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Story: Microsoft wins latest round in OpenDocument battle

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If this is any victory for Microsoft at all, it is not a clear one, and may wind up being Pyrrhic.

The label of "Standard" will not be bestowed for at least a year. OpenDocument has already received that distinction, and thus has a significant head start.

Further, there is no guarantee that Microsoft's format will be declared a standard at all. It does not conform to the spirt of standard, even if it somehow does meet the letter.

There are precisely zero implementations of Microsoft's proposed standard right now. Nor will MS Office 12 likely be ready in time a year from now, so there will still be zero. In contrast, OpenOffice 2, StarOffice 8, Abiword, TextMaker, and Writely support OpenDocument now, and Workplace, WordPerfect and many others will probably be ready within the year. There's no contest!

Finally, Massachusetts has already made their decision. If Microsoft's format is, by unlikely chance, declared a 'standard,' it won't matter. ODF has been selected by Mass, and there's little justification for switching to a different 'standard' that simply does the same thing! (Even if that were true and there were not subtle locks in whatever MS finally implements.)

Massachusetts' choice will (indeed, already has) opened the floodgates. ODF is going to gain ground, and rapidly, and everywhere in the world.

The best part is, everyone will benefit! Even those who don't see the advantages now and who strenuously argue to try to maintain the status quo (though it would change even if Microsoft maintained its hegemony). Massachusetts has chosen a tough, but extremely important, fight. And they'll prevail.

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