From: ericzen (ericzen_at_ez-net.com)
Date: Wed Nov 26 2003 - 17:24:30 EST
On 2003.11.26 14:58 Mark Richardson wrote:
>
> One more question: Abiword, right now, meets most all my needs with
> remarkable stability, and I recommend it freely in my *personal*
> interactions with students. But would the developers consider the current
> version ripe for "recommendation" in some formal way (on course syllabi or
> on lists of, say, "recommended writing software")? Or should qualifiers be
> added to such recommendations? Or is there a future milestone that we ought
> to wait for?
I think first you just need to review the features and ask, "Does it really do EVERYTHING that my class requires?" I would guess, "No," until 2.2, when text boxes and flow control become incorporated, but when that time comes, you might want to make sure it gets included in a recommended list of software (being cross platform and all).
Personally, I'm against software requirement lists, as they almost always show a bias towards current MS-Only software (keep in mind that Macintosh software was at a minimum of 3mos behind when it actually was supported). I think it would be better to use standard formats that are either part of a community maintained standard, like XSL-FO, or a business maintained standard that doesn't change much, like RTF. With that in mind, students would find it easier to find what they need, as there are a number x/*ml and rtf document composers out there. Then, it would be easier to include a list of applications that are known to work for those needs on most platforms, i.e. AbiWord, Corel Word Perfect 6, GoBe, MSWord/Wordpad*, OpenOffice and StarOffice--asterisk for mentioning Wine or CrossOver Office requirement.
Of course, you could fall back on postscript...almost everyone can produce that directly or indirectly ;o)
The only side-annoying point being the ppt format that annoys me everytime I see it as a requirement, in part, because when I first saw it, I knew I couldn't do it if *I* was the one who had to do it. Making a slideshow isn't the hardest thing to do with a number of interwoven formats, like JS+SVGA, Flash (with the file format now standardised and all) and there was some odd splash-alternative I got with Mandrake that too is crossplatform).
Just my .00456 cents
-Eric
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