ODF-Capable Apps: Thoughtslinger
As the OpenDocument Format keeps growing in importance and usage-share around the world, and because of its well-written, simple spec for developers to work from, it is providing the data storage foundation for many new and innovative software programs.
Just as ODF supporters have long been predicting, a new wave of innovation is being unleashed before our eyes.
Rick Walker, of Thoughtslinger Corp, got in touch to introduce his new ODF-capable application:
“We’re a small startup and we’ve built a new simultaneous group editor that heavily uses the .odt format. Everyone in a team works on the same document at the same time, and everyone sees what everyone else is doing as they do it.We’re here: http://www.thoughtslinger.com/learn.php
We believe Thoughtslinger is complementary to Writer. A team would collaboratively edit an odt file in Thoughtslinger, then use Writer for final formatting, headers, footers etc. We embraced odt’s because the specification is open and very clean.
We went live with a beta about a week ago. We built it in Java – our first release is a Windows build and we don’t rule out future Mac and Linux builds. If you’re interested, please give me a call and I’ll give you a quick tour.
Regards,
Rick Walker
It looks like a great tool, so check it out! I suggested to Rick that he add it to the Wikipedia page on ODF software, to help others find it too.
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:36 am
I have had a look at Thoughtslinger and posted my impressions on my blog. The short version is No Styles! and no Undo button. And once I read the license properly I didn’t think I could keep it, it appears to say you’re not even allowed to think about how the application works! See
May 22nd, 2007 at 6:37 am
Left off the URL from the last comment: http://ptsefton.com/blog/2007/05/22/thoughtslinger
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:45 am
Peter, thanks for your comments and the link to your review. Thoughtslinger indicated to me they’re in an early beta, so technical issues are to be expected at this point. Your feedback will be valuable to them, so I’m sure they will be happy to hear it and incorporate it as they move forward.
I haven’t read the license closely yet, so I’ll take a look at that, too. Not sure that telling people what to think could be an enforceable license clause!
May 31st, 2007 at 3:35 am
[…] * comments at the SolidOffice blog note the absence of styles and acknowledge the fact that the technology is beta. […]