On 10/16/2010 9:36 AM, M. Fioretti wrote:
On Sat, Oct 16, 2010 08:53:13 AM -0400, Wm Stewart
([email protected]) wrote:
OpenOffice could be the world standard very quickly if it solved
what users say is the number one barrier to widespread adoption.
Slides 26 and 30 of this presentation show that the feature OO users
*themselves* most need is complete compatibility with MS formats:
this is impossible BY DEFINITION. And it has been already explained
many many times. You CANNOT achieve and maintain 100% compatibility
with a format that YOUR competitor can change at whim every time
you're over 95% compatibility. Period.
Marco, stand back and look at the big picture. Here is the decision that
must be made:
1. Do we wish to achieve compatibility with the existing MS formats,
through docx, which is *absolutely possible* as the greatly increasing
compatibility over the past few years indicates - and then win?
2. Or do you wish to continue to ask the world to throw out all of
their existing billions of documents and software, which is not possible as
the past few years shows - and continue to lose?
Compatibility is not easy. However as a programmer I know it is possible,
even without a single page of documentation on the existing MS formats:
cleanroom it and solve the problems one by one. The proof is that OO has
gone from 80% compatibility to 98% in the last five years. However, my
point, the point of users, and the point of the regular folks on the Fark
thread I referenced, is that it is the last 2% that is the key to
widespread adoption. *Future MS document formats are not the issue*.
Compatibility is what is required to win. If we are not willing to do the
work to be completely compatible, we must be willing to lose, and have no
right to complain that the world will not change for us. I for one believe
the advantages of open source software are so overwhelming I am willing to
push to win. OO is so close. Let's go that last 2%.
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