Open source oath of adoption

Editor 2005-02-16

MANILA -- Prepared by c2o/Toy Satellite for the IPR Working Group, Asia Communications Rights Workshop, August 2004. Workshop participants were invited to adopt open source applications over a period of a year.

It was identified that a significant number of participants to this workshop are not utilising open source applications despite many being advocates of them. As such, it is recommended that a pledge, or agreement amongst participants be adopted towards the implementation and use of, at least, OpenOffice within a year from 6 August 2004.

Such an agreement would be monitored via the web in addition to support where it is needed. During this process it may be possible to identify the constraints to OpenOffice adoption, as well as clarifying for all participants the political choice and commitment one makes when open source applications are used in preference to market driven and monopolized tools.

This may also include the creation, or use of an existing open source portal that can support participants with tools, policies, support materials, etc, contributing to the Onno Effect.

Open Source Oath of Adoption FAQ

Do I need to install a new operating system?
What software will I need to install to comply with the Oath of Adoption?
Will I have to uninstall Microsoft Office?
Can I use all my Microsoft Office files?
Where do I find OpenOffice?
Are there any courses on OpenOffice or other we can run in our office/group?

[1] Do I need to install a new operating system?

No, not at all. This is an incremental process, one step at a time.

[2] What software will I need to install to comply with the Oath of Adoption?

OpenOffice for starters. If you're feeling a little bold, why not try the Firefox, a fantastic web browser.

[3] Will I have to uninstall Microsoft Office?

This isn't necessary unless you want to make a complete change. You can run both office applications on the same computer. This is a good way of comparing the two.

[4] Can I use all my Microsoft Office files?

Sure! Even Wordstar files if you have any! OpenOffice can read all Microsoft Office files and can save them out in this format to.

[5] Where do I find OpenOffice?

Here's a couple of handy sites for OpenOffice:

Download OpenOffice
http://www.openoffice.org/

Dictionary installer
http://ooodocs.sourceforge.net/dictinstall/

[6] Are there any courses on OpenOffice or other we can run in our office/group?

The APC has excellent courses available from iTrainOnline.

Open Source
http://itrainonline.org/itrainonline/english/opensource.shtml

Open source software (Using OpenOffice)
http://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/mmtk/opensource.shtml