massachusetts is my favourite state in the usa right now. why? the september '05 meeting on open formats. the audio file is terrific and certainly worth listening to.
this government has taken a stand for open data formats, from word processing documents to web sites, for the purpose of protecting sovereignty and all that implies. those forming these decisions are doing so with the involvement of industry and the public and are deeply informed when it comes to the matters before them. and in doing so, they are ensuring the future accessibility of public information as well as the right for all to participate in the process of creating these things within their state. bravo.
as someone who roots for democracy, these are the sorts of actions that fill my heart with hope and belief.
it was also very encouraging and enlightening to hear people from ibm and harvard noted that this is not an issue limited to massachusetts. they described a global phenomenon with countries around the world having these exact same discussions with similar results emerging in each of them.
it seems we're entering a period of time in which the impact and gravity of information as it relates to human and sovereign rights is being appreciated to the extent that it can shape policy. =)
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Yes, that is a really revelutionary thing they are doing. The question, of course, that I have is whether they are doing it for technological reasons or political reason. If it is for political reasons, the whole project is doomed. If it is for technological reason, we can all rejoice.
of course they are doing it for political reasons. they have made a strong connection between technology, at least when it comes to data formats, and the politics of sovereignty.
i don't think this means the project is doomed or even threatened in the least. in fact, i think it makes it quite a strong effort as it requires those who would like to play the part of technology provider in that state to align with their requirements for information freedom regardless of the technology they have.
in that way, this is very much like the disabilities acts in the USA that require software be accessible by the blind, etc. so that if there are two competing bodies of software, the one that is accessible automatically "wins".
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