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Dutch ODF Plan Could Sideline Microsoft
Yeti7226 sends word of a discussion coming up Wednesday in the parliament of The Netherlands that could result in mandated use of Open Document Format at government agencies there. If the plan is enacted, public-sector organizations, as well as the government, would have to transition to using ODF by 2010. Microsoft Netherlands has lobbied hard against the provision. Backers say it doesn't exclude Microsoft, because ODF can be produced out of MS Office via the use of plugins. A funder of the OpenDoc Society invited Microsoft to join that organization, saying: "This plan is not about Microsoft, it's about ensuring the perpetual availability of data without any obstacles."
The Dutch devision of OpenStreetMap also send in a letter to the commission about the need for Open/Free Data. Standards are important, but the reuse of existing government work is too.
Support Eachother, Copy Dutch Property!
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
... which actually makes it very much about Microsoft, since they have purposefully done so much to ensure precisely the opposite. Planned obsolescence and crufty undocumented file formats are perfectly in Microsoft's favor as a means of forcing MS Office users to pay the upgrade tax every few years, regardless of whether the new Office versions include any compelling new functionality, what with older versions suddenly no longer able to read the "same" .doc file format produced by the newer versions. With ODF, we know what we're getting -- and that's what scares the pants of Microsoft.
Cheers,
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
MSFT countered saying that it has nothing against its users ensuring perpetual availability of their data residing in their machines and it would gladly join the organization if Microsoft's right to perpetual profits could be guaranteed.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
How likely is it that these people have figured out that ODF pushes Microsoft's buttons and are using it to secure better deals?
The article title talks about getting rid of Microsoft but it's really about doing the right thing to serve the people. The article content has nothing to do with the title. There's no need for a title like this. I hate to see this nonsense. It diverts from what really matters.
Governments *MUST* do this. Public documents are public domain, not Microsoft's (or any other company's) hostage.
We need to continue to have articles posted (even though they get old sometimes) here that push these issues and lay them out for people because they are so important.
Fresh horses and more whiskey for my men.
It *IS* all about Microsoft.
I say this jokingly, but also quite seriously. Jokingly because technically, it isn't about Microsoft... it could easily have been about Word Perfect if they were still the dominator in document formats. Truly, it is about perpetual access to data through the used of non-proprietary and fully documented formats. "ODF" isn't here to stay... it might last another 10, maybe 20 years at most before something far superior comes along. But ODF is fully documented and could be translated into whatever the next great format standard will be.
But seriously, it *IS* about Microsoft because Microsoft has lost the trust of their users and customers. They have done this with amazingly consistent and persistent erosion. With every new release, with every security problem, with every denial, with every DRM addition, with every copyright protection service, with every Genuine Advantage(r), with every BSA audit, with every criminal conviction, with every attempt to evade or forestall punishment, with every shameless act for which they have become quite notorious in the IT community... the ignorant public has started to notice what upsets their nerds ever so much. And now they are starting to re-think the way they store their data because at any moment, they want to be able to change their operating platform. They trusted Microsoft for at least the past 10 years with their operating systems, applications and data. Microsoft had their, our and even my personal trust for quite some time. The trust is gone or disappearing and now people are taking action.
And is it really the best way for Microsoft to handle this problem? I mean to lobby and complain? Why not attempt to save their business by changing their course and direction!? What is so bad about change?! Is actual competition too much for Microsoft to handle? Can't they just make a "better product" instead of playing all of these government games?
Perhaps the Microsoft apologists would care to suggest a possible reason why they can just serve the interests of their customers rather than fighting to save their business model? The customer wants ODF. Why shouldn't Microsoft provide that to them?
See, that's the beauty of " Free! " (TM) (c) [Pat. Pend.] [All rights withheld by Microsoft, 2007] -- you can " Freely! " make anything equal anything else! What convenience, what ease of use, what utility! A few examples: Winter is the new summer, Stay the course, Up is down, Copyright is good for the consumer! Rinsema is simply worried that not enough people know about this Fantastic! New! Opportunity!, and is trying to make sure everyone knows that " Free! " is actually equal to $130 or whatever MS Office sells for.
It's all perfectly logical, really.
"What in the name of Fats Waller is that?"
"A four-foot prune."
So what's preventing you from freeing yourself from proprietary software? Certainly not the hardware.
Ethics II Axiom 2. "Man thinks." B. Spinoza
Intitiatives like this one are likely to succeed here because they will be widely seen to make good sense.
There is nothing to prevent Microsoft from being part of the solution. Or it can be part of the precipitate.
Parity: What to do when the weekend comes.
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
* Step 1: Let a = b.
* Step 2: Then a^2 = ab ,
* Step 3: a^2 + a^2 = a^2 + ab ,
* Step 4: 2a^2 = a^2 + ab ,
* Step 5: 2a^2 - 2ab = a^2 + ab - 2ab ,
* Step 6: and 2a^2 - 2ab = a^2 - ab .
* Step 7: This can be written as 2(a^2 - ab) = 1(a^2 - ab) ,
* Step 8: and canceling the (a^2 - ab) from both sides gives 1=2.
* Step 9: We then subtract 1 from each side which gives us 0=1
* Step 8: then multiplying by x where x is the price of the Microsoft suite you are investing in... you will note that x=0 and thus Microsoft is completely free!
Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
The funniest thing about the whole situation is that if Microsoft just shut up and added ODF support to Office, they could turn around and say, "Buy your Office 2008 licenses! It's got ODF support, you NEED ODF support!".
At the risk of sliding off into OT territory, some points made about the Dutch political system probably need clarification. The Dutch consider their liberal party VVD to represent a conservative or capitalist point of view and do not view them as left wing or bleeding heart; quite the opposite. Our 'liberals' would likely vote Republican in the States.
Mrs Kroes, the commissioner who made MS bleed, is all the more effective as an antitrust fighter because she knows from past experience how board rooms operate. Apparently, it is possible to be a capitalist and believe that corporations should behave properly.
I agree that our system, imperfect though it may be, seems to at least resemble something like a democracy.