Open Source | Nerdlets

Zotero Gets New Partners

Nov 212008

A question came up in the Zotero Workshop I did last night: what are Zotero’s future prospects? Will development continue to be strong, or is this a passing fad? The question is a good one, particularly considering Zotero’s ongoing lawsuit with EndNote, but the answer is pretty easy to come by: development for Zotero is, and will continue to be, strong.

As evidence, consider Zotero’s recently announced partnership with Emory:

Rick Luce, Emory University’s Vice Provost and Director of Libraries briefly described the partnership: “Partnering on the development of open source software with CHNM, an established center of excellence in the digital humanities, allows the Emory Libraries to create value for the research community while sharing the risks in developing innovative software.”

Emory’s Zotero team will take advantage of local research environments and library expertise at Emory to contribute to Zotero’s growth. You can read the full press release here.

Sync Thunderbird Address Books using Funambol

Software, Webapps and Websites 1 Response »

Nov 112008

There is now an easy way to sync your Thunderbird addresses and calendars with, well, anything!

Our family uses Mozilla’s Thunderbird to get things done–it syncs up perfectly with Gmail (use IMAP for best results) and Google Calendar (with this plugin). The only persistent problem I have had is getting all our address books to sync across computers (not to mention cell phones, music players, etc). Until last night.

A wonderful sync web-based service called Funambol uses data standards to keep all your address books (and calendars) in sync. It even works across different software, and will sync with your iPhone or Blackberry or other smartphone. It’s free and open source.

First download the Thunderbird plugin. It’s experimental (so you will need to sign into Mozilla and tell them you’re cool), but I have had not problems. You also need a Funambol account (get one here). You may also be interested in a number of other plugins a plugins for Outlook and other applications. Give it a whirl!

Zotero Lawsuit

Software 1 Response »

Nov 042008

For those following the ongoing lawsuit by EndNote producer Thomson Reuters against Zotero, this article provides a good synopsis of the story so far.

A Little Love for our Mac Friends

Software No Responses »

Nov 022008

Open source software isn’t just for Windows and Linux. Most of the best and the brightest run on Macs too. Check out this list of 25 useful free software programs for you Apple.

It’s Official: Zotero 1.5 Sync Preview Release 3

Software No Responses »

Nov 012008

Despite the fact that I have technically already posted on this topic, Zotero announced yesterday the next and last pre-release of the Sync-preview line of software. The biggest edition is Rich text notes editing, apparently provided through a program called TinyMCE. Isn’t open source wonderful?!

Check out the full announcement.

Zotero 1.5 Sync Preview Gets a Text Editor

Books, Software 3 Responses »

Oct 292008

I upgraded to Zotero’s latest Sync Preview some time ago, and was blessed today with automatic update. To my delight, this update includes, among other things, a full text editor for note taking. It works a lot like a basic/primitive word processor or WYSIWYG HTML editor. I’m pleased as punch; now I feel better about using Zotero as full-time note taking software (for books at least).

You can download the Preview Release at the Zotero site. Be warned, this is beta software. In my experience it is stable and problem free, but there are no guarantees, so please backup your data (using Dropbox, for example), or stick with Zotero 1.0 until the final release.

CrossOver Software Update

Linux, Software 1 Response »

Oct 282008

As a result of my own self-interests, I forgot to mention in my previous post: CrossoverOffice and CrossOver Games are also available for Macs, and both the Mac and Linux editions are free today.

You can register for your free version here. Follow the instructions on the page.

Linux Users Take Note: Free Crossover Software Tuesday Only!

Linux 1 Response »

Oct 272008

If you are a Linux user then Tuesday October 27 is your day. The premium software company CodeWeavers lost a bet and, as a result, are giving away their software on Tuesday for free. From their press release:

On Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, any one visiting the CodeWeavers’ Web site (www.codeweavers.com) will be given a deal code that will entitle them to one free copy of CodeWeavers’ award-winning CrossOver software. Each copy comes complete with support.

“I realize that by giving away all my software, I’ve caused horrific damage to my company’s bottom line,” White said. “In fact, our vice president of sales wretched Starbucks all over his shirt when he learned the news. But, I figure, the way the economy is going, in a few months everyone might be out on the streets, wearing potato sacks and standing in line for squirrel soup, so why not?”

The CrossOver software (CrossOver Office and CrossOver Games) is a enhanced commercialed version of WINE, which allows Linux users to run many Windows progams. It is based off of WINE, only friendlier, fancier, and optimized for MS Office and Windows Games respectively. This is serious software, and free on Tuesday only (usually between $40-$70), so take advantage.

Curious about the nature of the bet? Well, let’s just say George Bush gets the credit on this one. Read about that here.

Import and Edit PDFs with OpenOffice

Software No Responses »

Oct 252008

One handy OpenOffice extension out there is Sun’s PDF Import Extension. Their description:

The PDF Import Extension allows modifying existing PDF files for which the original source files do not exist anymore. PDF documents are imported in Draw and Impress to preserve the layout and to allow basic editing. It is the perfect solution for changing dates, numbers or small portions of text.

There is another and even more important feature in this plugin, however. Most people don’t follow my advice and download OpenOffice, which means that I often have to export my files into PDFs. I do this for Impress presentations for my classes, for example. Some students, however, do use OpenOffice. Why should they be punished for their progressive attitude and superior brain power? Shouldn’t they get the originals? Well now they can:

The PDF Import extension will also enable the PDF export into a hybrid PDF file, which is a PDF with the embedded source file as ODF. Hybrid PDF files will be opened in StarOffice as an ODF file without any layout differences, while users without StarOffice can open the PDF part of the hybrid file.

It works perfectly, in my experience. It works so well, in fact, I wish I could just save my documents as Hybrid PDFs.

You can download the plugin here. You will need OpenOffice 3.0 for this to work.

Zotero 1.5 and OpenOffice 3.0: Getting it all to Work

Software 5 Responses »

Oct 252008

Those of you who have upgrade to Zotero 1.5 (still in Beta) and/or OpenOffice 3.0 may have noticed some problems with integration. Zotero has a plugin for OpenOffice and MS Word that integrates your Bibliography with your documents, but the default plugin does not work with OpenOffice.

That problem has been fixed: download the new (patched) version from here. This new version will work with all versions of Zotero and OpenOffice. The technically-inclined can read about the details here.

This patched plugin is a temporary fix, a prelude to a fully rewritten plugin (which will be a serious upgrade) due out soon. Read the technical details about the future of OpenOffice and Zotero integration here.

Stay tuned; I’ll keep you posted!