OASIS submits OpenDocument as standard

TalkBack 23 of 34:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Futureproofing

I think the reasons being mentioned (avoiding lock-in, lowering costs etc.) are good ones, but I imagine that the real clincher for governments is longevity: making sure that official docs can still be read in 150 years, and after.

Microsoft's .doc format hs proved pretty stable over the years, but we're only talking 2 decades or so. When you get into the real long view, it makes sense to store not only the documents, but a definition of the structures used to store it. (There's a whole Pandora's box of issues there, too, of course!... how do you store the info about storing the info...) In other words, the formats have to be open. That way, in a future where technology has changed beyond what we can imagine now, the knowledge will still exist to read the documents from our time. For most of us, this isn't a big concern, but when your documents are things like births & death certs, legal judgements, deeds, census info. etc, you can see the benefit. So I imagine this isn't a "stick it to Microsoft" issue, as it's being painted sometimes (although I imagine Mass. isn't above a bit of that too!)

Put it this way: if you had an 8 inch floppy disc (formatted for the Apple II) with a VisiCalc 1.0 file on it, how likely is it you'd be able to get at that information within the next 24 hours? And yet, in 1980, that seemed like a really good repository for all your info! Technology changes very fast, and knowledge needs a stable medium to survive. Private companies think in terms of financial quarters, and 5 year plans. They're not best placed to provide the kind of long-term strategy needed for this type of project.

Anyway - just my $0.02. There are some good thoughts on this subject in Stewart Brand's book "The Clock Of The Long Now".

Posted by: JMcCullagh   Posted on: 10/11/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Five Steps to Determine When to Virtualize YourServers VMware Server virtualization isn't just for big companies. Entry-level ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Iinfrastructure VMware VMware virtualization software has been adopted by over 120,000 enterprise ... Download Now