KDE Joins ODF Alliance

UseFree.org writes "The position of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) was strengthened today when the free & open source K Desktop Environment (KDE) announced that it has joined the ODF Alliance. KDE developer David Faure has been instrumental in developing the OpenDocument standard, which is already implemented in KOffice, KDE's office suite. Faure says: 'The fact that KOffice provides an independent implementation of the OpenDocument file format, and was able to take part in its specification, proves that OpenDocument is actually a standard, not just a rubber stamp on Sun's OpenOffice file format. What makes an open standard is not merely approval by a committee, but independent implementations.'"

Comments

Safari?

[jadavis]

I would really like to see ODF become more popular.

Could this mean that Safari, which is based on Konqueror, might be able to at least view ODF files?

I think ODF could take off if Macs could effectively use them. I don't see any disadvantage to Apple at all to include KOffice or OpenOffice so that Apple users have something to use even if they don't buy (or more likely, pirate) MS Office.

Also, Google/GMail should support this format! Why not? They allow viewing of MS Word documents as HTML, why not an .odt? That would help a lot.

Re:Safari?

[roger6106]

Also, Google/GMail should support this format! Why not? They allow viewing of MS Word documents as HTML, why not an .odt? That would help a lot.

If you want to suggest this to Google you can send in a suggestion.

Re:Safari?

[SydShamino]

Sadly, IBM's announcement that Lotus will include ODF read ability is the biggest boost I've seen. This means that, eventually (after my company upgrades), everyone here will be able to read ODF files. I had to give up on openoffice.org writer early last year because I was sending out garbled .docs.

(Sadly, because I'm not a Lotus fan. I usually cheer when we move tools out of Lotus.)

Re:Safari?

[pavon]

No, the ODF code is in Koffice not Konquerer, so porting it to Safari wouldn't help. Besides, if they were going to port the code it would be better to put a viewer in Preview, and import/export in iPages, rather than Safari (I don't know if ODF would work well as the native file format as iPages is a cross between Word Processing and Desktop Publishing).

The good news is that KDE 4.0 will run natively on OS X, which means that all the KDE applications, like K Office, will run natively.

Apple Says goodbye to AppleWorks, Hello to...

[9mm Censor]

Open Office? If you noticed, none of the Intel Macs have Apple Works, could the successor be open?

Re:Apple Says goodbye to AppleWorks, Hello to...

[mrchaotica]

No, the successor to Claris/AppleWorks is iWork, which has its own file format for no apparent reason. It's doubly silly because it's just like ODF except that it uses a different XML schema/doctype/whatever and is a folder ("bundle" in Mac terminology) instead of zip file.

Re:Obligitory NEDM Reference

[mrchaotica]

It doesn't affect you or cause any practical change in KDE. What it does is help strengthen ODF's credibility as a standard.

Re:iWork!

[TheBig1]

I have already filed a bug / feature request to Apple for this. All those who think it would be a Good Thing (tm), please do the same.

Re:Obligitory NEDM Reference

[N3Roaster]

But this does affect the author of the grandparent post. If ODF is a credible standard that is widely supported, a KOffice user can mail an ODF much like today people mail Word documents (and it will be just as annoying).

Why in Linux section?

[kosmosik]

KDE is just open source desktop shell - it is not tied to Linux in any way. Sure it is mostly used on Linux but such clasification (KDE = Linux) is just opposite to spirit of free software. KDE is free so you can run it on any ststem - be it Solaris, Linux, *BSD, OSX, Windows whatever.

If I like KDE and dont like Linux I could possibly run it on *BSD.

It is strange that /. editors seem to not uderstand *principle* rules of free software.

Re:Why in Linux section?

[LiquidFire_HK]

Quoting Wikipedia:

KDE (K Desktop Environment) is a free desktop environment and development platform built with Trolltech's Qt toolkit. It runs on most Unix and Unix-like systems, such as Linux, BSD, AIX, Unixware, OpenServer and Solaris. There are also ports to Mac OS X using its X11 layer and Microsoft Windows using Cygwin. Currently, a large portion of the primary KDE libraries and a few other applications can work natively on Microsoft Windows, thanks to the KDElibs/win32 Project. Ports of other KDE applications are being discussed.

I doubt you'll find it extremely hard to google for some screenshots or info.

Re:Why in Linux section?

[Bent Mind]

Interesting links. The Wikipedia link sent me to the KDElibs for win32 page. From that page:

We are not talking about KDE Desktop for MS Windows, since this operationg system already has a native desktop.

I also followed the Google link. There are lots of pictures of Windows clones and KDE running in a NX client window. It should be noted that the link is not work safe. However, there were not any screenshots showing KDE replacing Explorer. I was just curious, and I think I have my answer...

Re:KOffice is growing up

[GreatBunzinni]

It is true that KOffice is pretty much "the most comprehensive office suite in existence" and the direction it is going is really exciting. Yet, as it is right now KOffice is too buggy to even consider using it in a semi-reliable way. It has improved a lot but it still has a lot of annoying and painfully obvious bugs which get in the way of simple work like making a simple spreadsheet.

So yes, KOffice is going the right direction but it still has a whole lot to do to become a decent office package.