In Calligra 2.4 we disabled change tracking because it didn't have the quality we felt comfortable releasing.

Now I ask you dear users to share your requirements for the ultimate change tracking systemt. But also describe how you have been using change tracking in the past (in any application) and what was good and bad, what you felt missing, etc.

I'd like personal accounts and anything you share should be free from interlectual property claims.

Go to the forum post that I have also made.

So Thursday and Friday last week I was in Brussels for an ODF plugfest representing KO GmbH and the Calligra project. The plugfest is some kind of a mix between interacting with other ODF implementors (like Microsoft, IBM, LibreOffice etc), and a publicity event to engage the government and industry in the country where the plugfest is held.

So besides trying various interoperability scenarios, I also made a presentation about Calligra which was well received. Jos van den Oever also from KO GmbH made a presentation on WebOdf (a browser/javascript based editor). And Thorsten Zachmann from Nokia also represents Calligra, so all in all we have quite some impact.

Now back home and fast forward to Monday I got asked to join the ODF technical committee at OASIS. Jos van den Oever is already a member on behalf of KDE, and so he got me in (also for KDE). The initial purpose is to make recomendations and alterations for the next generation of change tracking in the ODF file format. I am working together with two other members of the TC, but, even though I'm not alone, I really feel the personal responsibility to make something good, as billions of people can potentially be affected.

But I've joined the real Technical Committee so I will be joining the weekly phone conferences and have my say on all matters ODF. Now, I will go slowly at first, getting acquainted with the processes and how best to get your point of view across. Luckily Thorsten and Jos will be able to help me with any insider knowledge I need.

So now with 3 TC members KDE is influencing the world of ODF even more than ever.

Google Summer of Code application deadline is just a bit more than 24 hours away and we are still looking for highly motivated students to work on a Marble Virtual Globe project this summer. Tomorrow is a holiday in many countries, so you might still have some time for the application. Make sure you file your application not later than tomorrow at 19:00 UTC.

The last project topic for GSoC that I'll cover is "OpenGL support for Marble":

You might ask: Why OpenGL? Doesn't Marble make use of OpenGL already? No it doesn't. Marble currently uses it's own software rendering to provide the different projections. Both texture and vector data are fully rendered in software by default.

This works reasonably fast on most devices, but compromises must be made with respect to the map quality. OpenGL, however, offers higher-quality results, is more state-of-the-art and perhaps helps to reduce power consumption on mobile devices. It therefore makes sense to introduce an OpenGL mode in addition to the sotware rendering mode in Marble (the user should be able to choose between software rendering or OpenGL).
The main task is to refactor the Marble codebase such that both the software rendering and the future OpenGL code share as much code as possible. In particular, visibility control (which objects should be rendered according to the current view parameters) should be factored out into separate classes, such that they can be reused in the OpenGL mode.
Initially the primary focus will be about replicating the current feature set and behavior of Marble. So the globe would still be browsed in looking top-down. Later on one could extend Marble and introduce bird-view, camera flights and "real" mountains and "real" 3D buildings.
Bernhard Beschow created an initial prototype of the OpenGL mode in an experimental branch already. You can look up more details about this prototype in his blog. Here is the video and a screenshot:

Marble - OpenGL Prototype

Since then Bernhard has partially prepared the current Marble master branch for inclusion of OpenGL. But there are still lots of missing bits and pieces in order to have the actual introduction of OpenGL inside Marble.

Expected Results for this project:

• duty: refactored code that separates rendering from visibility management
• "icing": an OpenGL mode

If you are interested in this wonderful project then you should act quickly: Deadline for applications is on Friday, April 6th, 2012m 19:00 UTC. Apart from the usual GSoC student application guidelines your application should:

• describe the benefit of the feature from a user's perspective (including self-created mock-ups and screenshots)
• provide a rough technical explanation in your own words what the project will be about.
• state why you are the best person to master this project.

So if you are a student then we are looking forward to your application! Don't hesitate to ask us any questions.

Google Summer of Code application deadline is near and we are still looking for highly motivated students to work on a Marble Virtual Globe project this summer.

This is a follow-up of yesterday's blog about OpenStreetMap vector rendering with tiling support.

Today I'd like to describe another important feature that we'd like to see covered as a GSoC project. In terms of technology this project is very similar to the "OpenStreetMap vector rendering with tiling support" topic. In fact if you applied for that project already then you might want to apply for this one as well if you want to increase your chances:

The topographic "Atlas" map is the oldest map theme featured by our Marble Virtual Globe. The original aim behind the Atlas map was to create a quite detailed map from very little data. The data would get shipped together with the Marble application for offline usage.

The result was a combination of a small set of vector data (for coastlines and country borders) and grayscale JPGs (for the color-coded elevation model and for the hillshading).

The small set of vector data is still based on the ancient Pospeschil Micro World Data Bank II ("MWDB II") dataset which was originally created in the 70ies/80ies and received its last update 20 years ago.

The GSoC project "Natural Earth Vector Map" is about creating a next generation "Atlas" map: It would be based on the Natural Earth Data project.

In opposite to the current approach the whole map would be based on vectors. The Natural Earth Data website provides all kinds of feature data for this use case.

The basic data is available in ESRI Shapefile format. Just recently Thibaut Gridel added initial support in Marble for Shapefile rendering (using libshp).

The aim of this project would be to provide a new Atlas map based on the Natural Earth vector data that is

• very space efficient (so the shapefile format might not be the ultimate solution).
• has a basic version of the data provided together with the application (similar to the current Atlas map)
• allows loading of further vector data on demand online with no user interaction (read the OSM vector blog and think vector tiles).
• and shows all kinds of topographic features in a map that is nice to look at.

The good news about this project: John Layt has created a master plan that describes all the challenges of this project in detail.

If you are interested in this project then you should act quickly: Deadline for applications is on Friday, April 6th, 2012. Apart from the usual GSoC student application guidelines your application should:

• describe the benefit of the project from a user's perspective (including self-created mock-ups and screenshots)
• provide a rough technical explanation in your own words what the project will be about.
• state why you are the best person to master this project.

So if you are a student then we are looking forward to your application! Don't hesitate to ask us any questions.

One of the nice things about using open source is that you meet and work with incredibly talented people from all over the world. People who are good, not just at developing software, but also at building community and making you feel welcome working with them.

Torsten Rahm and the Marble Team are particularly amazing. My daughter Abby entered the "Voice of Marble" contest last year when she was 4. She didn't win, but the Marble team wrote her a very nice letter and sent her a stuffed "Konqui" to play with. She was delighted. She wrote them a nice thank-you letter but it took me awhile to figure out how to send a letter overseas. Today, she got a nice e-mail reply from them that I will post below the fold. She's only five, but thanks to the Marble team, she's already enthusiastic about KDE, Marble, and open source!

Thanks, Marble Team! You're awesome. :-)