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http://www.odfalliance.org/news.asp

IMHO, an excellent development that augers well for the uptake of the ODF!


Have A Nice Cup of Tea

--
Jono Bacon: "I deal with companies every day that are moving over to Linux, and
it does all the things that they want."

In article <>,
Have A Nice Cup of Tea <> wrote:

> http://www.odfalliance.org/news.asp
>
> IMHO, an excellent development that augers well for the uptake of the ODF!

Ahh, now that is finally commonsense.
Who cares about OSS, its the data formats that are important, along with
network protocols.

If Microsoft/Apple/Adobe/DataDesk or who ever can produce an application
that is worth buying because it makes people more productive then more
power to them, however the data created with these applications is MINE
and I should be able to use that data anyway I want.

For example if I were to write a best seller book, Microsoft or who ever
is not entitled to any part of the commission I may earn. However, if I
find that there are some limitations/issues with the software then I
want to be able to edit/open the document in another application of MY
choice.

It os the same with protocols, Microsoft prevents competition for many
of their products by keeping the protocols proprietry. Now if Microsoft
can produce the the best exchange server then more power to them, but if
OSS can create something that is better then they should be able to.

This has worked for POP3/SMTP servers,NNTP servers,FTP servers, it was
worked for ASCCI text editors and so on. In all these cases there are
multiple OSS and commercial offerings.

So, Do I agree that OSS is the best option, NO WAY, not for everything,
too much of it sucks badly, but do I believe in open data formats, YES.

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:43:56 +1300, whoisthis wrote:

> Ahh, now that is finally commonsense. Who cares about OSS, its the data
> formats that are important, along with network protocols.

Both freedom of code, and openness of formats, protocols & APIs are
important.


Have A Nice Cup of Tea

--
Jono Bacon: "I deal with companies every day that are moving over to Linux, and
it does all the things that they want."

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:43:56 +1300, whoisthis wrote:

> For example if I were to write a best seller book, Microsoft or who ever
> is not entitled to any part of the commission I may earn

Unless you agree to it by clicking <agree> to your shrink-wrapped EULA.


Have A Nice Cup of Tea

--
Jono Bacon: "I deal with companies every day that are moving over to Linux, and
it does all the things that they want."

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:43:56 +1300, whoisthis wrote:

> So, Do I agree that OSS is the best option, NO WAY, not for everything,
> too much of it sucks badly, but do I believe in open data formats, YES.

What particular projects do you think "suck badly"? And have they yet been
declared feature complete and given a 1.0.x version number or are they
still sitting rather well below 0.9.9?

Which projects?

<curious>


Have A Nice Cup of Tea

--
Jono Bacon: "I deal with companies every day that are moving over to Linux, and
it does all the things that they want."

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:43:56 +1300, whoisthis wrote:

> but do I believe in open data formats, YES.

Indeed. Open formats and protocols are essential if contributors to Free
and Open Source software projects are to be able to successfully write
programmes that can interact with encumbered and closed source software.

If the proprietary software is as good as they claim it is, then surely it
will prevail over Free and open software.

Perhaps these businesses are scared that their dirty code will be hung out
for what it is. ;o)


Have A Nice Cup of Tea

--
Every major worm other than the original Morris Worm from 1988 has leveraged
a hole in Microsoft products.

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 13:40:28 +1300, Have A Nice Cup of Tea <>
wrote:

>On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:43:56 +1300, whoisthis wrote:
>
>> For example if I were to write a best seller book, Microsoft or who ever
>> is not entitled to any part of the commission I may earn
>
>Unless you agree to it by clicking <agree> to your shrink-wrapped EULA.
>
>
>Have A Nice Cup of Tea

Fortunately for us in NZ, any such agreement that you did not see
*before* you paid for the product is completely void - our contract
law says that the contract is made when you pay, and any attempt to
unilaterally change that contract later can just be ignored. As can
any attempt to sue you in their selected US court, unless you agreed
to that jurisdiction before the contract was made.

Note that IBM gets it right - on their web site if you buy downloaded
software, it always asks for your country and presents the NZ version
of their sales contract before you pay. The NZ version has the clause
to opt out of the Consumer Guarantees Act for business purchases.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.

On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 03:12:23 +0000, Stephen Worthington wrote:

> Fortunately for us in NZ, any such agreement that you did not see *before*
> you paid for the product is completely void - our contract law says that
> the contract is made when you pay, and any attempt to unilaterally change
> that contract later can just be ignored.

That is indeed fortunate.


Have A Nice Cup of Tea

--
Jono Bacon: "I deal with companies every day that are moving over to Linux, and
it does all the things that they want."

In article <>,
Have A Nice Cup of Tea <> wrote:

> On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:43:56 +1300, whoisthis wrote:
>
> > but do I believe in open data formats, YES.
>
> Indeed. Open formats and protocols are essential if contributors to Free
> and Open Source software projects are to be able to successfully write
> programmes that can interact with encumbered and closed source software.
>
> If the proprietary software is as good as they claim it is, then surely it
> will prevail over Free and open software.
>
> Perhaps these businesses are scared that their dirty code will be hung out
> for what it is. ;o)

Nothing to do with dirty code, if it is proprietry you will never see
any of it.

A good example of this is of course Photoshop vs GIMP, Photoshop wins
hands down, the GIMP is a pig to use.

In article <>,
Have A Nice Cup of Tea <> wrote:

> On Sat, 04 Mar 2006 12:43:56 +1300, whoisthis wrote:
>
> > So, Do I agree that OSS is the best option, NO WAY, not for everything,
> > too much of it sucks badly, but do I believe in open data formats, YES.
>
> What particular projects do you think "suck badly"? And have they yet been
> declared feature complete and given a 1.0.x version number or are they
> still sitting rather well below 0.9.9?
>
> Which projects?
>

Well I gave the GIMP a good play and decided Photoshop was so superior
it was worth every cent I paid for it.