Viva Libre Office

WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS.
Image via Wikipedia

The Document Foundation is happy to announce the release candidate of
LibreOffice 3.3.1. This release candidate is the first in a series of
frequent bugfix releases on top of our LibreOffice 3.3 product. Please
be aware that LibreOffice 3.3.1 RC1 is not yet ready for production
use, you should continue to use LibreOffice for that.

http://listarchives.documentfoundation.org/www/announce/msg00028.html

Following is the list of changes against LibreOffice 3.3:

Key changes at a glance:

* Numerous translation updates
* new mimetype icons for LibreOffice – explained here:
http://luxate.blogspot.com/2011/01/not-even-included-but-already-improved.html
* quite a few crasher fixes

Detailed change log:

* translation updates
* Removed old/unmaintained icon themes
* Fix for https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=664516: Don’t
use a reference or the default formula string will be changed
* Install bash completion for oo* wrappers when enabled
(https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=665402)
* Build fix: get the stlport compat workaround working for gcc 4.6.0
* Build fix: no ddraw.h or ddraw.lib in the June 2010 DirectX SDK,
removed usage
* Windows installer: padded nologobanner.bmp, new size is 102×58
* removed gd – Gaelic, ky – Kirghiz, pap – Papiamento, ti – Tigrinya,
ms – Malay, ps – Pashto, ur – Urdu. UI localization does not exist
in these languages. So it makes no sense to ship packages.
* Build fix: pass thru PYTHON, found by configure. Will be used by
filter/source/config/fragments/makefile.mk.
* Upgraded libwpd (WordPerfect filter) to 0.9.1
* Fixed BrOffice Windows start menu branding
* Removed language code ‘kid’. kid is not Koshin, but key id pseudo
language which is good for debugging UI but should no be included
in the product
* Added ca_XV and ast language/local name and description
* Fixed incorrect page number in page preview mode
(https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33155). When the
window is large enough to show several ‘Page X’ strings,
the page number was not properly incremented.
* Fixed incorrect import of cell attributes from Excel
documents. When a cell with non-default formatting attribute starts
with non-first row in a column, the filter would incorrectly apply
the same format to all the cells above it if they didn’t have any
formats.
* Ubuntu: fix for lp#696527 – enable human icon theme in LibreOffice
* Fix for https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=673819 crash on
changing position of drawing object in header.
* Changed OpenOffice.org to LibreOffice in nsplugin
* Added Occitan dictionary
* Added Ukrainian dictionaries
* Fix window focus for langpack installation on Mac –
https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33056
* Added/modified NLPsolver translations from Pootle
* Fix for https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=655763
* Fix for RTF export crasher
(https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=656503)
* Use LibreOffice as product name for EPS Creator header
* Parse svg ‘color’ property (fixes
https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33551)
* Use double instead of float in writerfilter import
* Build fix: use PYTHON as passed through by set_soenv.in.
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33237 remove
debug line
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33237 – fixes
ole object import for writer (docx)
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33249
rename OOo -> LibO on Getting Support Page
* Fix ooxml import: handle css::table::BorderLine in addition to
css::table::BorderLine2 That means that table cell properties are
correctly set on import again.
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33258
wikihelp: Improve the check for existence of the localized help.
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33994 – fixes
several crashes around config UNO API
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=30879
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=32872
Implementation names weren’t matching with xcu.
* Fix: don’t pushback and process a corrupt extension
* Fix: wikihelp – do not check for existence of the localized
help. In case we do not have the help installed, it is up to the
online service to decide the fallback in case a language version is
not available.
* Fix README: change su urpmi to sudo urpmi for Mandriva section
* Fix README formatting –
https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=32741 – using CRLF
instead of LF on WIN platform
* Fix README: word wrap at column 75 for better readability
* Build fix: KDE3 library search order
(https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=32797). Use LINKFLAGS
instead of STDLIBS.
* Start using technical.dic instead of oracle.dic
(https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=31798)
* Build fix: add explicit QRegion* for clipRegion to fix compile of
kde backend
* Cleanup: removed obsolete m_bSingleAltPress
* Remove the menu when Left Alt Key was pressed for GTK
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33459: use
year of era in long format for zh_TW by default
* Fix wrong collation for Catalan language
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=31271 wrong
line break with “(”
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=32561 – crash
when iterating over the database types.
* Default currency for Estonia should be Euro – fixes
https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33160
* Avoid a pointless GetHelpText() call in the toolbox. Fixes
https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33315. GetHelpText()
can be quite heavy, see
https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33088.
* Paint toolbar handle positioned properly
(https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=32558)
* Build fix: move cxxabi.h after stl headers to workaround gcc 4.6.0
and stlport
* Fix for https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=33355
manipulate also the C runtime’s environment
* Fix for CTL/Other Default Font #i25247#, #i25561#, #i48064#,
#i92341#
* RTF export crasher
(https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=656503)
* Fixed an infinite loop in RTF exporter
* UI: translations need more space on word count dialog, made space
for it.
* Fix for https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=660816 improve
formfield checkbox binary export (and import)

Again a BIG Thank You!

Again whats Libre Office

What does LibreOffice give you?

Writer is the word processor inside LibreOffice. Use it for everything, from dashing off a quick letter to producing an entire book with tables of contents, embedded illustrations, bibliographies and diagrams. The while-you-type auto-completion, auto-formatting and automatic spelling checking make difficult tasks easy (but are easy to disable if you prefer). Writer is powerful enough to tackle desktop publishing tasks such as creating multi-column newsletters and brochures. The only limit is your imagination.

Calc tames your numbers and helps with difficult decisions when you’re weighing the alternatives. Analyze your data with Calc and then use it to present your final output. Charts and analysis tools help bring transparency to your conclusions. A fully-integrated help system makes easier work of entering complex formulas. Add data from external databases such as SQL or Oracle, then sort and filter them to produce statistical analyses. Use the graphing functions to display large number of 2D and 3D graphics from 13 categories, including line, area, bar, pie, X-Y, and net – with the dozens of variations available, you’re sure to find one that suits your project.

Impress is the fastest and easiest way to create effective multimedia presentations. Stunning animation and sensational special effects help you convince your audience. Create presentations that look even more professional than the standard presentations you commonly see at work. Get your collegues’ and bosses’ attention by creating something a little bit different.

Draw lets you build diagrams and sketches from scratch. A picture is worth a thousand words, so why not try something simple with box and line diagrams? Or else go further and easily build dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects. It’s as simple or as powerful as you want it to be.

Base is the database front-end of the LibreOffice suite. With Base, you can seamlessly integrate your existing database structures into the other components of LibreOffice, or create an interface to use and administer your data as a stand-alone application. You can use imported and linked tables and queries from MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft Access and many other data sources, or design your own with Base, to build powerful front-ends with sophisticated forms, reports and views. Support is built-in or easily addable for a very wide range of database products, notably the standardly-provided HSQL, MySQL, Adabas D, Microsoft Access and PostgreSQL.

Math is a simple equation editor that lets you lay-out and display your mathematical, chemical, electrical or scientific equations quickly in standard written notation. Even the most-complex calculations can be understandable when displayed correctly. E=mc2.

LibreOffice also comes configured with a PDF file creator, meaning you can distribute documents that you’re sure can be opened and read by users of almost any computing device or operating system.

Download LibreOffice now and try it out today.

http://www.libreoffice.org/features/

 

Interview David Katz ,Dataspora /David Katz Consulting

Here is an interview with David Katz ,founder of David Katz Consulting (http://www.davidkatzconsulting.com/) and an analyst at the noted firm http://dataspora.com/. He is a featured speaker at Predictive Analytics World  http://www.predictiveanalyticsworld.com/sanfrancisco/2011/speakers.php#katz)

Ajay-  Describe your background working with analytics . How can we make analytics and science more attractive career options for young students

David- I had an interest in math from an early age, spurred by reading lots of science fiction with mathematicians and scientists in leading roles. I was fortunate to be at Harry and David (Fruit of the Month Club) when they were in the forefront of applying multivariate statistics to the challenge of targeting catalogs and other snail-mail offerings. Later I had the opportunity to expand these techniques to the retail sphere with Williams-Sonoma, who grew their retail business with the support of their catalog mailings. Since they had several catalog titles and product lines, cross-selling presented additional analytic challenges, and with the growth of the internet there was still another channel to consider, with its own dynamics.

After helping to found Abacus Direct Marketing, I became an independent consultant, which provided a lot of variety in applying statistics and data mining in a variety of settings from health care to telecom to credit marketing and education.

Students should be exposed to the many roles that analytics plays in modern life, and to the excitement of finding meaningful and useful patterns in the vast profusion of data that is now available.

Ajay-  Describe your most challenging project in 3 decades of experience in this field.

David- Hard to choose just one, but the educational field has been particularly interesting. Partnering with Olympic Behavior Labs, we’ve developed systems to help identify students who are most at-risk for dropping out of school to help target interventions that could prevent dropout and promote success.

Ajay- What do you think are the top 5 trends in analytics for 2011.

David- Big Data, Privacy concerns, quick response to consumer needs, integration of testing and analysis into business processes, social networking data.

Ajay- Do you think techniques like RFM and LTV are adequately utilized by organization. How can they be propagated further.

David- Organizations vary amazingly in how sophisticated or unsophisticated the are in analytics. A key factor in success as a consultant is to understand where each client is on this continuum and how well that serves their needs.

Ajay- What are the various software you have worked for in this field- and name your favorite per category.

David- I started out using COBOL (that dates me!) then concentrated on SAS for many years. More recently R is my favorite because of its coverage, currency and programming model, and it’s debugging capabilities.

Ajay- Independent consulting can be a strenuous job. What do you do to unwind?

David- Cycling, yoga, meditation, hiking and guitar.

Biography-

David Katz, Senior Analyst, Dataspora, and President, David Katz Consulting.

David Katz has been in the forefront of applying statistical models and database technology to marketing problems since 1980. He holds a Master’s Degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. He is one of the founders of Abacus Direct Marketing and was previously the Director of Database Development for Williams-Sonoma.

He is the founder and President of David Katz Consulting, specializing in sophisticated statistical services for a variety of applications, with a special focus on the Direct Marketing Industry. David Katz has an extensive background that includes experience in all aspects of direct marketing from data mining, to strategy, to test design and implementation. In addition, he consults on a variety of data mining and statistical applications from public health to collections analysis. He has partnered with consulting firms such as Ernst and Young, Prediction Impact, and most recently on this project with Dataspora.

For more on David’s Session in Predictive Analytics World, San Fransisco on (http://www.predictiveanalyticsworld.com/sanfrancisco/2011/agenda.php#day2-16a)

Room: Salon 5 & 6
4:45pm – 5:05pm

Track 2: Social Data and Telecom 
Case Study: Major North American Telecom
Social Networking Data for Churn Analysis

A North American Telecom found that it had a window into social contacts – who has been calling whom on its network. This data proved to be predictive of churn. Using SQL, and GAM in R, we explored how to use this data to improve the identification of likely churners. We will present many dimensions of the lessons learned on this engagement.

Speaker: David Katz, Senior Analyst, Dataspora, and President, David Katz Consulting

Exhibit Hours
Monday, March 14th:10:00am to 7:30pm

Tuesday, March 15th:9:45am to 4:30pm

Linux Counter- Use Linux so be counted

Here’s a nice website at

http://counter.li.org/

You can basically spend 2 minutes and register yourself publicly/anonymously/or your machine

and some fun at http://counter.li.org/estimates.php

R Commander Plugins-20 and growing!

First graphical user interface in 1973.
Image via Wikipedia
R Commander Extensions: Enhancing a Statistical Graphical User Interface by extending menus to statistical packages

R Commander ( see paper by Prof J Fox at http://www.jstatsoft.org/v14/i09/paper ) is a well known and established graphical user interface to the R analytical environment.
While the original GUI was created for a basic statistics course, the enabling of extensions (or plug-ins  http://www.r-project.org/doc/Rnews/Rnews_2007-3.pdf ) has greatly enhanced the possible use and scope of this software. Here we give a list of all known R Commander Plugins and their uses along with brief comments.

  1. DoE – http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RcmdrPlugin.DoE/RcmdrPlugin.DoE.pdf
  2. doex
  3. EHESampling
  4. epack- http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RcmdrPlugin.epack/RcmdrPlugin.epack.pdf
  5. Export- http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RcmdrPlugin.Export/RcmdrPlugin.Export.pdf
  6. FactoMineR
  7. HH
  8. IPSUR
  9. MAc- http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RcmdrPlugin.MAc/RcmdrPlugin.MAc.pdf
  10. MAd
  11. orloca
  12. PT
  13. qcc- http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RcmdrPlugin.qcc/RcmdrPlugin.qcc.pdf and http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/qcc/qcc.pdf
  14. qual
  15. SensoMineR
  16. SLC
  17. sos
  18. survival-http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RcmdrPlugin.survival/RcmdrPlugin.survival.pdf
  19. SurvivalT
  20. Teaching Demos

Note the naming convention for above e plugins is always with a Prefix of “RCmdrPlugin.” followed by the names above
Also on loading a Plugin, it must be already installed locally to be visible in R Commander’s list of load-plugin, and R Commander loads the e-plugin after restarting.Hence it is advisable to load all R Commander plugins in the beginning of the analysis session.

However the notable E Plugins are
1) DoE for Design of Experiments-
Full factorial designs, orthogonal main effects designs, regular and non-regular 2-level fractional
factorial designs, central composite and Box-Behnken designs, latin hypercube samples, and simple D-optimal designs can currently be generated from the GUI. Extensions to cover further latin hypercube designs as well as more advanced D-optimal designs (with blocking) are planned for the future.
2) Survival- This package provides an R Commander plug-in for the survival package, with dialogs for Cox models, parametric survival regression models, estimation of survival curves, and testing for differences in survival curves, along with data-management facilities and a variety of tests, diagnostics and graphs.
3) qcc -GUI for  Shewhart quality control charts for continuous, attribute and count data. Cusum and EWMA charts. Operating characteristic curves. Process capability analysis. Pareto chart and cause-and-effect chart. Multivariate control charts
4) epack- an Rcmdr “plug-in” based on the time series functions. Depends also on packages like , tseries, abind,MASS,xts,forecast. It covers Log-Exceptions garch
and following Models -Arima, garch, HoltWinters
5)Export- The package helps users to graphically export Rcmdr output to LaTeX or HTML code,
via xtable() or Hmisc::latex(). The plug-in was originally intended to facilitate exporting Rcmdr
output to formats other than ASCII text and to provide R novices with an easy-to-use,
easy-to-access reference on exporting R objects to formats suited for printed output. The
package documentation contains several pointers on creating reports, either by using
conventional word processors or LaTeX/LyX.
6) MAc- This is an R-Commander plug-in for the MAc package (Meta-Analysis with
Correlations). This package enables the user to conduct a meta-analysis in a menu-driven,
graphical user interface environment (e.g., SPSS), while having the full statistical capabilities of
R and the MAc package. The MAc package itself contains a variety of useful functions for
conducting a research synthesis with correlational data. One of the unique features of the MAc
package is in its integration of user-friendly functions to complete the majority of statistical steps
involved in a meta-analysis with correlations. It uses recommended procedures as described in
The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis (Cooper, Hedges, & Valentine, 2009).

A query to help for ??Rcmdrplugins reveals the following information which can be quite overwhelming given that almost 20 plugins are now available-

RcmdrPlugin.DoE::DoEGlossary
Glossary for DoE terminology as used in
RcmdrPlugin.DoE
RcmdrPlugin.DoE::Menu.linearModelDesign
RcmdrPlugin.DoE Linear Model Dialog for
experimental data
RcmdrPlugin.DoE::Menu.rsm
RcmdrPlugin.DoE response surface model Dialog
for experimental data
RcmdrPlugin.DoE::RcmdrPlugin.DoE-package
R-Commander plugin package that implements
design of experiments facilities from packages
DoE.base, FrF2 and DoE.wrapper into the
R-Commander
RcmdrPlugin.DoE::RcmdrPlugin.DoEUndocumentedFunctions
Functions used in menus
RcmdrPlugin.doex::ranblockAnova
Internal RcmdrPlugin.doex objects
RcmdrPlugin.doex::RcmdrPlugin.doex-package
Install the DOEX Rcmdr Plug-In
RcmdrPlugin.EHESsampling::OpenSampling1
Internal functions for menu system of
RcmdrPlugin.EHESsampling
RcmdrPlugin.EHESsampling::RcmdrPlugin.EHESsampling-package
Help with EHES sampling
RcmdrPlugin.Export::RcmdrPlugin.Export-package
Graphically export objects to LaTeX or HTML
RcmdrPlugin.FactoMineR::defmacro
Internal RcmdrPlugin.FactoMineR objects
RcmdrPlugin.FactoMineR::RcmdrPlugin.FactoMineR
Graphical User Interface for FactoMineR
RcmdrPlugin.IPSUR::IPSUR-package
An IPSUR Plugin for the R Commander
RcmdrPlugin.MAc::RcmdrPlugin.MAc-package
Meta-Analysis with Correlations (MAc) Rcmdr
Plug-in
RcmdrPlugin.MAd::RcmdrPlugin.MAd-package
Meta-Analysis with Mean Differences (MAd) Rcmdr
Plug-in
RcmdrPlugin.orloca::activeDataSetLocaP
RcmdrPlugin.orloca: A GUI for orloca-package
(internal functions)
RcmdrPlugin.orloca::RcmdrPlugin.orloca-package
RcmdrPlugin.orloca: A GUI for orloca-package
RcmdrPlugin.orloca::RcmdrPlugin.orloca.es
RcmdrPlugin.orloca.es: Una interfaz grafica
para el paquete orloca
RcmdrPlugin.qcc::RcmdrPlugin.qcc-package
Install the Demos Rcmdr Plug-In
RcmdrPlugin.qual::xbara
Internal RcmdrPlugin.qual objects
RcmdrPlugin.qual::RcmdrPlugin.qual-package
Install the quality Rcmdr Plug-In
RcmdrPlugin.SensoMineR::defmacro
Internal RcmdrPlugin.SensoMineR objects
RcmdrPlugin.SensoMineR::RcmdrPlugin.SensoMineR
Graphical User Interface for SensoMineR
RcmdrPlugin.SLC::Rcmdr.help.RcmdrPlugin.SLC
RcmdrPlugin.SLC: A GUI for slc-package
(internal functions)
RcmdrPlugin.SLC::RcmdrPlugin.SLC-package
RcmdrPlugin.SLC: A GUI for SLC R package
RcmdrPlugin.sos::RcmdrPlugin.sos-package
Efficiently search R Help pages
RcmdrPlugin.steepness::Rcmdr.help.RcmdrPlugin.steepness
RcmdrPlugin.steepness: A GUI for
steepness-package (internal functions)
RcmdrPlugin.steepness::RcmdrPlugin.steepness
RcmdrPlugin.steepness: A GUI for steepness R
package
RcmdrPlugin.survival::allVarsClusters
Internal RcmdrPlugin.survival Objects
RcmdrPlugin.survival::RcmdrPlugin.survival-package
Rcmdr Plug-In Package for the survival Package
RcmdrPlugin.TeachingDemos::RcmdrPlugin.TeachingDemos-package
Install the Demos Rcmdr Plug-In

 

GrapheR

GNU General Public License
Image via Wikipedia

GrapherR

GrapheR is a Graphical User Interface created for simple graphs.

Depends: R (>= 2.10.0), tcltk, mgcv
Description: GrapheR is a multiplatform user interface for drawing highly customizable graphs in R. It aims to be a valuable help to quickly draw publishable graphs without any knowledge of R commands. Six kinds of graphs are available: histogram, box-and-whisker plot, bar plot, pie chart, curve and scatter plot.
License: GPL-2
LazyLoad: yes
Packaged: 2011-01-24 17:47:17 UTC; Maxime
Repository: CRAN
Date/Publication: 2011-01-24 18:41:47

More information about GrapheR at CRAN
Path: /cran/newpermanent link

Advantages of using GrapheR

  • It is bi-lingual (English and French) and can import in text and csv files
  • The intention is for even non users of R, to make the simple types of Graphs.
  • The user interface is quite cleanly designed. It is thus aimed as a data visualization GUI, but for a more basic level than Deducer.
  • Easy to rename axis ,graph titles as well use sliders for changing line thickness and color

Disadvantages of using GrapheR

  • Lack of documentation or help. Especially tips on mouseover of some options should be done.
  • Some of the terms like absicca or ordinate axis may not be easily understood by a business user.
  • Default values of color are quite plain (black font on white background).
  • Can flood terminal with lots of repetitive warnings (although use of warnings() function limits it to top 50)
  • Some of axis names can be auto suggested based on which variable s being chosen for that axis.
  • Package name GrapheR refers to a graphical calculator in Mac OS – this can hinder search engine results

Using GrapheR

  • Data Input -Data Input can be customized for CSV and Text files.
  • GrapheR gives information on loaded variables (numeric versus Factors)
  • It asks you to choose the type of Graph 
  • It then asks for usual Graph Inputs (see below). Note colors can be customized (partial window). Also number of graphs per Window can be easily customized 
  • Graph is ready for publication



Computer Education grants from Google

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...
Image via CrunchBase

message from the official google blog-

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/supporting-computer-science-education.html

With programs like Computer Science for High School (CS4HS), we hope to increase the number of CS majors —and therefore the number of people entering into careers in CS—by promoting computer science curriculum at the high school level.

For the fourth consecutive year, we’re funding CS4HS to invest in the next generation of computer scientists and engineers. CS4HS is a workshop for high school and middle school computer science teachers that introduces new and emerging concepts in computing and provides tips, tools and guidance on how to teach them. The ultimate goals are to “train the trainer,” develop a thriving community of high school CS teachers and spread the word about the awe and beauty of computing.

If you’re a university, community college, or technical School in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Middle East or Africa and are interested in hosting a workshop at your institution, please visit www.cs4hs.com to submit an application for grant funding.Applications will be accepted between January 18, 2011 and February 18, 2011.

In addition to submitting your application, on the CS4HS website you’ll find info on how to organize a workshop, as well as websites and agendas from last year’s participants to give you an idea of how the workshops were structured in the past. There’s also a collection ofCS4HS curriculum modules that previous participating schools have shared for future organizers to use in their own program.