[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       openoffice-discuss
Subject:    Re: [discuss] OpenOffice 1.9 Beta (2.0) Screens
From:       Sigmascape1 () cs ! com
Date:       2004-12-31 20:21:31
Message-ID: 74A5DFA5.50E85462.3F8EDD3A () cs ! com
[Download RAW message or body]

Exactly. Screens are critical, all screens. One of things that drives me nuts is not having screens that I can use to print. This is one of the reasons I decided to put them up, and to go through the process. I hope a lot of people can use the screens. That's the point... using them. 

Ahh, the eye of the beholder.

Thanks!

Mitch

Free Content: www.ibiblio.org/sigmaman
Free Info: featherston.blogspot.com




Chad Smith <cws456456@aol.com> wrote:

>peter.kupfer@sbcglobal.net wrote:
>
>> I really hate asking questions that are probably obvious to most,
>
>
>It's the only way to learn, Peter.  Heck, if I didn't ask "obvious" 
>questions - I still wouldn't know A) what "open source" is - B) if 
>OpenOffice.org was the website or the program - C) why you should never 
>eat yellow snow....
>
>Everyone was a n00b at some point.  I've been here a year, and I still 
>ask "obvious" questions.
>
>> but what is the point of having these screen shots?
>
>As someone who writes reviews for software - I can tell you that you can 
>*never* have too many screenshots!  Screenshots let people see - in a 
>glance - what would take far too long to describe.  Having a plethora of 
>screenshots readily available for reviewers lets them focus on writing 
>the review, rather than setting up screenshots for their column.  With a 
>project as feature-packed and widely-used as OpenOffice.org - a couple 
>hundred screenshots would barely scratch the surface.
>
>Think about this - OOo is available for *at least* 4 major operating 
>systems - Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, and Solaris.  Each one of those 
>operating system *families* look different.  I say "Families" because 
>each one of those 4 has sub-OSes in them.  Windows XP Pro looks 
>different than Windows ME or Windows NT 3.0 or Windows 95.  Linux KDE 
>looks different than Linux Gnome.  And when you are talking about 
>screenshots - you are talking about appearances.
>
>Then you have a few dozen languages.  Each language would look different.
>
>Then you have the 5 or 6 main "modes" or "modules" or "programs" that 
>OOo has - Calc, Writer, Math, Draw, Impress, Dbase, HTML editor, etc.  - 
>and within those - multitudes of functions.....  Saving, spell-checking, 
>creating a new slide, auto-completion, config menus, and so on...
>
>So - multiply 4 OSes by at least 3 sub-looks and then multiply, by say, 
>20 languages, 6 modes, and 25 functions each....  You'll get a glimpse 
>of the number of screenshots that OOo could potentially have....
>
>Oh - I almost forgot - you need to have that many screenshots for every 
>release of OOo (1.1.0, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.95.64, 1.95.65, 
>2.0, etc.)....
>
>Now you might ask why would anyone need a screenshot of Writer from OOo 
>1.1.4 in Russian on Windows 95 exporting to a PDF...  Well, if someone 
>were reviewing OOo for older hardware in the Baltic States - then that 
>might be a good shot to have.  Or what about the latest 1.95 release for 
>Linux KDE in Hebrew showing Impress adding a transition to a slide....  
>Well, someone in Israel making a report on how to create a slideshow 
>without touching Powerpoint or Microsoft at all might want that.
>
>I doubt we will ever have *all* the shots that *everybody* wants.  But 
>having a lot of them is a Good Thing (tm).  :)
>
>
>> They aren't like of anything particularly interesting. Is there 
>> something unique about them that I don't get? It seems that I could 
>> take them just as easily and save you a lot of time.
>
>
>Yes, but it is good for us to have them available for everyone ready 
>made on the site.  It's one area that, in my experience, open source 
>projects often lack.  Some do very well - particularly graphics 
>projects, like the GIMP, TuxPaint, and Blender - but some are very few 
>and far between in the screenshots category.
>
>Plus, it is an area that people will little program skills can help out 
>in.  You mentioned that you could take them (I don't know your level of 
>computer expertise - so I'm not trying to insinuate anything by saying 
>that) and I think it would be great if you did.  There have been a few 
>FLOSS projects that I have reviewed in my column where I had to make all 
>of the screenshots myself - it can be a very time consuming process.  I 
>would have truly appreciated if someone on the project had taken the 
>time to put a number of shots up for me to use.  It makes the process of 
>reviewing the software a *ton* easier.
>
>Think about it this way - if someone spends an hour setting up and 
>taking screenshots - and only *one* gets used for a product review or 
>promotion - that *one* shot might be what convinces 5, 50, 500 people to 
>use OpenOffice.org - then, it's kinda worth it, don't ya think?
>
>I hope this clears that up.  And I'm glad you decided to ask the 
>question.  It let me take a chance to brag on and thank those who put up 
>the screenshots for us.
>
>So - Thanks everyone who contributes screenshots - it really helps make 
>OOo a better project!
>
>-Chad Smith
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>To unsubscribe, e-mail: discuss-unsubscribe@openoffice.org
>For additional commands, e-mail: discuss-help@openoffice.org
>
>

[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]