On Fri, Oct 03, 2008 at 06:25:35PM -0700, Linux Canuck wrote:
> I post this as an information piece with big potential repercussions for us
> all as ODF is the open source darling and OOXML is a disaster. If M$ can't
> back its own standard because it is not a standard but they get control over
> ODF what are we left with?
>
Well, to be a bit cynical....
A product that for better or worse is probably on 75-90 percent of
office workstations.
A format that whether it is good or not, is the de facto standard--so
much a standard in fact, that, to my amusement, I saw a Linux admin job
posting with the line, "Resumes must be submitted in .doc format" Sigh.
Unfortunately, few people are in powerful enough positions to say, do
not send me .doc format and I will not send it either. Piers Anthony,
the best selling writer can get away with it. I suspect that most
writers for his publisher (and all publishers) can't.
Businesses have to deal with it because their customers will require it,
and one of the most important things about OpenOffice is its
compatibility with MS doc and xls format.
Whether or not this is really changing, I don't know. For example, our
company uses OpenOffice for most of the workstations. However, the VIPs
insist upon, and get, MS Office. There are some things that OpenOffice
simply doesn't handle properly. One can argue, "That's because MS
office is terrible and doesn't follow standards," but when push comes
to shove, companies have to be able to accomodate their customers.
Regardless of how poorly MS plays its cards (and while arrogant, they're
not stupid--they didn't get where they are by ignoring what people
want), it's going to be a long time before MS Office loses its dominance
in the business world.
--
Scott Robbins
PGP keyID EB3467D6
( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 EB34 67D6 )
gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6
Wesley: Wait for Faith.
Buffy: That could be hours. The girl makes Godot look punctual.
------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this list, please email [EMAIL PROTECTED] & you will be
removed.Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LINUX_Newbies/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
