Posted on 04/05/2006 4:58:29 PM PDT by steve-b
I received an email yesterday pointing me to a bill, introduced on March 27, that would require all Executive branch agencies in the state of Minnesota to "use open standards in situations where the other requirements of a project do not make it technically impossible to do this." The text of the bill is focused specifically on "open data formats," and would amend the existing statute that establishes the authority of the Office of Enterprise Technology (OET), and the duties of the states Chief Information Officer. While the amendment does not refer to open source software, the definition of "open standards" that it contains would be conducive to open source implementations of open standards. The text of the affected sections of Minnesota Statutes Chapter 16E, showing the amendments proposed, can be found here.
The fact that such a bill has been introduced is significant in a number of respects. First, the debate over open formats will now be ongoing in two U.S. states rather than one. Second, if the bill is successful, the Minnesota CIO will be required to enforce a law requiring the use of open formats, rather than be forced to justify his or her authority to do so. Third, the size of the market share that can be won (or lost) depending upon a vendor's compliance with open standards will increase. And finally, if two states successfully adopt and implement open data format policies, other states will be more inclined to follow....
(Excerpt) Read more at consortiuminfo.org ...
How are you dependent on a single vendor? You guys are always claiming your beloved freeware opens Microsoft documents just fine, was that not true?
And then I'd get 19 back saying "please send in word doc". I know, I've done something similar to this.
The dependence arises from being subject to the future whims of Microsoft's closed format. Further, since the format is closed and only reverse-engineered, rendering is not always consistent with the author's intentions. That, too, is a kind of dependence. There's also the licensing issue N3WBI3 mentioned above.
I wanted to offer him a non gpl solution..
What whims? The basics of word, excel and other office suite products hasn't changed since it's inception. Some new tools, but the ability to read, write and edit documents hasn't changed at all!! What evil whims that prevent you from doing the above are you referring to?
6.
Q:
How can I get StarOffice 8 Office Suite?
A:
StarOffice 8 Office Suite will be available through worldwide retail outlets (Best Buys, CompUSA others), E-tailers like Amazon, and from Sun’s Web site (www.sun.com/staroffice) as a fee-based download. Select PC and software OEMs, and all major Linux distributors have also signed agreements to bundle StarOffice software with their offerings. In addition, new Sun hardware will come pre-installed with the StarOffice 8 software and the Solaris 10 media kit will have StarOffice 7. For enterprises, the StarOffice product will be distributed through Sun Global Sales Organization, which includes all Sun direct sales and Sun master resellers.
http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/faqs/general.jsp
Should the government put its information in a format that a private entity has the right to legally restrict the use of?
Once you purchase MS Office, it's yours to use and MS cannot restrict the use of it. You're getting a little too carried away here, aren't you?
So your freeware like Open Office doesn't actually read the Microsoft formats very well like we've always been led to believe?
In reality standardizing on MSXML or any closed format endangers consumer choice when it comes to interacting with the government.
You're getting a little too carried away here, aren't you?
Im just trying to keep this about formats and not particular software packages, many here are trying to make this about MS and Linux or Office and OpenOffice when thats not the case.
Future modifications. Sheesh.
Isn't that obvious from the course of this discussion and the course of Microsoft's development of Office in the XP era?
It depends on the document.
Going forward they are pushing their XML format not the .doc,.xls,.ppt, ....
It makes sense to standardize on a format that can be supported by anyone who chooses to do so without licensing or reverse-engineering complications. Duh.
Please be more specific. What future modifications do you know of that will prevent you from reading, writing and editing documents?
You mean like they do with DVD's? Oh wait, you can't play all DVD's in all players. Those commie DVD people!
Right now I can impliment a document that reads and writes to the .doc/.xls/.ppt formats and I dont have surrender my rights to sue MS or their associates should they violate any of my IP. With this new format I am no longer free to do this.
eh?
It doesn't make sense at all, if you're going to require the large majority of users to switch to something different than what they already have that everyone is already capable of reading.
Just because you 10 percenters want us to switch doesn't mean us 90 percenters should have to.
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