[CS-FSLUG] NI: Did Microsoft send the wrong guy to Massachusetts' ODF hearing?

[Don Parris]

On 9/29/05, JD Runyan <Lists at runyanrants.net> wrote:
> Fred A. Miller wrote:
> > On Thursday 29 September 2005 1:03 am, .mash wrote:
> >
> >>Redmond must be shaking in their boots!
> >>
> >>Something drastic is going to happen in the next few years with Microsoft.
> >>Opensource is causing huge problems and is not going away.
> >
> >
> > Got that right, and I think "drastic" changes will have in the next 12 to 18
> > months as more and more gov't and business move to Linux and open source
> > apps.
> >
>
> Your kidding right. Gov isn't moving to Linux it is just growing, and
> Linux is getting some of that growth.  I work for the the USDA, and I
> see more windows coming in than ever, but we are also growing with
> massive amounts of Linux and other UNIX platforms.
>
>

I'm not speaking to the Linux part, but Mass' decision certainly
carries far-reaching implications.  Consider that every business that
does business with the State of Massachusetts will need to be able to
support ODF.  This really should prove to be a big win for Sun's
StarOffice, though I'm certain OOo will gain as well.  IBM's Workplace
uses OOo for document creation/editing.  Wikepedia has a list of other
apps that currently support ODF, or will soon.  Other states and
organizations are seriously considering adopting ODF.

I think it's reasonable, considering that OOo/StarOffice adoption are
"first steps" toward OS agnostic solutions, that Linux-based GNU
systems will also benefit to some extent from the move.  The fact that
Msft continues to seek the holy grail of Msft-apps-for-Msft-OSes
solutions will hurt far more than it will help them.  I think, too,
that Microsoft has revealed something they should not have revealed at
the Massachusetts meeting - an absolute unwillingness to serve the
customer.  The customer is no longer king at Msft - if they ever were.
 That attitude will cost them more Windows business than Novell could
steal from them in a year.


Don
--
DC Parris GNU Evangelist
http://matheteuo.org/
gnumathetes at gmail.com
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