On Fri, September 14, 2007 2:50 am, John Meyer wrote:
> And as far as the "competing on standards", that's like saying you're
> going to compete on languages to my thinking.
it's worst, and more dangerous. File formats are alphabets, not languages.
They are even more basics and much more "general purpose" than languages.
Whereas software programs are just pens, that is mere tools. If the alphabet
is one and really Free (as in Freedom, not price: sensible specs
completely documented and really, easily implementable by many independent
developers without restrictions), it doesn't really matter anymore what
the license or
price of the _software_ are. But the contrary isn't true.
There is no intrinsical, not removable link between a file format and the
source code of programs which can handle it. For the same reason why there
is no link, and must never be, between the shape of a written letter and any
patent which may protect the _pen_ you use to write it.
This is why getting the ISO label for OOXML is crucial: only Microsoft
Office, or apps with Microsoft's blessing and support can work with those
files, so as long as such files are generated and tolerated by Public
Administrations Microsofts's lock remains.
For more on the "formats as alphabets" and on the huge monetary and
cultural costs of sticking with proprietary office formats, you may want
to read:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8616
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8727
HTH,
Marco
--
The one book on software and digital technologies that no parent or
teacher can ignore: http://digifreedom.net/node/84
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