02.17.08
OpenGL-accelerated Technology Comes with OpenOffice.org 2.4 (Video)
Here is one new demo among a couple.
An obligatory direct link for gnash users.
The tool which we have for turning YouTube to Ogg seems to have been broken by changes that YouTube made quite recently (and most likely deliberately).
The video was found in here, where a summary is given too.
PowerPoint’s old push-down transition has done its 15 years of service, and it’s time for it to retire. Do the sleepy faces in your meetings agree? OpenOffice.org Impress 2.4 has the answer in the form ten 3D OpenGL-rendered transitions:
* Flipping tiles
* Outside turning cube
* Revolving circles
* Turning helix
* Inside turning cube
* Fall
* Turn around
* Iris
* Turn down
* Rochade
ODF is not OpenOffice.org, in spite of Microsoft’s attempts to make it look that way [1, 2]. A lot has been said and written about systematic attempt to spread myths about OpenOffice.org (sometimes using AstroTurfers), in order to create false perceptions which defend the Cash Cow. █
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
DOUGman said,
February 17, 2008 at 12:57 am
Neat, instead of powerpoint. I would always just generate static images in writer and convert them into pdfs, from htere I would open and view them with keyjnote for presentations. I prefer to be different..
D.
Roy Schestowitz said,
February 17, 2008 at 1:25 am
I still do it in LaTeX, myself, unless I collaborate on the content with non-TeX users, in which case Impress is fine (compatible with Office 2003 based on my limited experience with those using it). LaTeX gives me clean PDF-formatted slides and I can export as XML, HTML, etc.
In the same vein, I always write barebones HTML, just as Knuth would do.
Abstractions can hide important semantics, but they have their merits depending on the scenario and the user.
Andrew Z said,
February 17, 2008 at 10:27 pm
These transitions were brought to you in part by Novell.
I plan to create an Ogg Vorbis+Theora video out of the original footage to prevent transcoding quality loss. Try back in a few days.
Roy Schestowitz said,
February 17, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Novell does some good things too (take for example the open source ATI driver) and so does Microsoft. We cover both sides of the story. It’s a question of balance.
Overall, Microsoft does not improve technology as much as it has deliberately hindered progress (elimination of competition through technical sabotage). Likewise, Novell puts in jeopardy its Linux rivals, giving Microsoft more power over them. It’s selfish and tactless.
Andrew Z said,
February 18, 2008 at 10:05 am
I put up a torrent in Ogg Theora + Vorbis from the original lossless video footage.
Andrew