Do This.

NetOffice Light: Status Report

Set up an account at Sourceforge this week, so we now have a place to work: http://sourceforge.net/projects/netoffice-light/. If you have any specific requests, post them there.

As I have mentioned previously, our first step is to remove all the existing javascript. Yep, all of it. I'm a big fan of progressive enhancement and so we'll be looking to have everything working without any javascript. Sure, it won't be as fancy, but if you don't have javascript enabled for any reason, you'll at least be able to use it.

We'll then add the fabulous jQuery library which should take care of pretty much any scripting we need. (With the exception of the editor toolbar of course.)

We'll also get rid of all the layout tables and convert it over to a nice, tidy, CSS layout. There will still be plenty of tables, but we'll get them all sorted with class names so it shouldn't be too hard to write your own skins or themes.

So our first release will be very much the same (function-wise) as NetOffice 2.6 - but a 'plainish' version that we'll make available, so any designers out there that feel the urge can start preparing skins.

WAMP - No More Messing Around

Thanks to Schmeegs for this - a very simple, straight-forward was to get Apache/MySQL/PHP running on your Windows box.

EasyPHP. Worked straight away for me without having to do anything!

Any if you do need to customise it, a little interface makes that pretty simple, too.

The Big Upgrade: XP to Vista

My little box of goodies arrived from Microsoft yesterday so last night I upgraded my notebook to Vista. So far, so good, mostly.

There was bound to be a few issues, and here are the ones I faced:

1. It takes a long time. I started at about 9pm and gave up waiting at about 12:30. A clean install is supposedly faster (but that means reinstalling all your software) so I elected to go for the upgrade. Put aside half a day. (Or overnight!)


2. Avast Antivirus needs to be uninstalled. On their website they say it works with Vista, and it does, but you have to uninstall it and then reinstall it after Vista has loaded. You can use the same install file though if you still have it.


3. Missing printer driver. The drivers for my Fuji Xerox Document Centre C250 just vanished during the install. I reinstalled the XP drivers (as the Vista ones are still a few months away apparently) and I can do basic printing, but nothing fancy (like double-sided for example)


4. iPod/iTunes. Aaaaaargh! You have to a bit of tap dancing to get this to sort-of behave. And even then iTunes keeps freezing. And I can't play my purchased songs, even after downloading their so-called 'patch'. Don't get me started on that!

Other than those things it seems to be doing pretty well. My notebook is nearly 2 years old and it's coping resonably well - I even get the Windows Aero fancy bits!

One of the coolest things though is the gadget sidebar. It comes with a few basic things you can add, but there are already heaps more you can download.

That's about it after day 1 - we'll see how she behaves over time...

The "Client Site" in NetOffice

Getting ready to release our first version of NetOffice Light, and I was initially planning on removing the Client Site functionality altogether. This brought about a few protests - so I'm asking anyone who does use that function:

1. What parts do you use the most?


2. What parts do you use the least?


3. What's missing?

Specifically relating to the Client Site part of NetOffice. Thoughts anyone?

Legal MP3s from EMI?

I recently posted about a few issues I have with online music purchases, and it seems there may be a growing tide of sentiment that things must change. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, EMI is looking at the idea of releasing their entire catalogue in plain old MP3, instead of using the ridiculous copy protection systems in place now.

EMI have a different reason than mine - songs you buy from iTunes are only any good if you have an iPod, and songs you buy from any other online retailer you can't play on an iPod. Obviously, Apple have a bit of a stanglehold on the online music market at the moment.

The other thing is that copy protection does not stop piracy.

If I really wanted to copy something I have bought from iTunes, I can burn it to an audio CD, then re-rip it back to my computer as MP3. All this copy protection nonsense hasn't really stopped anything. It just inconveniences people trying to do the right thing.

Just as an aside, since my initial post on the subject I have bought 3 CDs, and nothing from iTunes Music Store...

One Media Outlet Thinking Outside the Tube

I've had a few experiences with the local newspaper in the past that emphasises how short-sighted some of the established media can be. From being defensive and difficult to get along with, to being outright nasty. (I might go into that another time...)

So it was refreshing to see this story on an Australian TV network using a little forward thinking.

Channel 10 has embraced YouTube, whom some might feel to be a potential rival, as a new opportunity to broadcast content.

From the article:

"Unlike most television organisations, we don't regard YouTube and Google as the enemy. We think that they will be great distribution partners," Mr Smith said. Ten last year offered clips of local comedy Thank God You're Here on YouTube.

"One of the reasons we put stuff on YouTube last year was that it was free, incremental traffic," Mr Smith said.

Ten treated the YouTube videos like a broadcast, including ads for the show's sponsors in the clips. "The fact that we put it out on YouTube means that there were tens of thousands of additional eyeballs watching those things for free."

The lessons here? Just because you don't understand something, that doesn't make it an enemy. And perhaps look for ways to leverage something new to your own advantage instead of dismissing it.