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List:       koffice-devel
Subject:    Re: New maintainer for KChart
From:       "Alexandra Leisse" <alexandra () untangled ! biz>
Date:       2008-09-03 13:00:14
Message-ID: f46093a70809030600x6d25d706v95fe91f03b514264 () mail ! gmail ! com
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On Tue, Sep 2, 2008 at 11:02 PM, Inge Wallin <inge@lysator.liu.se> wrote:
> On Tuesday 02 September 2008 15:21:22 Alexandra Leisse wrote:
>>
>> As I wrote earlier I was working on a concept for that. I put up a
>> google doc which can be found here:
>> http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcnp6zq6_87f5kg58hk
>>
>> Please consider it as a draft and comment on it. It's mostly common
>> sense but I hope it's a useful point to start from. If anybody wants
>> to collaborate on it, let me know and I'll send you an invite.
>
> Ok, here are some comments, some more general than others:

First, thanks for commenting :)
I already got nice feedback from Jos, so I cc him to this message (as
I have no clue whether he reads this list).

Maybe we should first make clear what exactly we plan to talk about -
the as-is for 2.0 or the vision. I personally go for the vision but I
can see that this might get us into trouble with those guys expecting
everything up and working in a .0 release. Been there, seen it...

> 1. I don't think we can press the "most comprehensive" point for 2.0. First,
> many of the applications in KOffice 1.6 won't be released with 2.0 but
> instead 2.1. Second, I actually counted the components in MS Office and they
> have more.  If we include the apps of kdepim (kontact), then we are at the
> top again.  We could make a case that we should because outlook is part of
> MSO, but right now the statement above is just not true.

Okay. I figure this is something for the long-term commuication then.
But we should mention the apps to come in later releases to make clear
where this is heading to.

> 2. Clean source code is indeed a strong selling point, but not to the end
> users. It is indeed easy to tailor to specific use-cases and this is where
> KOffice will shine very much eventually.  This should be a strong point in
> our long-term message.

Yes and no. 2.0 is to be considered as a developer release, users are
not the main target anyway at this point. Now, if we're targeting
eventual new contributors, this is indeed a strong point. I can't
code, but I know how hard it is to read someone elses CSS for example,
especially when it comes to finding bugs. Conclusion: for developers
this is something we should stress.

> 3. "Easy to Understand".  This has yet to be proven. :-)
>  I think that in general, KOffice *is* easy to understand.  There is a risk,
> though, that some quirks of 2.0 will hide this. Is there a risk for a
> backlash?

There is a risk. That's why we have to be careful about the strategy
of what presenting to whom. We should be honest about what is not
working yet and what will probably not be fixed during the next
months. Jos suggested to include those defacts even into that google
document to make sure we're all aware of the traps. What we should
point out is that with such a huge change in concept and technology
here, many people might not feel comfortable at first, but that we
believe that those changes do improve their workflow (buzzzzzz).

> 4. I think you missed one of our very strongest points: Cross platform
> compatibility.

I called it portability... maybe not the wisest choice, but it is there. ;-)

> 5. Your document doesn't mention the duality of KOffice and KAtelier -- the
> artistic suite made up of (currently) Krita and Karbon. I honestly don't know
> how to treat this, as I don't know what makes artists tick.

That gave me a bit of a headache too. I currently have no real clue
who is exactly targeted. I understood - and think that's right - that
it's for those who are looking for a graphics application and who are
not considering a part of an office suite fulfilling their needs.
Artists is a bit fuzzy to me. Any specification will be helpful.

> 6. The website.
> Our message needs to be enhanced by a good web site. I read on the devel list
> that somebody wanted to fix it, but I haven't seen so much outcome of that
> (yet?).

Very true. The concept was nice though. Maybe some interim solution
would help as I doubt there will be the best of all websites available
before the release. And I actually liked the mockup Bodewijn
mentioned.

> 7. Roadmap
> In short, we should have one. :-)

Cool. That would be very helpful for me and my talk. *cough*

> 7. KDE
> We need to sync our messages and press releases with the ones from KDE. We
> should be able to ride the wave of cross-platform applications from KDE in
> general.

That was my intention, too. KDE is already moving into so many
directions that it would simply be stupid not to use the attention the
project creates as a whole.

> Alexandra, would you be able to come to a koffice meeting in Berlin at the end
> of November to discuss and finalize the plans?

I'd be happy to join forces there and to help making this fly. I'm not
available though for the weekend of 15th/16th, but the rest of
November is fine for me. (BTW is anybody tracking the ins and outs of
everybody who answered to the other track? Should we put up a wiki
site to keep all information in one place?)

-- Alexandra
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