NeoOffice Textbook Released Under CC and GNU Licenses

[rggurley]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to let everyone know that I have released "A Conceptual Guide to NeoOffice 2 for Mac OS X" under the Creative Commons-ShareAlike 3.0 and GNU Free Documentation licenses. It's a 288-page guide to the software application, and is now available for download or in paperback. Below you will find a press release that will give additional information regarding the book. Moreover, as mentioned in the press release, I plan to make available a distance learning module for educational institutions based on NeoOffice in the near future.

I want to thank Patrick, Edward, as well as all of the NeoOffice developers, contributors and volunteers for making the NeoOffice office productivity suite a valuable resource tool for students and educators. I also welcome any feedback and suggestions you all may have regarding the book.

Best regards,
Gabriel
Author, "A Conceptual Guide to NeoOffice 2 for Mac OS X"

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Author Releases NeoOffice Book for Macintosh OS X Users and Educators Under Open Licenses

NEW YORK, USA – January 24, 2008 / -- Gabriel Gurley (www.gabrielgurley.com), author of A Conceptual Guide to NeoOffice 2 for Mac OS X, announces today the release of his book under the Creative Commons-ShareAlike 3.0 and GNU Free Documentation licenses.

A Conceptual Guide to NeoOffice 2 for Mac OS X is an indepth guide to assist individuals, students and educators with learning the four core applications bundled in the open source office productivity suite. Unique to this guide is its ten hands-on lessons that walk users step-by-step through the creation of various documents. Readers will find lessons with a unique style in the delivery of the information being presented. The book's lessons include using NeoOffice's database application to produce queries and reports to examine the most intense and costly hurricanes to strike the North Atlantic within the past 100 years, how to create a bi-fold brochure with quality images that describes various landmarks found along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian Mountains and how to create a personal balance sheet with NeoOffice's spreadsheet application while explaining how an individual with significant property holdings and income could have financial difficulties. Users who wish to find specific instructions quickly and easily will find the four quick reference guides to provide the answers they are looking for.

Gabriel Gurley has released the book under the Creative Commons-ShareAlike and GNU Free Documentation licenses in an effort to give greater freedom to individuals, educators and educational institutions when utilizing his book for learning. "One of the biggest challenges facing educators today is the use of copyrighted work for educational purposes," says Gurley. "There is a fair use clause within the current copyright law that grants some limited use of copyrighted material for educational purposes. However, it is often very difficult to determine what constitutes fair use and the quantity of a copyrighted work that can be used and meet its legal criteria. For me, it became apparent that a great way to let educators know that they have my full support in making adaptations or distributing excerpts of my book is to utilize the open license model. The licenses gives concise details as to how educators and individuals can utilize my book without going through the long process of requesting special permission, as well as give peace of mind to educational institutions who are worried about copyright infringement."

Another reason Gurley decided to release his book under the Creative Commons-ShareAlike and GNU Free Documentation licenses is to share the knowledge found within the book to others who need it most. "When I wrote my book, one of the things I really wanted to focus on was teaching lifelong skills that students and users could utilize for the rest of their lives," continues Gurley. "Skills like developing a household budget, creating a personal balance sheet to help in achieving an individual's financial goals, the pitfalls of consumer credit and more. So many students and individuals can benefit from such basic knowledge, but many of those who need it most often cannot afford to attend a course or buy a book. I wanted to figure out a way to make the information within my book available to those under such circumstances, and utilizing Lulu for distribution and the Creative Commons and GNU licenses to grant express permission enables me to do so."

Many publishers, particularly within the educational textbook sector, have been reluctant to offer such licensing terms for their materials. The primary argument is that offering such generous terms would hurt sales, and therefore would prevent publishers from making enough money to recoup the costs that are incurred to get a book to market, including equipment, printing, distribution and the hiring authors and editors. But Gurley sees the open licensing of his book as a natural part of the educational experience and thinks that it will actually add value to his product. "Yes, having the entire book available under an open license and as a free download may affect some sales," explains Gurley. "But there are still many people who prefer to have a book in printed form. Those who like my book when evaluating it in electronic form and wish to have a printed copy, or simply wish to support my project financially, can do so by buying a paperback copy. I personally feel better to offer that option as opposed to having a tip jar on my website to solicit donations. Moreover, my upcoming distance learning modules provide educational institutions additional value as well; not only will they have enormous flexibility in customizing my documentation to suit their needs, but will have the added benefit of being able to rapidly deploy an entire distance learning course regarding the open source office productivity suite and the additional resources it will contain, such a test bank questions for assessments."

Gabriel Gurley's books, including A Conceptual Guide to NeoOffice 2 for Mac OS X, have received positive reviews from educators and users. “Gabriel Gurley has produced the definitive guide to NeoOffice 2”, says Mark Rushing, Director of Library Services at Sampson Community College in Clinton, North Carolina. “Gurley's step-by-step instructions are clear and concise, and his book is liberally illustrated with relevant screenshots to guide the reader through NeoOffice 2's many functions. I strongly recommend this book to all users of NeoOffice and to academic and public libraries that serve Mac owners.”

The book has also received the attention of educators and users outside of the United States as well. Ian Lynch, founder of The Learning Machine, Ltd. in the United Kingdom and the International Grades in Open Technologies (INGOTs) certification, read the book and recommends it as a resource for users pursuing their INGOTs certification. “The Conceptual Guide book is a clear and well-laid out resource for anyone who wants to learn the effective use of the software application,” says Lynch. “I recommend it without reservation to schools, training organisations and individuals.”

For more information regarding A Conceptual Guide to NeoOffice for Mac OS X, visit Gabriel Gurley's website at www.gabrielgurley.com.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gabriel Gurley is a Technical Specialist and instructor for the State University of New York system with a passion for education. As an instructor, students have recommended the use of his handouts over the course adopted textbooks due to his concise, easy-to-understand explanations of the material being taught. Gabriel has held an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator certification for over 5 years and has used the Macintosh platform for 15 years. He is also a Gold Level assessor for the skills-based INGOTs office productivity certification in the United States and a certified instructor for the Rural Entrepreneurship Through Action Learning (REAL) program.

BOOK SUMMARY:
Title: A Conceptual Guide to NeoOffice 2 for Mac OS X
Author: R. Gabriel Gurley
ISBN: 978-0-9778991-4-2
8.50x11.0 paperback, 288 pp.

The book is available as an electronic download, or for purchase as a paperback at either Gabriel Gurley's website (www.gabrielgurley.com) or at many online booksellers. Proceeds from the purchase of paperback copies and distance learning modules help support future textbook development, free resources and distribution activities.

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[K-9]

Wow! Thanks Gabriel! I am downloading at this moment. So have not had a chance to check it out. Thank you!

I am not sure if that was you or someone else; but a few months ago someone had posted that were planning on doing this. I am glad that it happened and that you are offering the free download.

Many thanks!

[yoxi]

Well done for completing this and going to print!

Curse of the proof reader - the contents page of your PDF NeoOffice manual (p.3) starts with Overview and Installation of OpenOffice.org 2 - I hope this isn't in the printed version...

- padmavyuha

*edit* it's correct everywhere else, just wrong on the TOC page.

[K-9]

I was swamped today, but I finally had a chance to look through various sections and pages and there is a lot there that I really never knew. So ----- this is a wealth of useful info here for anyone interesting in learning about NEO!

Nice work!

Many, many thanks!

K-9

[Lorinda]

BTW, I updated the info on this book on the Documentation and Related Resources page of the NeoWiki.

Lorinda

[rggurley]

Thanks yoxi for the heads up on the typo on the Table of Contents page. I have corrected the typo, and all future copies will have the typo corrected.

Thank you very much K-9 for your feedback and suggestions. I sincerely hope you enjoy the book, and let me know if you have any additional feedback or suggestions.

And thanks Lorinda for your assistance regarding the listing of the book on the Documentation / Resources page of the NeoWiki.

I greatly appreciate any feedback or suggestions given from readers regarding the book. If you would like to share your thoughts or suggestions, feel free to post here or send me an email via my contact form on my website (www.gabrielgurley.com).

Thanks again,
Gabriel

* edit * - The updated download (that fixed the typo) has a number of screenshots that have a color issue (I fixed one issue and created another). I am working on a fix for it and should have a corrected copy online by the end of the day. I apologize for the inconvenience.

* edit 2 * - The screenshot color issue has been resolved and a corrected copy is now available. Thank you to everyone who has provided their feedback. I greatly appreciate it.

[OPENSTEP]

I personally would like to thank you for releasing your work under a CC/FDL license. This really is a great gesture and helps both free software as well as all users. I have no problem recommending people purchase any creative commons licensed work in hardcopy form as a show of support for the ideals of free software and volunteerism.

ed

[rggurley]

Thanks Ed for your kind words and support. I hope "A Conceptual Guide to NeoOffice 2" will be a valuable resource for the NeoOffice project and to the software's users. And I hope readers will continue to provide feedback and recommendations regarding the book.

Thanks again,
Gabriel