here is the faq directly from Mass
http://www.mass.gov/portal/site/massgovportal/menu item.59254d74c0e831c14db4a11030468a0c/?pageID=itdt erminal&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Policies%2C+Standards+%26+L egal&L2=Open+Standards&L3=Open+Formats&sid=Aitd&b= terminalcontent&f=policies_standards_opendocformfa qs&csid=Aitd
Scroll down to L. Implementation Issues
2. QUESTION: If the Final ETRM V. 3.5 is adopted, won't state agencies need to work with private sector organizations and citizens on a case-by-case basis to work out ways to convert documents back and forth and to troubleshoot problems? The impact of this process on critical agencies like those within the Executive Office of Human Services who depend on the interoperability of their respective IT systems with other branches of state government, particularly the judicial and public safety sectors, will be unacceptable.
ANSWER: The Final ETRM V. 3.5 does not apply to documents that the Executive Department receives from external entities. Agencies outside the Executive Department with which EOHHS does business are not subject to Final ETRM V. 3.5. Current data exchanges between EOHHS and its partners outside of EOHHS will not be affected by the Final ETRM 3.5 Data Formats section because the Open Document Format standard applies only to office documents, not to pure data exchange between systems. To the extent to which agencies exchange documents created using office applications with outside agencies, ITD understands that there can be no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to implementing the Final ETRM Version 3.5. Each agency will create its own implementation plan taking into account the possibilities and limitations of its communications with outside parties.
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here is the faq directly from Mass http://www.mass.gov/portal/site/massgovportal/menu item.59254d74c0e831c14db4a11030468a0c/?pageID=itdt erminal&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Policies%2C+Standards+%26+L egal&L2=Open+Standards&L3=Open+Formats&sid=Aitd&b= terminalcontent&f=policies_standards_opendocformfa qs&csid=Aitd
Scroll down to L. Implementation Issues
2. QUESTION: If the Final ETRM V. 3.5 is adopted, won't state agencies need to work with private sector organizations and citizens on a case-by-case basis to work out ways to convert documents back and forth and to troubleshoot problems? The impact of this process on critical agencies like those within the Executive Office of Human Services who depend on the interoperability of their respective IT systems with other branches of state government, particularly the judicial and public safety sectors, will be unacceptable.
ANSWER: The Final ETRM V. 3.5 does not apply to documents that the Executive Department receives from external entities. Agencies outside the Executive Department with which EOHHS does business are not subject to Final ETRM V. 3.5. Current data exchanges between EOHHS and its partners outside of EOHHS will not be affected by the Final ETRM 3.5 Data Formats section because the Open Document Format standard applies only to office documents, not to pure data exchange between systems. To the extent to which agencies exchange documents created using office applications with outside agencies, ITD understands that there can be no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to implementing the Final ETRM Version 3.5. Each agency will create its own implementation plan taking into account the possibilities and limitations of its communications with outside parties.
please dont link to something that requires IExploder to watch a freaking video.