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Microsoft Challenges Massachusetts on Open-Format Plan (eWeek)Microsoft Challenges Massachusetts on Open-Format Plan (eWeek)Posted Sep 15, 2005 17:12 UTC (Thu) by IdeaMagnate (subscriber, #12031)Parent article: Microsoft Challenges Massachusetts on Open-Format Plan (eWeek)
"'We have substantial concerns ... with the definition of 'open formats' in the current proposal,' wrote Alan Yates, general manager at Microsoft. This definition, he noted, requires adoption of a single format for office documents throughout all state agencies, requiring deployment of a single office application technology."
If by "technology" Yates means "office suite", (I'm not sure how else to read it) I don't know how even MS could say something so clueless and inaccurate. The whole idea of open standards is that anyone with enough time and skill can implement them and that independent implementations will interoperate. Even requiring OO.o's native format would allow competing implementations, since it's an open and publically documented standard. I've generally come to expect higher-quality FUD from MS.
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Microsoft Challenges Massachusetts on Open-Format Plan (eWeek) Posted Sep 15, 2005 19:59 UTC (Thu) by seyman (subscriber, #1172) [Link] "This definition, he noted, requires adoption of a single format for office documents throughout all state agencies"
Okay, I give up.
Microsoft Challenges Massachusetts on Open-Format Plan (eWeek) Posted Sep 15, 2005 20:50 UTC (Thu) by bojan (subscriber, #14302) [Link] > single format for office documents
Yes, that is a concern. Imagine, for instance, if all documents on the web were done in the same format - one would need a single web technology deployed - a real tragedy. That's exactly why Microsoft invented IE - to spice things up a little bit, with another web format that nobody understands, which obviously lead to great progress.
With this one, I'm on Microsoft's side ;-) Bad standards, bad!
PS. Also, imagine the cost benefits of not needing to support the OpenDocument format (to Microsoft, that is ;-)
Microsoft Challenges Massachusetts on Open-Format Plan (eWeek) Posted Sep 23, 2005 12:36 UTC (Fri) by shane (subscriber, #3335) [Link] To play the Devil's advocate for minute...While you are trying to be ironic, you have hit on a good example of a place where multiple document formats can make sense. What happens when you want to do something not supported by the document standard you are using? For example, suppose that the standard was plain text (ASCII), and you wanted to add colour. The reason you have given a good example is that HTML, while good for certain things, is not so great for others. When you need tight control over where things appear when presented, other formats are better. Something Massachusetts might want to do is update a form that people fill out when applying for something, and then send the updated form to all of their offices electronically. In this case, PDF would make more sense than HTML. There is such a thing as using the right tool for the job.
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