AbiWord Weekly News #152, (2003, week 28, released 2003.07.13)

Welcome to this issue 152 of the AbiWord Weekly News.

Follow-ups:

      Anti-Abi Advertising laid to rest and 1.99.2 made it out...eventually.

This week in development

      1.99.2 tarballs on Source Forge and Savannah, the official statement on the TextMaker advertisement, printing bugs fix backported to stable, MailMerge (or is it now DataSources) successfully functions with GnomeDB, Math editing in AbiWord and how you can help the Open Text Summariser in your language.   All that and wise-cracks to the FootNotes users, plus two screenshots depicting the evolution of DataSources.

Request for user assistance

      If you want an equally rich and powerful Windows release, we really, really could use some Windows developers.   A whole mess of people with even just an hour a week could help.   Of course, the "three with only two hours a week" model hasn't been helping!   We're desperate!   We'll take a line a day if there's enough of you!   Please help...please!   Doesn't a platform like yours deserve a chance?

      Windows users, your help is doubly requested*.   We would like to see more bug reports coming from the Windows crowd, so, if you're feeling more daring, please download and try out the Win32 binaries when they're available.   If you want some sweet functionality in AbiWord II: The Wrath of Dom, you will have to participate.   You could also consider joining Project Blue Ant.

      Attention users with spare change.   Marc ended up on the wrong end of a money conversion.   He's now 144 euros in debt for our CURRENT! alternative server at the University of Twente*.

Silliness of the Week

      Hi, Joss!   Nice names you guys used ;o)

      Want to stop unjust things from happening in chat?   Join!   It's #abiword at irc.gimp.org

This Issue

      And remember, I give you an email address so you can talk to me, in case you're not on either mailing list.

In this issue:

• Discussion
• Development
• Bug Update
• Release HackDown
• Special Interest

Editor(s) of this issue:  E. A. Zen

      If you're interested in using AbiWord for the first time, receiving a more up-to-date version, any particular version or special release, feel free to visit the new  Latest Releases page.

DISCLAIMER:  It should be generally noted that anything said before the "In this issue:" line is purely editorial.   Actually, everything I say is purely editorial.   You kind of get used to it.

Discussions

Traffic on the  developer mailing list has settled at about 200-400 postings per week.   This week, interesting topics on the developer list included:

1. 1.99.2? aka Beta2? , Will tag 1.99.2 tomorrow. , Tree closed for 1.99.2 and 1.99.2 tarballs on sourceforge. :   Though not as soon as hoped, 1.99.2 has been released.   In order of platform popularity in general, the following versions are available: Win32 minus plugins, Red Hat 9, Red Hat 9 with Ximian Desktop (which?), and SuSE.   If you went looking and didn't find them available on the Latest Releases page, you will find them on Source Forge.

2. AbiWord Weekly News #151 (2003, week 27) released and Re: [abiword-dev] Cheeky F***ers, Negative Advertising. :   For a couple of weeks, TextMaker has been a point of interest and anger for the AbiClan (that includes are fellow users!).   As Alan points out in Re: [abiword-dev] Cheeky..., the only entirely related legal action (as in, don't keep clicking the ad) is to do a Google trademark-whine.   The real disappointment about the advertisement is that the page it links to does not backup the claim.   No statistics, no feature comparisons, no anything of actual value.   However, the trademark-whining will not be occurring, as Dom has given his official take on the subject:
     "Let AbiWord 2.0 prove them wrong."
     Actually, he said quite a bit more than that, see Special Interest for more details.

3. Re: commit -- fix win32 printing (I think so) :   Hub has backported Joaguin's printing fix to 1.x.   Now, he needs people to test it.   While Jordi considers making a pre-1.0.7 and Jeremy tries to locate a tinderbox build problem, Mark recommends assuming that the confirmed fixes in 1.99.2 are also fixed in 1.0.7.

4. Ambiguous checkout in base module on STABLE branch :   Stephen Viles finds out that case insensitivity (where caps don't matter) can cause CVS checkout problems.   After some hunting, he found that a specific patch was added to prevent certain filesystems, Windows in particular, from bogging up on the download - - by refusing to send ither Xxxx.c or xxxx.c files.   The current recommended work around is to rename or remove one of the problem files.   I prefer getting a better OS, but that's competency bias.

5. wmf to png error message :   "Mike" has come across a small issue in compiling the wvlib for Abi.   It says, "support for wmf to png will not be built - please see README"   Even though there isn't a ReadMe, Dom explains that Mike can go about ignoring this complaint :o)

6. Commit: GDA work and GDA Success! :   MailMerge?   Why do we call it that?   With functional Gnome Database Administration in the plugin's power, it's really equivalent of OpenOffices DataSources dialogue discussed last week.   Behold, the first attempt at the DataSources's Tool functionality.   And the now infamous GDA: Full Throttle, alternatively titled, Abi [expletive deleted]ing Rocks!.
   DMCA Warning:
   You are about to learn the real source of the "Slammer" worm, and you'll wonder what it takes to earn the nick-name "Sickie".   Using this information for reasons we don't like means you will be sued under the DMCA.

7. long-awaited math in abiword coming? :   Luca Padovani offers to jump onto the AbiBandWagon (don't you wish we had one...a band...like Pink Floyd, perhaps).   Luca would like instructions on how to bring gtkmathview into a bonobo component for Abi, via some unknown student (ever been to the Desk of the Unknown Student?).   Though premature, as Abi won't actually be able to load a bonobo component until later in the 2.x series, Martin is happy to give instructions about what to use and where to look.   Look forward to seeing Math in Abi soon enough!   It could be worse, you could be stuck waiting for it as long as AbiWord III: The Search for Martin.

8. OTS - Help in translations is needed! :   Nadav would LOVE to have anyone who knows a language to write down all their otherwise meaningless words.   Mmm...make that "words of less meaning."   Dutch, English, German, Hebrew, Hungarian and Nyorsk are most certainly done or started, thanks to, in respective order, Marc Maurer, Nadav Rotem, Dom Lachowicz, Nadav Rotem, Tamas Decsi and Karl Ove Hufthammer.   If you have a million lines of text, you could run that through a bayesian filter....   Otherwise, you can jump to the AbiUser Mailing List to get a link to some instructions.   Anyhow, one word per line, with word groups to be worked out in the distant future.   Today, I learned "fire" is also a Nyorsk word.   A low voice and in a dignified accent (think James Earl Jones), Karl Ove Hufthammer is a fun name to say; it sounds like one of those long-winded poets from the seventeenth century or a political figure from World War II.

Traffic on the  user mailing list is sporadic at best.   Often, a good topic comes up, but users tend to only respond to the original poster rather than the list (as well), which limits what I would add, as the only lone threads I post are announcements of importance or points of great interest.   This week, interesting topics on the user list included:

1. Fonts rendering on screen :   Jost Ammon wants the fonts to look a might purtier than they do now.   A number of people chime in on this subject.   Though it should look absolutely yummy in AbiWord II, Marcel Pol has a slightly labour intensive workaround for the 1.x series.

2. Problem installing using Red Hat 6.0 and episode two after all the mistypes :   Suaiden House seems to be having issues getting to the AbiList!   Currently, Suaiden and Frank are trying to get AbiWord to compile on RH6.   If you click on the right object in the second message, you'll find out Suaiden is missing a directory and can't find autogen.err or autogen.out files.   No follow-ups since the postfix error return with the postfix error return.

3. vi mode in AbiWord :   Do you love both vi and Abi?   So does Alan G. Isaac, who's put together a nice vi metabug.   This is the kind of bug that puts a smile on a Dom's face ^_^
   Go VI or GoodBye!

4. problems building abi in osx , [Fwd: Re: problems building abi in osx] and XAbiWord-1.0.6-2 upoaded to SourceForge :   Apple's delay in releasing X11 4.3 is part of a problem for Jacobo Myerston.   The more daring type can attempt checking out abicocoa from CVS and borrow some Fink libraries.   The less daring can download XDarwin's X11 libraries and pray for the best.   And, if you'd rather stick to stable, Frank has updated 1.0.6 and dropped it on Source Forge.

5. OTS - Help in translations is needed! :   Want the Open Text Summariser to work in your language?   Nadav gives you instructions on how to create a "dictionary" to make it work for you.   Dutch, English, German, Hebrew, Hungarian and Nyorsk are most certainly done or started, thanks to, in respective order, Marc Maurer, Nadav Rotem, Dom Lachowicz, Nadav Rotem, Tamas Decsi and Karl Ove Hufthammer.   Take a look, make additions, write your own, just, please, help!

6. Problem compiling 1.99.2 (linux) :   Is gcc 2.95 giving you a headache with pp_AttrProp.cpp?   Thanks to Geoff's report, there's a patch for that, nowadays.   Forty-five minutes from bug report to fix...what was it the UK had against deploying Open Source and Linux again?   Something about not being able to rely on community support?   Elizabethan dentistry, three-wheeled cars and unresponsive tech support -- these are the marvels of British engineering.

Traffic outside of the AbiDomain is tracked and occasionally reported.   This weeks includes selection(s) from: FootNotes

1. Will I need to update dependancies :   If you find you need something for your Red Hat system that the AbiWord 1.99.x relies on, I would recommend checking out Rui's Savannah Site, which contains additional packages needed by each version.   Also recommended is using the Ximian Desktop or the apt4rpm utility.

2. Re: AbiWord Weekly News #151 :   Am I on crack?   You'd probably think so, and I get this a lot (even mentioned in an official release ;o).   I am not on crack, I sell crack.   But, if you have difficulty understanding my Engrish, I recommend giving me specific examples, so, I can clean it up and retain my sense of humour.   I'm really a negotiable kind of guy!   I even do requests, unless their in bugzilla, in which case, many messages don't get to me...:o(   Additionally, Dom won't accept bugs filed against my brain.

3. abiword and gnomevfs :   How long until --enable-gnome means using its virtual file system?   Dom estimates that it might be as soon as AbiWord 2.2.

4. Re: AbiWord 1.99.2 (AbiWord 2.0 Beta 2) released :   All of our bugs are almost always someone else's problem...yeah...you'll believe that, right?   People turning their toolbar handles off will find that gnome-settings-daemon failed to mention that to XSETTINGS (where abi checks for these things).   Toolbar size and spacing differences should, for the most part, be fixed with GTK2.2 libraries being released, thanks to Dom, Rodney Dawes and possibly someone named Owen (hmm? sure).   That was bloody convenient, wasn't it.

5. Re: AbiWord 1.99.2 (AbiWord 2.0 Beta 2) released :   Abi has some flickering issues that need to be hammered out.   Until that has been fixed, it is recommended that you set page size to something fixed, as opposed to "page-width."

6. What am I missing using 2gtk :   If you want a complete list of what's in the GNOME-ified AbiBinaries, check out Dom's reply.   Additionally, don't let that Nautilus thing scare you off of forcing that weasel to install ^_^

7. AbiWord gets GDA/Gnome-DB support! :   Marc got a little to excited about this whole GNOME DataBase business.   I don't know who Randy is, or what's AskSam, but this seems like a great time to celebrate the idea of GNOME Office.

8. Re: AbiWord gets GDA/Gnome-DB support! :   Jauco seems to agree as a small "AbiWord is Criawips" joke pops up later.   Go GNOME Office!   This should take care of the request made for a GNOME presentation application.   Tiontion.

Development

      Track who put in how much and why.   And, while you're at it, consider whether you'd like to keep your own cvs build as well.   Tables...ooh....

      Current pows are here. This will probably be replaced next week if not this very week.

Name:  More Windows Maintainers
Description:  Jordi and Jeremy could always use help
Advertisement:  Help free people from the oppression of MSWord today!
Recommended Outline:  You must become magical to know how to fix this.
Comments:  Wouldn't be a bad idea to start with the printing bug...
System:  Windows
Challenge level:  ****. 4 stars out of 5
Current Heros:  Jordi Mas, Jeremy Davis

Bug Update

Bug Market

      This week's activity: ResoUnconf +31 (31 : 0), VeriNew -2 (7 : 9), ClosAssi -4 (5 : 9),

      After last week's big push, the VeriNew index has dropped to -2, re-emphasising ResoUnconf's continued gain.   ClosAssi continues its negative March.   Louis Bugkeyser points to Alan Bluespans reference to reckless bug indiscretion that occurs with every new release.   Louis further went on to claiming that something similar is due to occur in the next couple of weeks, so, investors, hold onto your hats...it's going to be a bumpy ride.

      For information about how to view the chart, please read 142's Special Interest.

Bug Votes

      These are the week's Top 20 Bugs in the categories  problems and  requests for enhancements.   Influence next week's results by  casting your own votes.   Ah, another release, another change of what bugs are on the "Most Wanted" list.

      I see 4049, crash on open file from floppy or network drive, has bitten the dust, and there's been quite the bit of jostling around.   No changes, however, occurred in the enhancements section -- a sign that no one caught wind of the vi metabug!

Release HackDown

      This is an AbiWord Weekly News original concept:  The Release Hackdown.   In the table below, you can watch what bugs are being fixed in preparation for the very next release.   Check the key at the bottom to understand formatting.

      No pressure, guys, I'm sure only 2000 or so people will be watching to see what you do weekly.   That breaks down to about 285 people daily and 12 people hourly, so, it's like being peeked at once every five minutes, literally.   "Isn't that veird!?"

Stable

      There is not stable tracker bug, so, I'm chopping it out until told otherwise.

Head

      On our way to two-point-oh, affectionately referred to as, AbiWord II: The Wrath of Dom.

      Two more Windows printing bugs are out of the way, a spelling bug has been taken out and one Windows blocker has been removed.   On top of that, two bugs were added and removed and two bugs already here have been removed!   However, the last two are brand-spanking-new, so, it's still in balance.   Still, 1.99.2 is already something to look forward to using!

      See Announce: 2.0 release plan for more details on the intended route towards Abiword II: The Wrath of Dom.

Special Interest

      This rarely appearing feature comes from Dom Lachowicz, Senior Lead Developer of CVS HEAD of AbiWord and the namesake of my "Alien in a purple goo-filled plastic egg thing."   This is his response to the TextMaker advertisement and its relation to the AbiWord trademark.   It is placed in near entirety to allay any further qualms on this matter.   Only a minor off-topic reference has been removed.

      I don't believe that there is any TM abuse.   They're using our product, which is trademarked, as a basis of comparison for their product.   This is not illegal.

      I do dislike the fact that they're doing negative advertizing, but if they wish to sling mud, so be it.   I do, however, think that what they are saying is illegal in the sense that they are making broad statements like:

"OpenOffice is slow.   We're fast."
"AbiWord lacks features.   We have features."

: without offering any proof, be it a feature matrix or however one wishes to describe their statements.   Also lacking are reference version numbers - they could be comparing AbiWord 0.7 with the CVS version of TextMaker.   Deceitful corporate speech is not protected by the constitution.

      I just say - "let AbiWord 2.0 prove them wrong".   As far as I'm concerned, this is a total non-issue that is distracting me from more important things.

:)

      With that known, we can all get back to proving them wrong.   File bugs!   Check bugs!   Download tinderbox!   Yeah...and all that.

Open Source, Open Books.

      Approximately once a month, don't hedge bets, I'll get this updated by asking (read: whining at) dom.   In the meantime, whenever you want to see how much is in and where it gets diverted, just peek down here.

      Word of caution, numbers lightly fudged due to (hopefully) temporarily incomplete data.   Like a consultant's suggested price, you'll find hidden meaning in the data if you stare long and hard.   Surgeon's General's Warning:  Staring long and hard may have psychotropic affects; keep out of reach of people who like that sort of thing.

      I cannot promise the time of de-fudging, nor can I promise there will be de-fudging any time soon. However, I feel confident that there will be some de-fudging going on.

Current Balance: $1604.34
Interest earned: $8.64

Expenditures: $950
$400 to pay for Martin's Boston Gnome Summit Trip
$400 to buy Andrew Dunbar a new computer
$ 60 to misc./entertainment expenses at GNOME summit, GUAD3C, other, paid out of dom's pocket
$225 Patch Prize (those already successfully awarded)
-   $ 45 Will Lachance
-   $ 45 Marc Maurer
-   $ 45 Ruud Vring
-   $ 45 Patrick Lam
-   $ 45 Dom Lachowicz

Unique contributors: 58*
paypal: 57
check :  3
cash  :  1
*58: plusse 3 repeat offenders whom we love dearly

Contributions: $2723.00
Less paypal and other banking fees: $115.00