacks, no matter where an attack comes from. OIN provides coverage to the entire Linux industry by providing a form of retaliatory protection for Linux distributors and users that might be targeted in patent litigation.
Novell is a founding member of the OIN and remains strongly committed to its mission. We have contributed valuable resources to OIN and will continue to participate in OIN in the future. Novell remains firmly in support of the goal of creating an environment of open innovation in the Linux world, without worry about the threat of patent lawsuits.
The value of OIN's patents as a deterrent remains critical to the entire Linux industry, including Novell, and is not affected by our agreement with Microsoft.
Q7. What does your investment in Office Open XML mean to your commitment to the Open Document Format?
Open Document Format ("ODF") is the default file format of OpenOffice.org, and Novell is firmly committed to advancing ODF as a file format and a standard. We devote the bulk of our OpenOffice.org development efforts to ODF.
We also understand the need for Linux desktop systems to provide compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats. By supporting Office Open XML in OpenOffice.org, and by contributing to efforts to translate between ODF and Office Open XML, we will achieve better interoperability between Linux and Windows desktop systems. This will allow more businesses to choose Linux desktops freely.
Read Novell's statement on file formats for office applications.
Q8. What does this mean for Mono and its inclusion in non-SUSE distributions? Does Mono infringe Microsoft patents?
We maintain that Mono does not infringe any Microsoft patents. This agreement does not impact the rights and abilities of other distributions to bundle and ship Mono.
Novell is the leading contributor to Mono and we remain committed to the Mono project. Mono is a community project with many constituents and collaborators from companies, universities, governments and individuals.
The Mono project has a set of rules it uses to handle patents that might read on its implementation. The general policy is to work around, remove, or find prior technology on any patents that might read on any implementations in Mono. We continue to support this policy.
Links;Groklaw
Novell
Mono Project
Microsoft pays millions (300-400) to Novell in their latest deal and Novell answers community questions.
I still cannot understand what drove Novell to sign pacts with M$. Not many understand it either as both sides are very close mouthed about the deal. This worries me if another FUD session like SCO in the making. M$ had a large hand in the SCO saga and I don't believe that M$ is kissing the hand of Linux.
Trust me I am a paying Linux customer of Novell, It was decided due to corporate policies while Suse was still owned by Suse. But the contracts got carried over. And we remained a loyal customer. I was also a Redhad customer too, Server and workstations. But I switched those to CentOS and I am very happy with the results.
Now I have to worry about Suse too. But before jumping or leaping I need to find out more about the nature of Novell/M$ pact. I am sure it will be dissected as soon as the people have enough information.
For now I visit Groklaw to keep updated. Also I have a few Mono projects under my belt and have to think about them too.
Today I found some answers on the Novell site on an article titled "Novell Answers Questions from the Community"
Here are the questions and Novells answers;
Q1. How is this agreement compatible with Novell's obligations under Section 7 of the GPL?
Our agreement with Microsoft is focused on our customers, and does not include a patent license or covenant not to sue from Microsoft to Novell (or, for that matter, from Novell to Microsoft). Novell's customers receive a covenant not to sue directly from Microsoft. We have not agreed with Microsoft to any condition that would contradict the conditions of the GPL and we are in full compliance.
Novell's end user customers receive a covenant not to sue directly from Microsoft for their use of Novell products and services, but these activities are outside the scope of the GPL.
Q2. Why did Novell make this deal with Microsoft? Was Microsoft threatening a lawsuit?
Novell started discussions with Microsoft in order to solve problems for our customers by improving Linux/Windows interoperability in areas like virtualization, heterogeneous server management, and office document compatibility. By securing a commitment from Microsoft to support the use of Linux and open source software, we have allayed any potential concerns for our customers and removed a barrier to enterprise-wide Linux adoption.
There was no threatened litigation.
Q3. Is this agreement an admission that Linux products from Novell infringe Microsoft patents?
No.
Patent concerns did not drive our entry into this agreement. Novell makes no admission that its Linux and open source offerings infringe on any other parties' patents. Our position has not changed as a result of this agreement.
Q4. With this agreement, will Novell include Microsoft patented code in its contributions to the open source community?
No. Novell will not change its development practices as a result of this agreement. It has always been our policy in all development, open source and proprietary, to stay away from code that infringes another's patents, and we will continue to develop software using these standard practices. If any of our code is found to infringe someone else's patents, we will try to find prior technology to invalidate the patents, rework the code to design around the infringement, or as a last resort remove the functionality.
Novell is committed to protecting, preserving and promoting freedom for free and open source software.
Q5. Novell's November 2 press release states that, "Novell will also make running royalty payments based on a percentage of its revenues from open source products." Are these payments for a patent license to Novell?
No. Novell has no license or covenant not to sue from Microsoft under this agreement. The payments are for Microsoft's covenant directly to Novell's customers. By the same token, Microsoft's customers receive the same covenant from Novell in return for payment from Microsoft to Novell.
Q6. Will Novell's involvement with the Open Invention Network (OIN) change due to this agreement with Microsoft?
No. The Open Invention Network is an independent organization formed to protect many commonly distributed open source and free software packages, including Linux, from legal attacks, no matter where an attack comes from. OIN provides coverage to the entire Linux industry by providing a form of retaliatory protection for Linux distributors and users that might be targeted in patent litigation.
Novell is a founding member of the OIN and remains strongly committed to its mission. We have contributed valuable resources to OIN and will continue to participate in OIN in the future. Novell remains firmly in support of the goal of creating an environment of open innovation in the Linux world, without worry about the threat of patent lawsuits.
The value of OIN's patents as a deterrent remains critical to the entire Linux industry, including Novell, and is not affected by our agreement with Microsoft.
Q7. What does your investment in Office Open XML mean to your commitment to the Open Document Format?
Open Document Format ("ODF") is the default file format of OpenOffice.org, and Novell is firmly committed to advancing ODF as a file format and a standard. We devote the bulk of our OpenOffice.org development efforts to ODF.
We also understand the need for Linux desktop systems to provide compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats. By supporting Office Open XML in OpenOffice.org, and by contributing to efforts to translate between ODF and Office Open XML, we will achieve better interoperability between Linux and Windows desktop systems. This will allow more businesses to choose Linux desktops freely.
Read Novell's statement on file formats for office applications.
Q8. What does this mean for Mono and its inclusion in non-SUSE distributions? Does Mono infringe Microsoft patents?
We maintain that Mono does not infringe any Microsoft patents. This agreement does not impact the rights and abilities of other distributions to bundle and ship Mono.
Novell is the leading contributor to Mono and we remain committed to the Mono project. Mono is a community project with many constituents and collaborators from companies, universities, governments and individuals.
The Mono project has a set of rules it uses to handle patents that might read on its implementation. The general policy is to work around, remove, or find prior technology on any patents that might read on any implementations in Mono. We continue to support this policy.
Links;Groklaw
Novell
Mono Project
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Open Office by IBM, it is a symphony, Long live ODF
IBM ANNOUNCED in New York City that it will offer a complete set of office productivity applications, desktop software, called IBM Lotus Symphony, at an event today in New York. The programs will be available as free downloads from the IBM Web site.
The IBM's offerings are versions of open-source software developed in a consortium called OpenOffice.org. The original code traces its origins to a German company, Star Division, which Sun Microsystems bought in 1999. Sun later made the desktop software, now called StarOffice, an open-source project, in which work and code are freely shared.
By joining Sun and Google to develop and promote open source software products implementing ODF, IBM adds welcome resources and marketing power to lure users away from the high costs and vendor lock-in of Microsoft Office.
IBM executives compare its ODF initiative with the support it gave to the open source system Linux by promoting its use in corporate data centers, support that helped make Linux very successful over the last several years.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
M$ not enough to buy Wikipedia
Microsoft's attempt to pay someone to alter the content of Wikipedia, has back fired. I think there are many blog posts and news items that point to this saga. I think Microsoft must be getting real soft in the middle now. Trying every which way to push its agenda to the fore. But it should have thought that OSS is more than just money. There may be bloggers that sell may their souls but there are ones that do not. Would I have done it? Don't know. Money is a big attractor, and the amount makes attraction stronger.
Since there are many posts, I will direct you to the sources. But before the links, I should say some things about posts. To be fair links take you to all three camps.
Not all posts are against Microsoft, there is a whole bunch that suck up to M$
The person involved / started the whole issue is Microsoft material from my point. After reading his post, I feel he will feel at home with Microsoft. But to be fair, read his article and the comments that follows.
In his article he says that he is going to correct the wikipedia! we he is welcome as long as he is right about what he writes. But reading his article and comments, I doubt he knows too much. And the entries (if any/ if allowed) will be validated.
Everyone has his or her right to their opinion. Above is mine.
Links;
Wikipedia entry on the issue
Microsoft contacted Rick Jelliffe
Microsoft is awsome, (do I need to say more..)
Microsoft Is Awesome: Microsoft Pays Editors to improve Quality of Wikipedia Articles
