Subject: Re: installation on slackware
From: Thomas Fletcher (thomasf@qnx.com)
Date: Thu Jan 11 2001 - 07:27:24 CST
On Wed, 10 Jan 2001, Albert Wagner wrote:
> Hi, Dom. Obviously, you didn't read the text of mine that you quoted
> below. I DID download the tarballs. It takes considerably longer than
> 15min on a 56K modem with a slow connection; Longer in fact than the
> slackware package and the generic binary. The tarballs, about 6 of them,
> were all incorrectly built. Or I would have compiled. Rather, as it
> stands right now, I can't get there from here. I have in the past
> downloaded and installed abiword, then erased it because basic features
> were still missing. Abiword probably holds the record for the open
> source project longest in development.
Albert,
I would suggest that rather than download the tarballs,
if you are willing to tolerate another long download (a
one time cost in this case I assure you), that you get a
cvs version of the sources. Then from this point you can
build AbiWord yourself and then run through the distribution
mechanism to see where it is that things go bad for the
slackware distribution. Of course that is if you are
willing to help in correcting us in the error of our ways.
In terms of your comments about AbiWord being the open
source project longest in development ... I doubt that =;-)
No open source project ever has an "end". Some of the reasons
for a more relaxed development schedule are:
-Word Processors aren't "sexy" as a result there is a smaller
core set of people working on this project.
-Core goals are "fuzzy". Since we are all volunteers there
is a set of "goals" for release but people get diverged on
things that catch their own interest. We aren't going to
dictate to people what they can and can't do in their spare
time.
-There are other solutions available. While I believe that
AbiWord is good now (though no argument it can get better)
there are other solutions available for most platforms (ie
StartOffice, WordPerfect, Applixware, LyX, Word) so people
aren't driven by necessity as much as if there were no good
solution.
In any case I'm sorry to hear that AbiWord continually
dissapoints you as a product ... all I can offer you in this
regard is that it is getting better all the time and it is
through volunteer efforts. If you'd like to volunteer then
we'd be happy to have your patches/inputs and questions.
Thomas
-------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas (toe-mah) Fletcher QNX Software Systems
thomasf@qnx.com Neutrino Development Group
(613)-591-0931 http://www.qnx.com/~thomasf
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