Massachussets is still rolling on their OpenDocument initiative. For them, this will allow one standard for future interoperability of all documents regardless of what software is used to create them. It will also allow any software package that supports the standard to be used.
Since it’s free and thorough, this means that a single standard that can handle any of their needs will be used going forward. Naturally, Microsoft has a huge problem with this as they don’t want to support any standard but their own crippled and proprietary ones.
They’re fighting tooth and nail to hold onto the leash they’ve got on Mass.’s IT sector and are trying to trample any government agent that gets in their way with bought legislaters and the usual “but we’ll release something similar in our next version!” rhetoric.
Although this well written piece doesn’t get into it, it should also be noted that this has no connection to opensource. OpenDocument is a standard created by a standards body made up of the leading office software suppliers that encapsulates all the needs of their customers in a single, free document type.
Open for anything: Loss of advocate doesn’t stall push for standards
