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The 18th Annual Halloween Ghost Story Contest on Saugus.net was just held too and had a winning interactive fiction entry. It's also been accepting horror interactive fiction entries for years.

It's just an interactive fiction title. There's lots of them, but there hasn't been a successful commercial release in over a decade. There are many free ones available though. Check out the IF Archive to see a pretty large selection of them. There is even free software for making them; check out the Inform language / IF development system for creating new games. Plus, there are annual contests to show off your writing talents. Check out both the IF Comp and the Saugus Ghost Story Contest for a couple of examples.

And of course, there's a whole wiki dedicated to interactive fiction, too.

Check the list of games on the Saugus.net Computer Free Software page. All open source, all fairly good.

I'd read before here and there that Saugus, MA has been experimenting with the OpenDocument format for a (relative) long time. Does anyone know what the outcome there was? Is ODF still being used in Saugus?

Whatever happened to ODF in Saugus, MA? I heard they were using it long ago, are they still?

There's also a Halloween-themed interactive fiction contest underway on Saugus.net, the ninth annual one.

There's also a Halloween-themed interactive fiction contest underway on Saugus.net, the ninth annual one.

What part of MA? Some towns have already made changes. There are a few more details here and there online, too.

What part of MA? Some towns have already made changes. There are a few more details here and there online, too.

There's a pretty good source of popular free software application descriptions on Saugus.net's Computer Knowledgebase.

There's a pretty good source of popular free software application descriptions on Saugus.net's Computer Knowledgebase.

Some sort of Zope-based solution is probably what you're looking for. Someone else already mentioned Plone, but there are other options on top of Zope in addition to Plone. Besides canned things like Nuxeo CPS and Silva, the built-in CMF for Zope can be pretty readily customized, and sites ranging from the huge to the moderate use custom-built Zope solutions to manage contributions from multiple sources.

There already is a smaller scale version of Silicon Valley roughly centered on Boston, Massachusetts. The partial circle defined by Route 128 (and to a lesser extent the larger one surrounding it defined by Route 495) has most of the required properties already. Heck, it even has the same elevated levels of Asperger's Syndrome that Silicon Valley has.

I think a bigger point is the number of colleges and universities in the Massachusetts area (like MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, and Boston University, to name just a few). Plus, besides Boston, there are numerous other technologically advanced places in that ring (including Cambridge, Saugus, Waltham, and Billerica, to name just a few). If you do a look-up on the saga of ODF and the history of OASIS and/or GNU you'll find a lot of these places mentioned -- OASIS originated in Massachusetts, the Free Software Foundation is headquartered in Massachusetts, and AFAIK Massachusetts was the first government to sanction a special "Open Source Software Trough" to encourage the usage of open source software within both its own branches as well as its local community governments. It's not clear to me where the weird view that Massachusetts is somehow against free software, open source and information sharing that some are espousing is coming from...

There already is a smaller scale version of Silicon Valley roughly centered on Boston, Massachusetts. The partial circle defined by Route 128 (and to a lesser extent the larger one surrounding it defined by Route 495) has most of the required properties already. Heck, it even has the same elevated levels of Asperger's Syndrome that Silicon Valley has.

I think a bigger point is the number of colleges and universities in the Massachusetts area (like MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, and Boston University, to name just a few). Plus, besides Boston, there are numerous other technologically advanced places in that ring (including Cambridge, Saugus, Waltham, and Billerica, to name just a few). If you do a look-up on the saga of ODF and the history of OASIS and/or GNU you'll find a lot of these places mentioned -- OASIS originated in Massachusetts, the Free Software Foundation is headquartered in Massachusetts, and AFAIK Massachusetts was the first government to sanction a special "Open Source Software Trough" to encourage the usage of open source software within both its own branches as well as its local community governments. It's not clear to me where the weird view that Massachusetts is somehow against free software, open source and information sharing that some are espousing is coming from...

Don't forget too that there are various interactive fiction contests held annually. I know of at least two that have been running for more than a few years:

• The Annual Interactive Fiction Competition
• The Saugus.net Halloween Contest

I've also written an article or two over the years and agree that there's a lot to be learned from the Newton MessagePad.

I wouldn't personally want OS X on it, though; a PDA-optimized OS like Newton makes more sense for the platform.

Recent developments in roll-out keyboards, projection keyboards, etc. would also be most welcome.

No, there have historically been very few security holes with CPS, Plone, Silva, or any of the other Zope-based CMSs out there. In fact, there have been very few security holes with Zope.

All that being said, there are a few sites that have built their own CMS on top of Zope (it has a decent CMF built into it, so it's far from impossible to roll one's own). The two biggest profile ones are probably Boston.com and Saugus.net, but I'm sure there are plenty of others.

It's happening in slightly larger, and much higher-tech communities, too. I seem to remember something about Saugus, MA switching over too. I think I may have even seen it here on /., but I forget which story.

It's interesting that the Town of Saugus, Massachusetts has been successfully using open formats for years. Not just the government there, either. Even the Saugus Chamber of Commerce is using open formats successfully.

With smaller test cases like that in place, I suspect that Massachusetts itself will be right on time with the switch.

There's been an ongoing discussion about this same topic over at Macintouch.

Personally I'm a fan of the Zope / CMF series of content management systems; the built-in CMF is quite powerful and flexible (and actually fairly efficient -- don't be fooled by the slowness of some CMSs built on top).

There are many such systems. There are some in private use (like Boston.com and Saugus.net. There are also some commercial options (like Icoya). Most though are free and open source, like Plone, Infrae Silva, and Nuxeo CPS. Each has its own focus and tends to do certain things better than the others. Each has its own special plug-ins and extensions, but since they all utilize the same underlying base framework, it's usually a doable thing (although typically not trivial) to port a product from one to another.

The capabilities of Zope's built-in CMF are also good enough that it's not at all unreasonable to fashion one's own CMS on top of it if none of the existing products seem to suit one's own particular needs.

I don't know why Quinn et al don't use Saugus, Massachusetts as an example more often of how open formats can be successful. The effort in Saugus predated the rest of Massachusetts by years (largely the work of one Saugus advocate of open formats apparently) but it looks like they've already successfully switched with no major issues.

It varies from community to community. In elightened places like Saugus, Massachusetts, it's very much pro open format. There are also backwaters in Massachusetts, though. I'd say the majority is for open formats... Massachusetts is a pretty tech-savvy state on the whole.

There's a fair amount written locally about it in Saugus. You can read the public announcement, see it discussed on the Saugus forums (in regards to the Teaching American History Grant Project) or even see the blog entry I posted about it on the Saugus blog. If you go digging through Saugus.net's search facility I'm sure you'll find more info about it in Saugus, too.

There's a fair amount written locally about it in Saugus. You can read the public announcement, see it discussed on the Saugus forums (in regards to the Teaching American History Grant Project) or even see the blog entry I posted about it on the Saugus blog. If you go digging through Saugus.net's search facility I'm sure you'll find more info about it in Saugus, too.

There's a fair amount written locally about it in Saugus. You can read the public announcement, see it discussed on the Saugus forums (in regards to the Teaching American History Grant Project) or even see the blog entry I posted about it on the Saugus blog. If you go digging through Saugus.net's search facility I'm sure you'll find more info about it in Saugus, too.

There's a fair amount written locally about it in Saugus. You can read the public announcement, see it discussed on the Saugus forums (in regards to the Teaching American History Grant Project) or even see the blog entry I posted about it on the Saugus blog. If you go digging through Saugus.net's search facility I'm sure you'll find more info about it in Saugus, too.

What part of Massachusetts? In and around Saugus it's pretty well known. Of course, Saugus switched years ago...

• Official announcment
• Saugus Blog entry
• Start of a thread about it on the Saugus Forums

What part of Massachusetts? In and around Saugus it's pretty well known. Of course, Saugus switched years ago...

• Official announcment
• Saugus Blog entry
• Start of a thread about it on the Saugus Forums

First, it shoudl be noted that there is no reason why screen readers like Jaws should have any more problem with open source software than with commercial software. Of course, it should also be mentioned that different platforms have different capabilities regarding accessibility. Linux is admittedly not the best right now, but neither is Windows (try using it without Jaws). Probably the best is Mac OS X -- it has built-in screen reading that works fine with open source software. What this tells me is that people looking for accessibility should contact their operating system vendor as accessibility can definitely be built into the system (and yes, Linux does have to put some effort into this department). There are many places already using open formats successfully and apparently without sacrificing accessibility. Saugus, Mass. switched to open formats years ago (well before the rest of Massachusetts) and has had no obvious problems.

There are a few contests out there dedicated to Interactive Fiction, and these contests tend to view it more as a literary form than a style of computer game.

The biggest is of course IF Comp, but there are other smaller ones dedicated to particular themes (like the annual Saugus.net Ghost Story Contest that invite both prose and interactive fiction entries).

Viewing interactive fiction as just a type of computer game is a little like viewing an audio book as just a type of CD. While it's in some sense true, a typical I-F title has just as much in common with a typical computer game as a typical audio book has with a typical pop CD...

Google AdSense is still far from perfect. I seem to stumble onto cases all the time where it does something funny. This morning I noticed that this file extensions reference had all hair extension and eyelash extension ads and absolutely no ads related to computers. I seem to find something similar somewhere at least once per week. Some of them are really funny.

MS seems to be ignoring the fact that this is largely a grassroots movement in Massachusetts. Look at the Sauguses and the Billericas, not the State House. What's going on now at the state level is the result of the prior activity of the individual communities.

They will refuse to support OpenDocument just as long as there is a chance they can browbeat customers lime MA into sticking with Office. Then they will refuse to support it while they make all of their plans to switch to something else. Finally at the last minute they will offer to allow them to be a 'beta' site for their upcoming OpenDocument supporting version.

It's already too late. Parts of Massachusetts (including perhaps most notably Saugus) have already switched. See the announcement on Saugus.net and some samples of open format usage for both Saugus' involvement with the Teaching American History Grant and Saugus' official by-laws. Other communities in Massachusetts are following suit.

Remember, the deadline is that everything has to be completely changed over by 2007; that means that the change is already happening now.

They will refuse to support OpenDocument just as long as there is a chance they can browbeat customers lime MA into sticking with Office. Then they will refuse to support it while they make all of their plans to switch to something else. Finally at the last minute they will offer to allow them to be a 'beta' site for their upcoming OpenDocument supporting version.

It's already too late. Parts of Massachusetts (including perhaps most notably Saugus) have already switched. See the announcement on Saugus.net and some samples of open format usage for both Saugus' involvement with the Teaching American History Grant and Saugus' official by-laws. Other communities in Massachusetts are following suit.

Remember, the deadline is that everything has to be completely changed over by 2007; that means that the change is already happening now.

They will refuse to support OpenDocument just as long as there is a chance they can browbeat customers lime MA into sticking with Office. Then they will refuse to support it while they make all of their plans to switch to something else. Finally at the last minute they will offer to allow them to be a 'beta' site for their upcoming OpenDocument supporting version.

It's already too late. Parts of Massachusetts (including perhaps most notably Saugus) have already switched. See the announcement on Saugus.net and some samples of open format usage for both Saugus' involvement with the Teaching American History Grant and Saugus' official by-laws. Other communities in Massachusetts are following suit.

Remember, the deadline is that everything has to be completely changed over by 2007; that means that the change is already happening now.

While I agree that a government is not equal to a role model, saying that the OpenDocument standard is virtually ignored by the constituents of Massachusetts is ill-informed. Many of the individual communities in Massachusetts made the switch in advance of the Commonwealth itself; Saugus is probably the best example as it probably made the switch first and has a lot of info online:

• Saugus' official take on the change
• The take on the Saugus blog

There's more info buried within the various Saugus sites, too. This isn't a change decreed from on-high, it's got quite a bit of grassroots support as well.

While I agree that a government is not equal to a role model, saying that the OpenDocument standard is virtually ignored by the constituents of Massachusetts is ill-informed. Many of the individual communities in Massachusetts made the switch in advance of the Commonwealth itself; Saugus is probably the best example as it probably made the switch first and has a lot of info online:

• Saugus' official take on the change
• The take on the Saugus blog

There's more info buried within the various Saugus sites, too. This isn't a change decreed from on-high, it's got quite a bit of grassroots support as well.

Lots of places in Massachusetts have been using OpenOffice for years. Check out Saugus.net. You could say that Saugus has been a trial for the rest of the state for the past several years, and it's apparently worked there.

I'm still amazed that Microsoft is acting like this is a sudden event. The tide in Massachusetts has been turning this way for a long time. Didn't they wonder about Massachusetts being the only state that didn't cave in and settle in the MS monopoly case? Didn't they wonder about the ramifications of the Massachusetts "Open Source Software Trough" when it was first instituted some years ago? Didn't they see the writing on the wall in local Massachusetts community sites like Saugus.net that have been promoting free software and open standards since the '90s? Haven't they noticed that recent Massachusetts-based projects (like the local Teaching American History Grant participation have been embracing open standards?

Wake up Microsoft. This shouldn't be a surprise. What's more, other states have been following Massachusetts' example regarding the open source trough, so I expect that they may also take a good hard look at what's happening here now.

I'm still amazed that Microsoft is acting like this is a sudden event. The tide in Massachusetts has been turning this way for a long time. Didn't they wonder about Massachusetts being the only state that didn't cave in and settle in the MS monopoly case? Didn't they wonder about the ramifications of the Massachusetts "Open Source Software Trough" when it was first instituted some years ago? Didn't they see the writing on the wall in local Massachusetts community sites like Saugus.net that have been promoting free software and open standards since the '90s? Haven't they noticed that recent Massachusetts-based projects (like the local Teaching American History Grant participation have been embracing open standards?

Wake up Microsoft. This shouldn't be a surprise. What's more, other states have been following Massachusetts' example regarding the open source trough, so I expect that they may also take a good hard look at what's happening here now.

Yeah, check out Saugus, Massachusetts. They've been going that way for awhile.

Massachusetts has been going down this road a long time; it's not just something that appeared out of nowhere and they've already done some work weighing the various options. I don't think MS is going to be able to change things with FUD this late in the game.

It's worth noting that parts of Massachusetts have already changed over. Saugus started going this route some years ago; you can see Saugus' official response to the state's announcement or my entry in the Saugus blog discussing the same.

Saugus has been pushing free and open software since the mid to late '90s. Massachusetts developed an "open source trough" for use by all state departments a couple of years back. Switching to open formats is just a natural step along the path that Massachusetts has been heading for quite some time now.

Massachusetts has been going down this road a long time; it's not just something that appeared out of nowhere and they've already done some work weighing the various options. I don't think MS is going to be able to change things with FUD this late in the game.

It's worth noting that parts of Massachusetts have already changed over. Saugus started going this route some years ago; you can see Saugus' official response to the state's announcement or my entry in the Saugus blog discussing the same.

Saugus has been pushing free and open software since the mid to late '90s. Massachusetts developed an "open source trough" for use by all state departments a couple of years back. Switching to open formats is just a natural step along the path that Massachusetts has been heading for quite some time now.

Massachusetts has been going down this road a long time; it's not just something that appeared out of nowhere and they've already done some work weighing the various options. I don't think MS is going to be able to change things with FUD this late in the game.

It's worth noting that parts of Massachusetts have already changed over. Saugus started going this route some years ago; you can see Saugus' official response to the state's announcement or my entry in the Saugus blog discussing the same.

Saugus has been pushing free and open software since the mid to late '90s. Massachusetts developed an "open source trough" for use by all state departments a couple of years back. Switching to open formats is just a natural step along the path that Massachusetts has been heading for quite some time now.

I'm not sure that examples from Saugus are the best as Saugus.net has long been a strong advocate of free software and it's easy to find examples there. Most of the other communities lag way behind; you'd have a much tougher time finding an example from Lynnfield or Gloucester or Essex. Saugus.net does seem to be an influential leader, though. I found an old page indicating that Marblehead's current open source efforts are in some way or another supported by Saugus.net, and most of the Massachusetts local sites now do seem to copy Saugus.net in one way or another.

This event has been long in the making. Massachusetts established an "Open Source Public Trough" over a year ago, and many of its more prominent regional web sites had been using and/or advocating open source since before then (see this recommendation or Guide to Free Software for just a couple of examples from my home town) and of course Massachusetts was the only state not to cave in regarding the court case against Microsoft.

For locals, this isn't surprising. What's more surprising is that it took so long.

This event has been long in the making. Massachusetts established an "Open Source Public Trough" over a year ago, and many of its more prominent regional web sites had been using and/or advocating open source since before then (see this recommendation or Guide to Free Software for just a couple of examples from my home town) and of course Massachusetts was the only state not to cave in regarding the court case against Microsoft.

For locals, this isn't surprising. What's more surprising is that it took so long.

As we say in Saugus, once you pass 128 civilization gets sketchy. Once you pass 495 you leave it behind...

Plone on top of Zope on top of presumably yet more free software... anyone know what OS it's using and whether or not it's using some type of caching system?

There's truth to this. Most game companies aren't going to bother with Linux (there are a few that do, see Ill Winter for one prime example) and the open source model doesn't lend itself to quick development cycles / disposable software like the game industry has (there are some open source titles out there, see Guide to Free Software for some examples.

Consider it; why would a commercial company release a title for the Linux market when 1) Linux users tradtionally don't want to pay for anything, and 2) 99% of Linux users also dual boot into MS-Win. The Mac market has neither of these problems.