Re: Documents on the OLPC

>
> On 7/10/06, Ivan Krstic <krstic@solarsail.hcs.harvard.edu> wrote:
>> Robert Staudinger wrote:
>> > The only statement
>> > we have is that AbiWord is considered for the OLPC but unfortunately
>> > we do now know if/how it is supposed to interoperate with the planned
>> > onboard "wiki" or "document storage and manipulation system" in
>> > whatever incanation.
>>
>> I should have a spec about this available soon. To be perfectly level
>> with you, and while I use Abiword and like it quite a bit, I see any
>> real (standalone) word processor on the Laptop as a crutch to be removed
>> as soon as possible in one of the next software iterations, and in favor
>> of a minimalistic, Writely-like in-browser solution that directly
>> integrates with the wiki. This is my personal opinion, and isn't
>> universally shared here; more details in the spec, and I'll remember to
>> point you to it when it's up. Until then, excuse the brevity of the
>> following answers.
>
> Thanks for speaking so frankly.
>
>> > what will the primary document format on the OLPC be?
>>
>> Undecided, but moving quickly.
>>
>> > how are the stored documents accessed (local ones, remote ones)?
>>
>> Will be detailed in the spec.
>>
>> > will documents be versioned, tracking of changes?
>>
>> Fully.
>>
>> > are there any plans for collaborative editing?
>>
>> Yes, both almost-real-time for documents, and merge-mode for things like
>> eBook annotations.
>
> That's very interesting information.
>

For your information, AbiWord has a total real-time collaborative editing
feature under heavy evelopment (like sub-ethaedit but which handles all
word-processor features). This extends to the ability to update documents
on a remote server also in real time. In other words, we're planning to
leap-frog Writely. The time-frame for stabilizing these developments is
similar to the OLPC. Erik's work can continue in parallel with no worry of
interference.

Does OLPC plan to have an IM feature? I ask because we use XMPP to connect
our collaborative sessions, but we we can use a diferent protocol for the
OLPC if needed.

Anyway, we'll keep you informed and you can watch our progress.

Best regards,

Martin Sevior

> Best,
> Rob
>
Received on Wed Jul 12 02:11:50 2006