Me presento de nuevo a la reelección para la junta de The Document Foundation (TDF) como candidato independiente. Lo más importante que necesita TDF es una visión unificadora para el futuro de #LibreOffice, la principal herramienta de preparación de documentos #OpenSource. He aquí el esbozo de una visión que propondría a los Administradores y a la Junta Directiva en caso de ser elegido, obviamente evolucionada en colaboración con ellos.

¿Hacia dónde elegimos ir?

• TDF existe para servir al público globalmente, no a las necesidades de ninguna corporación. En consecuencia, TDF no debería destinar el dinero donado a ofrecer a ninguna empresa una alternativa a Microsoft Office, ni a ningún proveedor de servicios una alternativa a Google Docs, ni a subvencionar innecesariamente a las empresas que se benefician de cada una de ellas.
• Las actuales herramientas ofimáticas en línea son un servicio para los proveedores de la nube y los usuarios corporativos, pero tienen un valor limitado al servicio de la misión de TDF porque está fuera del alcance de casi cualquier usuario implantarlo por sí mismo. En lugar de animarnos a depender de los proveedores de servicios (incluso de buena fe), TDF debería limitar el compromiso con las versiones de servidor a desplegar una copia de Collabora Online como un peldaño para la evolución de TDF.
• Sin embargo, LibreOffice de Escritorio debe ser capaz de interoperar con él, tanto a través del formato de archivo como en tiempo real.

P2P LibreOffice

• Lo que más necesitamos es la colaboración peer-to-peer integrada en LibreOffice Desktop sin necesidad de un proveedor en la nube.
• Lo ideal sería que también fuera interoperable con Collabora Online™, a través de una conexión en tiempo real
• Necesitamos una plataforma neutral para que todas las versiones sean interoperables.
• También deberíamos empezar a mirar más allá del paradigma del “documento”. Incluso los archivos adjuntos al correo electrónico son cada vez más raros; debemos tener en cuenta los sistemas de archivos distribuidos, los sistemas fediverse y otros contenedores de contenido.
• Así que, como mínimo, también necesitamos soporte dentro de LibreOffice para sistemas de archivos distribuidos como IPFS, de modo que no dependamos de un sistema de archivos alojado para la colaboración.
• También tiene que ser accesible sólo con un navegador, tal vez a través de un cliente Javascript ligero.
• TDF debería estar gastando directamente su importante saldo de efectivo donado para hacer de LibreOffice una herramienta accesible y a prueba de futuro para todos los ciudadanos en todos los países y todos los idiomas, no en licitaciones a proveedores corporativos para arreglar errores que se necesitan arreglar pero que se no pueden arreglar económicamente.

Posibles caminos hacia el P2P

• Esto podría lograrse adaptando la capacidad de acceso remoto de Collabora Online e integrándola en el Libreoffice de escritorio.
• Se necesitaría un rediseño para que funcione para los usuarios normales sin intervención técnica, posiblemente utilizando librerías IPv6 como LibreCast.
• Si estuviera disponible una versión accesible desde el navegador (WASM parece posible), también podría ser factible permitir a un usuario sin LibreOffice instalado colaborar peer-to-peer – en respuesta a una invitación individual – con sólo un navegador.

Una vez elegido, propondría esto como punto de partida para el Patronato y trataría de trabajar con los administradores para hacerlo evolucionar hacia una dirección consensuada para la Fundación.

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Many thanks to Miguel Ángel for the translation of the original.

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I am standing for re-election to the board of The Document Foundation (TDF) as an independent candidate again. The most important thing TDF needs is a uniting vision for the future of #LibreOffice, the leading #OpenSource document preparation tool. Here is the outline of a vision I would propose to the Trustees and Board if elected, obviously evolved collaboratively with them.

Where are we choosing to go?

• TDF exists to serve the public globally, not the needs of any corporation. Consequently TDF should not be directing donated money to give any company an alternative to Microsoft Office, nor to give any service provider an alternative to Google Docs, nor to unnecessarily subsidise the companies benefiting from each.
• Today's online office tools are a service for cloud providers and corporate users, but of limited value in serving the mission of TDF because it is beyond the means of almost any user to deploy it themselves. Rather than encouraging us to become dependent on (even good-faith) service providers, TDF should limit engagement with server versions to deploying a copy of Collabora Online as a stepping-stone for TDF's evolution.
• LibreOffice Desktop needs to be able to interoperate with it however, both via file format and in real-time.

P2P LibreOffice

• What we most need is peer-to-peer collaboration built in to desktop LibreOffice without the requirement for a cloud provider
• Ideally it should be interoperable with Collabora Online™ too, via real-time connection
• We need this on a platform-neutral basis so every version is interoperable
• We should also start looking beyond the “document” paradigm. Even e-mail attachments are becoming rarer; we need to consider distributed filesystems, fediverse systems and other content containers.
• So as a minimum we also need support within LibreOffice for distributed filesystems such as IPFS so we are not dependent on a hosted filesystem for collaboration.
• It also needs to be accessible just with a browser, maybe via a Javascript slim client.
• TDF should be directly spending its significant donated cash balance to make LibreOffice a future-proof and accessible tool for every citizen in every country and every language, not on tenders to corporate suppliers to fix bugs that they need fixed but can't fix economically.

Possible paths to P2P

• This could be achieved by adapting the remote access capability from Collabora Online and integrating it into desktop Libreoffice
• It would need redesign to make it work for ordinary users without technical intervention, possibly using IPv6 libraries such as LibreCast.
• If a browser-accessible build were available (WASM seems possible), it might also be feasible to allow a user without LibreOffice installed to collaborate peer-to-peer — in response to an individual invitation — with just a browser.

Once elected I would propose this as a starting point for the Board and seek to work with the Trustees to evolve it to a consensus direction for the Foundation.

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1. Enable the Linux subsystem and AppImage support
2. In the Linux folder, create a folder called Applications
3. Download the AppImage build of LibreOffice into the folder

That's it! ChromeOS will (probably) do the rest. Go to the applications menu (press the search button on the keyboard) and look in the “Linux Applications” group to launch LibreOffice. It's as easy as a Mac!

In more detail:

To enable the Linux subsystem:

ChromeOS is running on a Linux kernel but uses a container to sandbox locally-installed app. That capability is off by default.

1. Go to Settings (there are various routes you can take – the easiest is via the Settings icon on the app menu)
2. In the left navigation, click Advanced and select Developers
3. Enable the Linux Development Environment from this menu

To enable AppImage

1. AppImage uses the FUSE file system to access, so install FUSE.

To create the Applications folder:

This is optional – you could just put all your AppImage files into the Linux folder, but I find it easier to separate them out into their own folder. Linux apps can only see the Linux folder and its contents, so you can't put AppImage files anywhere else. Your documents will also need to live in or below the Linux folder.

1. Open the Files app
2. Under “My Files” in the left navigation, click on “Linux files”
3. Create a new folder (for example by pressing Ctrl+E) and name it Applications

To download the AppImage

1. On the LibreOffice web site, go to https://www.libreoffice.org/download/appimage/
2. For most people, the “Fresh, Standard” image is the best choice to download.
3. Place the download in your new Applications folder under the Linux folder.
4. If you have not previously installed Java you will probably have install a JRE.

ChromeOS should spot the AppImage file, create an icon for the application on the applications menu and connect it to the supported file types. If it does not, sorry – you will have to make the AppImage executable and run it from a command prompt.

I'm working on instructions for the “hard” things in this list, which I had overlooked because my ChromeBook was already set up suitably.

Notes, Tags and Mentions

• #Linux #OpenSource #LibreOffice #Desktop #OpenOffice #FOSS #FLOSS
• @libreoffice@fosstodon.org
• It's possible that my instructions miss a step or are affected by other AppImage tools I have installed. If so, please let me know and I'll fix it!
• I have a number of other desktop apps installed via this route, and then use AppImage Updater to keep them current (as long as the metadata in the package is correct).

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