[kde-edu]: announcement

[Jos Poortvliet]

On 10/11/07, RalfGesellensetter <rgx at gmx.de> wrote:
> Am Donnerstag 11 Oktober 2007 13:07 schrieb Jos Poortvliet:
> > Hi guys,
> >
> > thanks to all the work you've been doing, the edu part of KDE will
> > get some attention in the release announcement ;-)
>
> Dear Jos,
>
> nice mail I'd say ;)
> >
> > I thus would like to collect some comments on the text below - how
> > complete is it and what did I say wrong?
> >
> Let's have a look, then...

Tnx, that is appreciated!

> >
> > Educational Software
> >
> >  As we have come to expect, a lot of work has going on in the
> > educational area. Last month saw improvements in marble, KVoctrain
> > (now renamed to Parley) and bugfixes.
>
> Isn't it rather Marble (capital M) as it is a name?

Yep...

> What app is "bugfixes" *scnr*?
 added "in various applications"

> You MUST mention Step!

If there is anything new since the last beta, please tell me!!!

> > KVoctrain, an application which can be used to train language
> > vocabulary, received usability work, features and a namechange. The
> > new name, Parley, points to a discussion or conference, especially
> > one between enemies over terms of truce or other matters. This fresh
>
> 'Truce'?  *looking up dict* ceasefire is the better known word to me.
> So it's like "peace negotiation". Interesting story (as I din't know
> it) - maybe we can make it briefer for this occasion?

This is the short version ;-)
I took the "truce" from an email somewhere, but hey, I'm not native
english, I'll change it in ceasefire. Is clearer to me, too.

> Then, Parley
> isn't the first edu app coming into my mind (but maybe because I am a
> Mathematician). Worth to mention here is the wide range of existing
> vocabulary (including semi-commercial databases) and the memorization
> technique (according to most modern state of brain research).

Aaah, interesting. I'll save those for the final announcement, if
that's OK with you.

> ...
> > combinations. Finally, Parley became more colorful when the picture
>
> Is colorful anything harmful? *scnr*

ehm, no? sorry, is that spelled wrong or anything?

> > support was added, which enables users to practise with pictures as
> > well. edu Parley.png
> >
> >  Thanks to the work by Carlos Licea, Marble sports a new 2D
>
> sports?
"has", as in "newly featured", isn't that rather proper english?

> Add: The KDE Desktop Globe Marble
Isn't that a bit overdone? I think those reading the beta's know what
marble is, and I'll explain it again in the final announcement of
course.

> Shouldnt we mention Torsten Rahn as well?

Well, I mention carlos cuz it's his summer-of-code-work, the fact
Torsten is (one of the) main developer(s) doesn't mean he does much
interesting every month ;-)

Well, he probably does, but then he should blog about it. I don't
follow commits of the whole of KDE, I know of only one guy who does
and he writes the weekly commit digest. which I use, of course,
extensively.

> > projection where you can view the earth like a map. Marble also
> > retrieves Wikipedia articles about cities you select. edu marble.png
> >
> >  On saturday the 15th of October, the KDE-Edu team had a polish day.
> > This let to many fixes and improvements, most notably in Blinken,
> > KGeography, KHangMan and Marble. Also a global sound issue has been
> > fixed in all Edu apps, and currently there is investigation going on
> > in the Get Hot New Stuff area.
>
> The latter term (GHNS) needs explanation.

Then let them click it, it is of course a link.

> >
> >  After all this work, the edu team is now shifting gears and focusing
> > on stabilization and translation work, though there still are some
> > things in the pipeline.
>
> When Carsten Niehaus presented KDE 4 to our last Skolelinux (aka Debian
> Edu) Meeting in Guetersloh (Germany), Step! and Avogado (? - part of
> Kalzium) were the projects which made us really cheer!

Well, I haven't seen many developments in the last month in those... I
can only write about what I know ;-)

> This is my 5 cent

Worth a dollar at least to me ;-)

> Regards
> Ralf