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<m key="abiword.generator">AbiWord</m>
<m key="dc.title">AbiWord Help: Introduction</m>
<m key="abiword.date_last_changed">Tue Mar 16 21:18:41 2004</m>
<m key="dc.creator">Copyright (C) 2001 Mike Johnson</m>
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<p style="Heading 1"><c props="lang:en-GB"></c><c props="lang:en-US">Introduction to AbiWord</c></p>
<p style="Normal"><c props="lang:en-US">The AbiWord project began as a desire to create a stable, feature-savvy word processor unbound by a single platform or proprietary file formats. Today AbiWord compiles as a native application on a wide collection of computers and can handle an equally impressive number of file formats. In addition, AbiWords source code, its active development, and constant improvement.</c><c props="lang:en-US"></c></p>
<p level="1" listid="0" parentid="0" style="Normal" props="list-delim:%L; start-value:0 ; list-style:Bullet List; list-decimal:NULL"><c props="lang:en-US">Lastly, AbiWord is completely free and multi-platform. It functions as a native application for Linux (X11), Linux (GNOME), Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP, QNX, and MacOS X "Cocoa".</c></p>
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<p style="Normal"><c props="lang:en-US">The AbiWord project began as a desire to create a stable, feature-savvy word processor unbound by a single platform or proprietary file formats. Today AbiWord compiles as a native application on a wide collection of computers and can handle an equally impressive number of file formats. In addition, AbiWords source code, its active development, and constant improvement.</c><c props="lang:en-US"></c></p>
<p level="1" listid="0" parentid="0" style="Normal" props="list-delim:%L; start-value:0 ; list-style:Bullet List; list-decimal:NULL"><c props="lang:en-US">Lastly, AbiWord is completely free and multi-platform. It functions as a native application for Linux (X11), Linux (GNOME), Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP, QNX, and MacOS X "Cocoa".</c><c props="lang:en-US"></c></p>
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<p level="1" listid="0" parentid="0" style="Heading 2" props="list-delim:%L; start-value:0 ; list-style:Bullet List; list-decimal:NULL"><c props="lang:en-US">The Open Source Concept</c><c props="lang:en-US"></c></p>
<p level="1" listid="0" parentid="0" style="Normal" props="list-delim:%L; start-value:0 ; list-style:Bullet List; list-decimal:NULL"><c props="lang:en-US">AbiWord is developed as an </c><c props="lang:en-US"></c><a xlink:href="aboutos.html"><c props="lang:en-US">Open Source</c></a><c props="lang:en-US"> project. That means the lines of code that comprise AbiWord are freely available and re-distributable. Unlike proprietary software, code that is written and often kept secret by a select few, Open Source projects like AbiWord give away the code and the software is thus subjected to thorough peer review by programmers all over the world.</c></p>
<p level="1" listid="0" parentid="0" style="Normal" props="list-delim:%L; start-value:0 ; list-style:Bullet List; list-decimal:NULL"><c props="lang:en-US">In general, most users do not benefit directly by the availability of the source code. Instead, the greatest benefits of Open Source to the end user are an open environment where anyone can suggest changes, stability, permanence (Open Source projects do not disappear like proprietary applications do when companies fold), fast-paced improvements, and zero entry cost.</c><c props="lang:en-US"></c></p>
<p level="1" listid="0" parentid="0" style="Normal" props="list-delim:%L; start-value:0 ; list-style:Bullet List; list-decimal:NULL"><c props="lang:en-US">Please feel free to visit </c><c props="lang:en-US"></c><a xlink:href="http://www.opensource.org/"><c props="lang:en-US">www.opensource.org</c></a><c props="lang:en-US"> to learn more about the benefits inherent in using on Open Source software.</c></p>
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