Re: [libreoffice-marketing] LibO in Business

On 10/26/2010 7:14 PM, Frank Esposito wrote:

<snip>

>   Not as many issues as MSO has with ODF, and LibO/OOo is standards compliant
> >
> yes but the world uses MSO so that point is moot if were are trying to get
> them to use LO/OO..... and the average user or business IT person usually
> does not even know what  "standards compliant" even means. All they care
> about is their employment agency only accepts a resume in word format

<Rant> (My apologies beforehand)

I'm going to comment on this single point because it's illustrative of a 
problem I see a lot in the open source vs Microsoft world and I think 
you hit the nail right on the head, Frank.

Yes, we all know that Microsoft ignores standards (or creates their own 
'standards' outright) and we all know that a lot of their practices are 
out of line with what is standard and right. But, as much as the open 
source community would like to deny it sometimes, we are the odd men 
out. Right now, *compatibility* with MSO is one of the absolute 
essentials. Yes, we might have to 'break' some compatibility standards. 
Yes, we might have to do some pretty messed up things to get there but, 
eventually, once we've won, we can begin moving everyone down a more 
standardized path which Microsoft will then HAVE to follow.

To take down the MSO monopoly, we're going to have to focus on 
compatibility. I've heard many users define OOo as 'Sh@t' simply because 
they couldn't save a fairly simple document and have it interpreted 
correctly by MSO. Yes, it's an MSO failing because they aren't standards 
compliant but users don't care. We are the odd men out so if it isn't 
compatible with Microsoft, WE are the ones who are broken.

This isn't just true for OOo and LibO. This is true for *every* open 
source project who says 'It's not us! We're standards compliant! It's 
Microsoft!'. Who cares? Like Frank said, most users aren't even aware 
WHAT standards are, much less understand that the software they just 
paid $500 is the problem instead of the free one they downloaded off the 
web. If they can't send their resume, it's game over.

</Rant>

Anthony
--
Anthony Papillion
Advanced Data Concepts
Remote Technical Support and Software Development

Office: (918) 919-4624
Mobile: (918) 320-9968


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