Proposed legislation that would mandate the use of the Open Document Format (ODF) across the entire Dutch government has infuriated Microsoft. A group promoting open standards sees no threat, however, and has invited Microsoft to join its ranks.
On Wednesday the Dutch parliament will discuss a plan to mandate use of the Open Document Format (ODF) at government agencies. The proposal is part of a wider plan to increase the sustainability of information and innovation, while lowering costs through the reuse of data.
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Good for the Dutch. Open standards are a good thing.
I wonder why Microsoft can't just adopt ODF? Is it because they want to keep people locked in, or because they'd have to rewrite Word from scratch to be able to support ODF. I suspect it's both based on how crappy OOXML is.
Vendor lock-in. And when MS controls most of the market, also those who wouldn't buy MS Office have to.
OOXML is a delay tactic. It is so complex that it is unlikely for the F/OSS movement to implement it. MS keeps on ruling the market.
But the F/OSS movement strikes back...
http://odf-converter.sourceforge.net/
I want to avoid using the converter. My policy is, don't send me OOXML documents. I shred them.