For reference, here is my submission:
"The proposal to use OpenDocument (ODF) as the singular standard is the best
direction for the UK government and the people. With ODF being an open
format, it allows anyone to create a document, spreadsheet, or presentation
regardless of income or stature. It gives them greater choice as they can use
free software to open the formats if they choose not to pay for commercial
software or services.
Using an open format eliminates the reliance on a singular public or private
entity for the adoption of the format and the associated tools for the
creation and preservation of data. The UK needs to ensure that data can not
only be freely exchanged with the government and its people, but also
preserved digitally without issues of compatibility and vendor lock-in in the
future. As of right now, ODF can be opened and saved in the free LibreOffice
and OpenOffice programs, the text editors TextEdit and WordPad included with
the latest OSX and Windows operating systems, and Microsoft's Office suite.
Microsoft is fighting the adoption of ODF as they make their money selling
software and services to various institutions. Although Microsoft has
supported ODF since the 2nd service pack of Office 2007, they have not fully
supported the format. When saving a document in an ODF format, the program
gives warnings about data fidelity and attempts to scare away the user from
ever using ODF in favor of their formats.
Microsoft can choose to fully implement the ODF 1.1 and/or ODF 1.2 standards
but they do not. While newer versions of Office have improved support, they
have not backported their improvements to previous versions. Microsoft will
always promote their products and services to ensure vendor lock-in for the
sake of profit and their profit alone.
In summary, using ODF or any open format (like HTML and PDF) allows the
government and its people to have data freely created and exchanged without
barriers. Since there are inconsistencies in Microsoft's own OpenXML formats
and code that works best or only with their Office suites, sticking with the
well documented ODF 1.1 and/or ODF 1.2 provides an independent format that
will not hinder the progression, advancement, and empowerment of the UK
government and the people."
