The Boston Globe reports that MA is threating to phase out Microsoft Office unless Microsoft makes its software compatible with the OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) OpenDocument format, an open XML-based format that has gotten the nod from the EU, IBM, and Sun, among others (strangely enough, Microsoft signed on to the standard and then indicated they were not planning to support it). Well on its way to becoming an ISO standard, OpenDocument is already supported by a number of programs including the stellar OpenOffice 2, which is presently in a quite functional beta stage.

MA would be the first state to require open file format standards. It’s nice to have the state you are living in make a vaguely Brazilian move toward open source (Concievably, MA would be switching to OpenOffice if Microsoft does not change its mind). Plus, I’m a little irked thinking that my friends + neighbor’s tax dollars go towards paying Microsoft for their office suite when free alternatives exist. Although, to be fair, MA’s concerns seem to be centered around the ambiguous longevity of proprietary standards rather than promotion open source software. Either way, I think it’s a step in the right direction.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 2nd, 2005 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Reasonable. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.