infosoldier.com

I just love the way Stephen J. Vaughan-Nichols (from eWeek) just cuts through the bull shit and shoos away any doubts concerning the recently released version 2 of OpenOffice.org; he says:

"It's free and it works. Next question?"

If you have paid $99 for Microsoft Word, or upwards of $300 for any version of Microsoft Office Suite. You pay for the suite; but it may or may not have that one application that might (Remember: it's microsoft we are talking about!) make your life easier. If you are considering waiting for Microsoft's next version of Office, Office 12, which may cost upwards of $450.

You have a choice.

OpenOffice.org 2.0. It's free of cost. But it is infinitely more valuable than Microsoft's Office. It can work with documents made in Microsoft Office, create MS Office documents, convert them to Portable Document Format (PDF) or Flash Animations (SWF). Best of all, you can redistribute it! No question's asked. Just give it away. To your mom, your daughter, your SO... No need to pay extra... ever!

Already OpenOffice matches up pretty well to Microsoft Office in terms of number of applications. There's the full featured Writer, better than the bloated Word. The capable Calc, akin to Excel. Impress, like PowerPoint. Base, not limited like Access. Math, similar to Equation Editor. Draw, like... huh... there's nothing like Draw in Microsoft Office.

But those people behind OpenOffice.org are not content to provide a better, if not the best, office suite around. There will be more!

I am one of those people. I don't mean I have contributed much to OpenOffice.org yet, but I plan to. You see I have joined one of OpenOffice.org Incubator projects. The one that seeks to create a project management application that gives Microsoft Project a run for it's money. Though I am only an observer right now, perhaps I will be able to help with design, testing. Who knows? I'd like to learn C++ in depth, then I will be able to contribute bugfixes. Think about it, would Microsoft give me Office for free? Would they let me work on Microsoft Office for free?

Right now, the OpenOffice.org Project Management project is in it's incipient stages. Nothing has been written in stone, base functionality has not been set, of course, there's not even a design document yet.

It's perfect!

It's a perfect time to join in and see how YOU can contribute. Perhaps you have lots of experience with project management, have used MS Project, seen it's shortcomings. Well, we need you to tell us what those are! Perhaps you are a programming student but don't have too much experience building large applications. We want you too! Perhaps you are a seasoned and experienced coding guru, why don't you help us build something great?

Care to join us? At least see what the fuss is all about? Click Here.

TheInformationSoldier.org? Is it available?...
Filed in: F/OSS FreeCulture OpenSource

Links

I find no shortage of subjects for posts. Not least by any means are the excellent posts that other fellow bloggers do. Particular posts make me feel the urge to steal links, as if such a thing where possible. And to take that subject and beat it to death in my particular style. Whip the subject into shape with my words and add flair to it. Not because my fellow bloggers aren't artful, but because I am just like every other man out there... Vain, self centered. Egocentric.

I resist the urge though. The same way I keep vanity in check, through sheer force of will. "They have had their say", I tell myself, "No need for your useless ranting. Now, behave! And talk about something else!"

But what use is it? To remain silent, if you, my loyal readers, don't seek my fellow bloggers out? They are there, to the right, a bit down, yes. Beneath the header that reads The Information Soldier Reads These Blogs. And the information soldier does read them, make no mistake about that.

Still others aren't there. Partly because they have still to win my heart, and partly because I don't read them so much as skim over them; my eternal wish for a 48 hour day still not becoming reality. La Ínsula Hirsuta, Desentramados, and others may be much to your liking even though I haven't linked them permanently. If I had the time I would review each and every one of them. Shatter them to pieces, tear up their jugulars. Criticize. Even though I might be shunned then, and become an outcast blogger. I won't, I wont. I fear solitude more than I fear pain.

But, why am I talking about all this? Why am I wasting your time? Because today I can't resist the urge. I have to post on a subject that a fellow blogger already has. Professor Edwood Ocasio in his blog Tecno4All (yes, the link is there, to the right!) brings to my attention today an essay entitled Codigo Libre, Hombres Libres. And I want you to read it! Absorb it. It's the kind of thing the information soldier would post in his blog if only his brain was better equipped. It's this post title link.

Read it! Even if you don't seem to understand. Read it! And I will want you as a reader. Read it! Even though you may disagree.

Read it! Or else... don't ever bother to come back...

The information soldier's love is harsh...
Filed In: FreeCulture F/OSS OpenSource LawrenceLessig

I don't know why it is. But I have an irrational attachment to PHP that impedes me from becoming an out and out advocate of Ruby (check my previous post for my Ruby ranting). Also, I find it curious that they call it Ruby on Rails, instead of Rails on Ruby... Anyway, I just wanted to say that PHP also has various application frameworks.

I'll try to explain what an application framework is, so that non-programmer types that read this blog don't feel left out. Imagine that someone builds three houses. They all look different. One has metal doors, another has three rooms, and yet another has a pool. All have different paint jobs and different landscaping. All three however, share some common elements, things like cement used to make the wall or aluminum windows, but also copper pipes for plumbing. All the houses need plumbing!

Building an application, a program, is like building a house certain things are different. But a good many things are the same from application to application. Before application frameworks existed; it was like the house builders had to go and mine, and extract copper, and then make their plumbing, before they started to build the house. Application frameworks make it easy for you to add "ready made plumbing" to a web application. It's like going to Home Depot!

Err.. You got all that? Good.

Quick note: The revolution around Rails on Ruby seems to be stemming from the fact that the language and the application framework are "tight" with each other. Tight, is good.

PHP now. There are various web application frameworks for PHP. PRADO is a more recent one which I am looking into (click on this post's title to go to PRADO's homepage). There's also HORDE and PEAR; HORDE seems way to complex for my meager coding ability and PEAR isn't portable or focused enough for my taste. PRADO seems more accessible. If you're interested click on this post's title to get to the PRADO framework homepage.

Some MS developer who has gotten too drunk on Redmond's kool-aid will tell me to use .NET. But paying Microsoft for the pleasure is a huge no-no for me.

I was a huge comic-book dork a few years ago, and I coded a PHP application to do a comic-book inventory (though I want it to do much more than that!). I've been making plumbing for it forever learning PHP as I go. In the coming months I will try to retrofit it using PRADO and port it using Rails. Wish me luck...