Here‘s an interview with Patrick Luby, the face behind the OpenOffice.org for Mac project. “I run my own software development consulting company called Planamesa Software. I have spent nearly a decade working as a software developer in a variety of commercial and open source projects including OpenOffice.org and Apache Tomcat using the C, C++ and Java programming languages on a variety of operating systems such as Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris and Windows.”
I liked most of the questions that the interviewer asked. It gave some good insight into the NeoOffice/J developement but I would like to have had Patrick answer the second part of the first question on page two.
It’s good to hear that we are getting closer (however slowly) to a native looking OpenOffice.org mac port.
He’s not the face of OpenOffice.org on the Mac, he’s the face of NeoOffice. While he and Ed Peterlin have had heavy involvement with it in the past (as have I since I was co-lead for the Mac port for two years and worked on the original NeoOffice), there’s an important difference between NeoOffice and OpenOffice.org.
Eric Bachard is currently the main person doing the OpenOffice.org for Mac on X11 port, and he’s been doing a great job. Credit where credit is due.
NeoOffice is a fully GPL version of OpenOffice.org that runs more “natively” using Apple’s Cocoa-customized version of Java for most of the GUI elements. It cannot be merged with the real OpenOffice.org project right now because OOo is LGPL/SISSL, not GPL. That said, NeoOffice couldn’t exist without the work that’s being done on the OpenOffice.org for Mac X11 port because 95% of the code NeoOffice uses is the same as the OpenOffice.org for Mac X11 port.
I’m not trying to make this into a controversy or anything, but the summary should get changed to reflect who’s actually doing what here.
— Dan W (fa)
As an aside, I note that the actual article’s subject line says OpenOffice.org, but its technically wrong…
— Dan
I’ll plead stupid…..
I’ve never heard of Patrick Luby, Planamesa Software, or his orchestra….. If he, it, or his company is a household word, it ain’t in this household.
I’m willing to bet most of the others reading this forum have no clue who he is either…
Edited 2005-12-02 04:32
mac users know him very well instead.
if you’re using windows you don’t need to know him, since he develops mac software. so please don’t complain just for annoying.
the man who brought open office to the mac “easy style “. He runs a great web site with forums, and he recently even got a large donation from an anonymous sponsor to improve the java performance of NeoOffice. In the Non-MS Office Mac World, Pat and his crew of collaborators are now somewhat legendary.