ACM Technews snippet [2]

[Steve Jenkin]

Original hit the Samba spam filter!


link:      http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html#item7
reference: http://www.salon.com/tech/col/leon/2002/11/15/abiword/index.html 

A Good News story!

"AbiWord Up"
       Salon.com (11/15/02); Leonard, Andrew 

       Open-source software continues to make headway despite the boom and
       subsequent bust in the technology sector, primarily because open-source
       developers are best motivated by elements unassociated with I_P_O_s or
       marketability. AbiWord, donated to the free software community after its
       parent company surrendered the effort of trying to make money with it,
       is one example of the sustainability of open-source software. The word
       processing program is improved upon continually as contributing
       developers from around the world submit new feature updates and
       add-ons. AbiWord is also available for free download from the AbiSource
       Web site. Developers communicate on the IRC channel #abiword,
       encouraging one another and sharing technical details about the
       ever-improving program. AbiWord, along with other desktop open-source
       applications, does not have the same potential for influencing the
       corporate IT market as open-source system software, for example, but
       the project endures because of the dedication of its contributors.
       University of Melbourne particle physicist Martin Sevior says he decided
       to join the AbiWord effort after finding the application more useful than
       others in opening different file formats. He says the people he found
       working on AbiWord also drew him to work on the project, and now he is
       in charge of making tables work on the program. Erik Sink, founder of
       AbiSource, the company which spawned AbiWord, says open-source work
       is good for unemployed coders because they can hone their skills while
       enhancing their resume.
-- 
--------
Steve Jenkin, Unix Sys Admin
PO Box 48, Kippax, ACT 2615
0412 786 915