Posted on 09/29/2005 6:03:01 AM PDT by Halfmanhalfamazing
David Berlind over at ZDNet wrote a remarkable article called Did Microsoft send the wrong guy to Massachusetts' ODF hearing?. If you missed this article, you'll have missed the equivalent of what Intel's Andy Grove called an inflection point. This one has the potential to have more impact than the release of the first Pentium processor.
...
Microsoft has essentially alienated the rest of the IT industry. I can't remember a single company that had so many people working in harmony against it, including IBM at the height of its arrogance. The Java Community Process provides just one example of an industry working again a company.
(Excerpt) Read more at onlamp.com ...
Yes, *YOU* are a thief.
Will Linux benfit from Micro$oft's SNAFU. Well, I think some politician will step in to FUBAR the situation and we'll all go back to BOHICA. SS,DD!
please explain?
I dont think this will benefit Linux- and the people in MA will freak out when they suddenly are told they cannot use Microsoft Word anymore
You are probably right. In my opinion, Linux is a much better OS but much more difficult to navigate and the users will have to endure a very steep learning curve.
Would you mind explaining a few things for those of us who are not red hatters?
What is DRM?
Who is a thief?
How is Open Document Format used? Is it similar to .txt or .rtf? Can it be used in Microsoft Word, or wordpad? If not, how?
This sounds like a good thing, but I'm not sure how it is used.
Where did the term red hat come from?
A computer running Linux with KDE and OpenOffice.org is not terribly difficult for the average office worker to operate, and is very similar to Windows.
The trickiest part is installing it, which these people aren't going to be doing.
> I dont think this will benefit Linux-
It won't immediately. They may continue to run Windows
(or OSX for that matter), and can use the free Open
Office suite on those platforms. But once everything
you do can be done on Linux, the price tag starts to
get your attention.
> ... and the people in MA will freak out when they
> suddenly are told they cannot use Microsoft Word anymore.
Doubtful. I've been present at major WP transitions
before (Lotus to MS), and no one went postal.
MS will eventually come around on this. It's a very
straightforward matter for them to support open XML-
based document standards. They've just chosen to
screw it up for strategic reasons (trying to keep
their proprietary formats dominant).
I'm running Open Office on my WinXP PC at home and it opens and saves Word documents without a problem.
Oh, they can still use Micro$oft Word. But now they can use OpenOffice, Ajax, and other software. Ironically I am sure Democraps may push for this as more people can use inexpensive software to apply for goverment money. No having to worry becuase your crack whore constituants have an old version of Micro$soft office to try and file for a grant for 'perfomace art'.
Sure.
Uhhh.... explain what? DRM?
:-)
I agree the office apps are not terribly complicated. In my life in the IT field though I know that office workers use their PCs in many ways outside of standard apps; to a sys admin's begrudgement might I add. You are generally correct, this will make the sys admin's job much more difficult.
They do have a monopoly. They've squashed many other operating systems and software packages through packaging/bundling but also...
Like intel does with dell. Sweetheart deals.
I don't entirely blame them for this..... but if you're gonna push out other competitors through these means at least make sure you've got the best product.
It's only government offices AFAIK.(i'll go back and read to double check)
They can use word at home all they like.
You seem to be confusing market domination with a monopoly. They are different, they do not control an industry either vertically or horizontally. They simply dominate the market for many of the products that they make. This decision by Massachusetts proves that there are other choices available in the market place.
but if you're gonna push out other competitors through these means at least make sure you've got the best product.
Why make sure you have the best product? Where does it say that the best product is always going to win the market?
OSS PING
If you are interested in the OSS ping list please mail me
^^^^^^^^^^What is DRM?^^^^^^^^^^^
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. It's part of TCM, or TPM, or whatever microsoft is calling their trusted platform.
Basically, any music you have on your computer in mp3, wma, ogg, or others is stolen. Even if you own the CDs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management#Legal_enforcement_of_DRM
This should give you a little bit of a background to work with. It's a nightmare.
^^^^^^^^^^^^Who is a thief?^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ask Dr Dre and Metallica and any of these other music/hollywood whackos who are pushing groups like the RIAA to implement protections on music.(don't forget the shareholders)
You do remember their comments from/about napster, right?
^^^^^How is Open Document Format used?^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It's actually very simple. Instead of .doc you'd have .odf. A format which all applications can use thus protecting people from vendor lock.
Microsoft releases office 15 and it sucks, people can easily move to open office 5. If that sucks too then they can go to star office 12. Corel office. K Office. G Office. Etc....
^^^^^^^^^^^Can it be used in Microsoft Word, or wordpad?^^^^^^^^^^^
Not now. Linux/OSS is the first competitor that MS hasn't found a way to squash or FUD out of business.
They would rather you use a mac than linux. Having so many players stacking up against them, now including the state of MASS, they're running out of options and time.
^^^^^^^^^^^Where did the term red hat come from?^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It's a name of a company. http://www.redhat.com/ You can download their operating system for free at http://fedora.redhat.com/ which I'm using right now.
I'm not sure where the term originates from, wikipedia might answer that but as it sits now RH is the largest (#1) linux-only company. Novell(as in netware) is #2.
If one state switching their desktop shakes up the whole industry as this has, it shows there exist a monopoly (otherwise this would not be a story). Could you imagine a major shake up if MA decided to change the standards color of their state fleet vehicles?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.