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Re: [LUG] Custom web application development

 

On Wed, 2010-01-20 at 08:42 +0000, Rob Beard wrote:
> Gordon Henderson wrote:
> > On Tue, 19 Jan 2010, Rob Beard wrote:
> >
> >>> Actually google docs isn't too bad and ca nexport to PDF - but 
> >>> limited to the fonts the browser has.
> >>>
> >> I thought I'd ask anyway, I'm trying to talk them out of going down 
> >> the MS path anyway, it seems that if you sign up for a complete 
> >> Microsoft package (Windows Server, Exchange, Office, Windows 7) then 
> >> you can get a better price but they'd end up spending more on 
> >> software they don't need.
> >
> > This is where it cal appear to be cheaper to go the MS route than 
> > Linux - according to some - you buy the entry level package and get 
> > everything bundled in, although I've forgotten what it's called - 
> > maybe it's the basic SBS package which comes with 5 licneses of 
> > everything? Not sure...
> >
> There's a few different options, I think the one which suited them best 
> was something like Microsoft Open Licence with Software Assurance which 
> would give them the software and upgrades for as long as the agreement 
> is in place (1 to 3 years).  If they went for that they could even 
> downgrade to Windows NT 3.51 and MS Office 4.3 Professional :-)
> 
> > Are there any DTP packages for Linux?
> Um... Scribus is the only DTP package I know of, unless you count 
> Inkscape (which is more vector graphics, I gather similar to Adobe 
> Illustrator) or OpenOffice Draw (which to me looks more like Microsoft 
> Publisher as in it's fairly easy to use).
> 
> Then I guess you've got things like Laytex.
> 
> Rob

..also PageStream http://www.pagestream.org/ if you want a fairly cheap
($99 or $149 for the pro version) commercial package which has a Linux
version. I've not used Pagestream but it seems to be aimed at the
smaller user.

I've used Scribus a bit and it has a fairly steep learning curve (even
with the excellent book by Pittman & Schafer) as it is aimed at
professional users, which I'm not (e.g. includes ICC colour profiling,
font kerning micro-adjustments etc). You need to follow a more formal
DTP workflow, i.e. produce copy and images externally in Text
editor/Word processor and Raster Image processor/Vector Image Processor,
and then perform the layout separately to assemble into a document for
printing. Very good pdf support though. Linux Format produced an article
on it in LXF96, using Scribus, which I think is in their archives.

I've used LaTeX2e extensively for producing technical training
materials, but it is really not suitable for things like Wedding
Stationery.

Phil
> 
> 
> 


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