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List:       abiword-user
Subject:    Re: ODF for older Abi?
From:       Mark Richardson <mrichard () usc ! edu>
Date:       2007-03-11 18:25:06
Message-ID: op.to1er4zp7qvjck () mepis1
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On Sun, 11 Mar 2007 01:23:37 -0800, Robert Staudinger  
<robert.staudinger@gmail.com> wrote:

> Don't forget all the bugfixes that have been made since then, so newer
> AbiWord quite possibly requires fewer memory in many situations.
>
> - Rob

Granted. But many Linux users are limited to the version of Abiword  
offered in that distribution's repositories. My understanding is that the  
newer Abi is sleeker, more efficient, and more stable, but its code can  
seriously break an older system. My older Mepis, for example, won't  
install a newer Abi without first removing and upgrading KDE and many  
megabytes of other files.  In this situation, clicking the "upgrade"  
button is greased rails to the Linux morgue. In other words, one needs a  
newer operating system, which sometimes means a newer computer. This is  
not the fault of Abiword; it's common when installing any newer  
applications on older systems.

I'm not complaining about this, because Abiword (like Linux in general)  
has done a fantastic job of balancing the needs of older systems with the  
desire for more and better functionality. Here's an example: A slim but  
current version of Abiword is amazingly fast and stable on a "live"  
session of Puppy Linux running on a system with quite low resources. So no  
one can say that Abiword isn't responsive to the needs of users across the  
spectrum, especially those wanting slimmer versions (like the Autopackage  
or flash-drive versions).

My point about ODF reduces to this: If it becomes a universal standard,  
maybe it deserves special consideration as a means of making Abiword as  
inclusive as possible--mainly for those users limited not to slimmer but  
to *older* versions of Abiword. What Hub is pointing out to non-coders  
like me is the disproportionate demand that this would make on the time of  
the developers. If the demands of older systems are normally--or even  
often--met by slimmer versions of Abiword, then Hub's point makes perfect  
sense.

Apologies for my long and probably confused discussion.

--Mark Richardson

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