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NeoOffice :: View topic - NeoOffice(/J) Community Relations
NeoOffice(/J) Community Relations
 
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sardisson
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:58 pm    Post subject:

Thinking about the X11 issue again....

I liked MrGruff's second suggestion. Here's what I'm thinking about now:
The NeoOffice Community wrote:
NeoOffice/J is a fully-featured set of office applications (including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing programs) for Mac OS X. Based on the OpenOffice.org office suite, NeoOffice/J has integrated dozens of native Mac features and can import, edit, and exchange files with other popular office programs such as Microsoft™ Office. Unlike the Mac OS X release of OpenOffice.org, NeoOffice/J does not require the X11 windowing system.

Released as free, open-source software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), NeoOffice/J is fully functional and stable enough for everyday use. The software is actively developed, so improvements and small updates are made available on a regular basis.
How's the third sentence of that first paragraph sound?

Also, are there any objections to using "community@neooffice.org" as our official email alias for promotional purposes? If not, I'll have Ed go ahead and set that up and get the ball rolling at MacUpdate again and see about detaching the NeoOffice.org account from my personal VT and .Mac accounts Smile

BTW, there have been 3k+ downloads of 1.1 Beta from VT in the almost-month since release (and approaching 20k since VT started tracking Neo/J). This release is the 4th most-downloaded piece of software in our category (word processing and text tools; there's not an "office suite" category; MSOffice is in the "Business" category which includes all sorts of random stuff, like "Barcode Creator"), behind #1 Circus Ponies NoteBook (a featured product) #2 DigitEyeOCR and #3 SubEthaEdit. Mellel and AbiWord are not too far behind.

Finally, we're allowed two screenshots at VT. The first is Patrick's official editing a PowerPoint presentation; what's another cool screen-shot-able "feature" for the second one?

Smokey

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MrGruff
Operator


Joined: Jul 01, 2004
Posts: 45
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 10:48 am    Post subject:

Quote:
NeoOffice/J is a fully-featured set of office applications (including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing programs) for Mac OS X. Based on the OpenOffice.org office suite, NeoOffice/J has integrated dozens of native Mac features and can import, edit, and exchange files with other popular office programs such as Microsoftâ„¢ Office. Unlike the Mac OS X release of OpenOffice.org, NeoOffice/J does not require the X11 windowing system.

Released as free, open-source software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), NeoOffice/J is fully functional and stable enough for everyday use. The software is actively developed, so improvements and small updates are made available on a regular basis.


[Takes off mask, reveals secret identity as technical author...]

Only niggles, Smokey, only niggles:

First paragraph, second sentence. NeoOffice/J 'has integrated': that sounds rather as if the program has done it all by itself. I would rather 'includes'.

Second paragraph, first sentence. I know PR loves long subordinate clauses at the start of sentences, but I'm for clarity every time. Why not 'NeoOffice/J is released as free, open-source software under the GNU General Public License (GPL): it is fully functional and stable enough for everyday use.'

Second sentence, I think 'the software is being actively developed', or 'the software is under active development with frequent releases of updates and improvements.'

Sorry, once I got started it was hard to stop.

Huw
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Waldo
Oracle


Joined: Dec 03, 2004
Posts: 239

PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:18 pm    Post subject:

FWIW I agree with the above changes..

W
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sardisson
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Posts: 4588

PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:16 pm    Post subject:

MrGruff wrote:
Second paragraph, first sentence. I know PR loves long subordinate clauses at the start of sentences, but I'm for clarity every time.

And academics, apparently. The reason I did that was to vary the sentence structure a bit so that we didn't have so many "NeoOffice/J"s near each other and starting all the sentences. That's my AP English teacher coming back there Smile

Best,
Smokey

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Dean
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 10:18 pm    Post subject: Article in MacTech

Did no one read the article in MacTech about Neo/J?
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sardisson
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2005 4:00 am    Post subject: Re: Article in MacTech

Dean wrote:
Did no one read the article in MacTech about Neo/J?


I guess not Sad Is it available online (and will it make me angry or happy)?

Smokey

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knutkja
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 2:45 pm    Post subject: Activity?

Hi,

last post in this forum was posted January... How many is interested in working with community/public relations? Anyone..? Well, I am! Smile

Maybe community/public relations/marketing should have a forum of its own, so that anyone interested can post/give opinions and tips to specific subjects? Maybe threads will make it easier to navigate in subjects?

I have read the pages on neowiki regarding spreading the word, and I have a few thougts on different things that could be done... But I guess the trouble is making the right priority to maximise the effect...

regards,
k
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sardisson
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 2:07 am    Post subject:

At the moment, we don't have enough activity (read: signed volunteers) to really warrant a bunch of topics and our own forum. Right now this thread is the main place to coordinate/discuss projects and plans, although sometimes things come up in the context of other threads and get discussed there (happens with all sorts of things here, not just PR Smile).

So just post here, and if we feel there's enough momentum in a project, it can get its own thread....

BTW, Neo/J 1.1 should be here sometime really soon, so please, everyone, help shape and translate our "release announcement" so we can blanket the web with the happy news of Neo/J's first non-testing, post-0.x release!

http://neowiki.sixthcrusade.com/index.php/NeoOffice/J_1.1_Announcement

Smokey

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ovvldc
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Joined: Sep 13, 2004
Posts: 2352
Location: Zürich, CH

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:14 am    Post subject:

sardisson wrote:
So just post here, and if we feel there's enough momentum in a project, it can get its own thread....

BTW, Neo/J 1.1 should be here sometime really soon, so please, everyone, help shape and translate our "release announcement" so we can blanket the web with the happy news of Neo/J's first non-testing, post-0.x release!

http://neowiki.sixthcrusade.com/index.php/NeoOffice/J_1.1_Announcement


I made a small change in the proposed text and added a link to OOo. I also prepped a Dutch translation (I never fail to be surprised at how hard it is to translate techspeak).

BTW, I think we should really go for a list of things that make each component better than their Word counterparts.

Here goes:
Writer:
-Logical style system, that does not invent styles for you
-Smaller files (even if they are compressed)
-Safety against Macro virusses
Calc:
-More conditional lay-out options
-Consistent text lay-out interface
Impress
-Flash animation export option
-Less flakiness (for lack of a better term)

CU soon,
Oscar

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JKT
The Anomaly
(earlier version)


Joined: Sep 18, 2003
Posts: 434
Location: London, UK

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 9:58 am    Post subject:

I haven't got myself an account for the wiki yet - for the announcement can I suggest that someone also adds a link to trinity for end user support.

Wrt to capabilities versus Office - if it isn't there already, far better language support should be added.

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sardisson
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 10:27 am    Post subject:

This is good. We still have too many "release"s and "version"s in that first pgh...

The app-specific stuff should probably go in a third (plus) paragrahp(s), IMO.

Smokey

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ovvldc
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Joined: Sep 13, 2004
Posts: 2352
Location: Zürich, CH

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:26 am    Post subject:

JKT wrote:
Wrt to capabilities versus Office - if it isn't there already, far better language support should be added.


Well, it is already in the first paragraph, but it is good enough to warrant a second mention.

Also, I recalled:
-Ability to read Wordperfect documents in to Writer.
-Cleaner HTML code export.

And I found the following ones in OOo reviews:
- Bullet numbering works in Writer
- Optional type ahead, like any mobile phone
- Better font art possibilities in Impress
- Unified interface

Excel is actually the hardest to beat, but then again it always was. Word would have never gotten so big if it hadn't been bundled with Excel.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:13 pm    Post subject:

I just wonder whether there needs to be any reference to X11 at all in the announcement for NeoOffice/J 1.1? NeoOffice/J doesn't use X11. Neither do M$ Office nor Pages but I don't see any such statement in their presentations about non use of X11! In other words, since NeoOffice/J is not dependent on X11, why mention X11 at all?

Perhaps the 1.1 milestone is the time to address more directly the new average Mac users who, frankly, will have never heard of X11 and (thanks to NeoOffice/J) may never have to. I think the (essential?) reference to X11 should be way further down in a list of non-features? It's inclusion so high in the initial list of key features to consider for inclusion in this announcement (at number 2) suggests a technical approach directed at techies rather than a wider audience of potential real world end-users. Arguably, anyone who has followed the technical development of NeoOffice/J already knows that it is not dependent on X11 so they won't need reminding in a 1.1 announcement either.

For my type of organization, I believe that NeoOffice/J's support for more languages and RTL is a far more persuasive public argument for NeoOffice/J than it not using X11. (That said, I acknowledge that I would never have attempted to move my office to OOo for Mac OSX on X11.)

I am in no way wishing to detract from the absolutely essential X11 work which I know goes into making NeoOffice/J a reality. To an average user looking for a free, open source office suite which will run on their standard default installation of Mac OS X, including a reference to non-use of X11 is a non-issue and only likely to scare them away as it is something they don't (need to) understand the significance of. I've given away many copies of NeoOffice/J to friends and colleagues for home use. I've never, ever mentioned X11 once to any of them. To have done so would have been pointless. So why mention it in a public announcement about NeoOffice/J?

Maybe there needs to be two announcements developed for very different audiences? One for the more tech-savvy who understand the X11 issue and a separate one for those whom we hope that X11 will never be an issue - the end user. The latter need a simpler 'OpenOffice.org is now available for the Mac in the form of NeoOffice/J - download for free, double-click to install and try it for yourself.'

It's true that we continue to need another type of user who will help to test X11 version developments but I don't believe that they are the main target for the NeoOffice/J 1.1 announcement and it may dilute the impact of that announcement if we include too much info targetted away from end-users?

Feel free to shoot me down in flames. (Maybe I should have posted this in rants!)

Ray
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knutkja
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Joined: Apr 20, 2005
Posts: 61
Location: Oslo, Norway

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:47 pm    Post subject:

Anonymous wrote:

Maybe there needs to be two announcements developed for very different audiences? One for the more tech-savvy who understand the X11 issue and a separate one for those whom we hope that X11 will never be an issue - the end user. The latter need a simpler 'OpenOffice.org is now available for the Mac in the form of NeoOffice/J - download for free, double-click to install and try it for yourself.'
Ray


I think that Ray has a point in differenciating messages for different target groups/audiences... The end user of Neo/J is probably not very interested in tech lingo, and the X11 term itself might scare him/her off.

The general information about Neo/J should (in my opinion) follow an iceberg metafor - clearly and precise (tip) top statement, and expanded and detailed (technical and other) information further down. This is the normal layout on pressreleases, a heading pinpointing and beeing a hook for the attention, and gradually expanding to more general information towards the end...

But the hook for attention will be audience-specific... and in the release of Neo/J 1.1 the main audience is the technical-oriented (computer) newsservices and press, isn't it?

Comments, please!

k
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sardisson
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 1:33 pm    Post subject:

Ray's made a fair point. On the other hand, MS Office and Pages aren't comparing themselves to OOo, and while we're comparing ourselves to Office and Pages, we're also comparing ourselves to OOo (and at times even using the OOo base as a strength--open and free, plus myriad technical stuff)--otherwise we'd be doing an ad for OOo, not Neo/J Smile

And for most Mac end-users, OOo is this foreign thing that needs funny, odd, un-Mac-like additional software to run, and we need to reassure them that Neo/J does not need X11. It's a big turn-off of OOo (regardless of the fact X11 is pre-installed on new Macs and OOo under X11 works fairly well, and Terry's Start OpenOffice.org makes it almost seamless--the perception is there, and we have to address it if we make any mention at all of OOo).

Perhaps we attempt to rephrase it, or move it to the end of that paragraph, but it is one of Neo/J's "Mac native" strengths over OOo, and it should be mentioned along with those other strengths Smile

(And to briefly address knutkja's question from the wiki, "native" means different things to different people. OOo/X11 is "native" in that it's PPC code and doesn't need something like VPC. Neo/J is "native" in that it's not only PPC code, but also runs in the Aqua "window system" and doesn't need the mediation of the X11 window system. To some people, Neo/J isn't native because it doesn't have the full Aqua appearance; to others, it's not native because it's not Cocoa.... So we have to define native.

(sorry if that sounded like a rant--it's not intended to Smile)

The audience point is also fair, but like knutkja notes, the main audience for the announcement is various online Mac news sources (although I'm sure we'll have Waldo post it on slashdot, too), and readers of those range from fairly non-technical to Mac and UNIX gurus--all of whom are going to more technical than, say, the total readers of the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, (insert your country's top papers here). So we need to have some level of "technical" detail, but I don't think there's enough of a difference in our targeted news outlets to warrant two releases Smile

What's up there now is only the "executive summary," so to speak, the quick recap for places that will only publish a paragraph or less. We definitely need to flesh out things enough so that, say, MacCentral can put up a two-paragraph story. And what's there is rough, very rough. It needs to be polished, have some of the technical stuff softened (if not in the executive summary, in the to-be-written following pghs)--that's why it's in the wiki! Smile I just got worried earlier in the week that Neo/J 1.1 might be around the corner and threw something up to get us started, since in the previous week or so, no one else had Smile

Anyway, please don't take any of this as a rant; it's not meant to be--I'm just typing quickly! Smile

And we've gotten discussion going now, which is a good thing Very Happy

OK, need to post this now before the discussion gets past me--not typing nearly fast enough!

Smokey

P.S. Ray, would you be willing to have/write up a small blurb about your migration for the "press kit" we're talking about in Neo/J logos and graphics thread?

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