Linked by the_randymon on Thu 10th Jan 2013 22:17 UTC
For years, developers decried the tight fist Sun kept on the development of its office suite, preventing the hacker culture from improving its software. So now that LibreOffice is, well, free, it's not surprising to see one ambitious hacker has developed a mechanism for theming it. Let's have a round of applause for Jan Holesovsky, whose patch in the upcoming 4.0 edition of LibreOffice allows you to style LibreOffice using FireFox Personae. Holesovsky's blog is full of other interesting UI changes made to LibreOffice, proof perhaps that letting hackers hack is the best way to keep your project improving.
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RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by ssokolow on Fri 11th Jan 2013 00:16
in reply to "RE[2]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2010-01-21
I'm quite aware that other devs are working on other things. However, one dev wasted his time with skinning and his skills could have been better used otherwise. And someone is telling me I should applaud it.
This is exactly the crap that consigns such open projects to mediocrity or worse again and again and again... It's not a positive, it's a negative, plain and simple.
This is exactly the crap that consigns such open projects to mediocrity or worse again and again and again... It's not a positive, it's a negative, plain and simple.
Are you going to pay him to do it?
I look at you and all I see is someone who seems to feel entitled to someone else's leisure time. Just be happy someone decided to spend their leisure time productively.
I know that, when I program something, if I couldn't do what I wanted, I'd probably be playing games or reading sci-fi instead.
RE[4]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by vocivus on Fri 11th Jan 2013 11:49
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2010-03-13
If someone decided to stick little flower stickers on my car for free I wouldn't thank them for it despite their generosity.
Producing a good product is as much about what should be left out of it as what should be put into it. And seriously, theming should be left out of a productivity application, especially one that needs as much work as LibreOffice. It's like lipstick on a pig.
RE[4]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by jared_wilkes on Fri 11th Jan 2013 18:13
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2011-04-25
RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by tylerdurden on Fri 11th Jan 2013 00:18
in reply to "RE[2]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2009-03-17
RE[4]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by jared_wilkes on Fri 11th Jan 2013 18:14
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2011-04-25
RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by radix on Fri 11th Jan 2013 10:36
in reply to "RE[2]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2012-02-07
Developer clearly stated that he did this project because it seemed to be fun. So either he did this project or didn't do anything for LibreOffice at all. What seems to be better?
BTW it's so very frustrating when other people tell you what you should do with your free time. So, what are you doing for LibreOffice? You don't know programming, you say? Why don't you stop doing whatever crap you're doing now and start learning programming so you could be useful for something finally? And after you learn programming, let me choose you some really important project you'll work in your free time.
RE[4]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by jared_wilkes on Fri 11th Jan 2013 18:18
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2011-04-25
Doing nothing seems better.
I am not telling someone what to do with their time; I am telling someone what they did with their time was useless and made a product worse.
Also, judging a product does not require, not only being able to create the same product, but actually participating in the creation of the product. I can tell you a Yugo is a completely shit car without ever needing to have built an engine or an entire car.
Edited 2013-01-11 18:20 UTC
RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by BluenoseJake on Fri 11th Jan 2013 12:31
in reply to "RE[2]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2005-08-11
RE[4]: Comment by jared_wilkes
by jared_wilkes on Fri 11th Jan 2013 15:41
in reply to "RE[3]: Comment by jared_wilkes"
Member since:2011-04-25
Does his work make LibreOffice a crappier product that I am less likely to use or recommend?
Absolutely 100%.
As I said, it's this silly notion that any work done is good work because eventually an infinite number of devs with craptons of spare time will eventually do the work that needs to be done that makes a lot of OSS software mediocre, tedious, or entirely unusable.
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Member since:
2011-04-25
I'm quite aware that other devs are working on other things. However, one dev wasted his time with skinning and his skills could have been better used otherwise. And someone is telling me I should applaud it.
This is exactly the crap that consigns such open projects to mediocrity or worse again and again and again... It's not a positive, it's a negative, plain and simple.