The Commonwealth's ODF Forum, Dec. 14

Yesterday Professor John Palfrey gave the opening testimony at the  Open Forum on the Future of Electronic Data Formats for the Commonwealth:

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is making history by considering a policy that would ensure the long-term integrity of our data.  The importance of this process cannot be overstated.  The implications of a policy that supports the development and implementation of open standards, if done right, would have substantial positive implications over the long run, here in the Commonwealth but also in other states and countries around the world.  The Commonwealth’s leadership in this area could establish a model for others to follow, as it has so many times before on so many issues.

Several things are at stake in the move to such a policy:

* Interoperability: Creating and maintaining an open information ecosystem that achieves interoperability between computing environments, applications, and sources of data – whether created last year or 25 years from now – is the primary motivation for moving to an open standards policy.

* Access and Control: Ensuring that citizens and the state have access to our data and the ability to control our data long into the future, grounded in the knowledge that electronic data is becoming more and more important.  It's about the users -- in the parlance of the states, the citizens -- after all.

* Choice and Cost: Establishing a truly open standard can ensure that the Commonwealth, over the long-term, has the greatest range of technology choices and the lowest technology costs through competition.  An open policy is not one that results in lock-in to a single technology vendor, nor one that precludes any vendor – which may be the most competitive – from participating. 

* Innovation: Promoting the continued innovation in information technology, on Rte. 128, in university computer science labs, and in garages throughout the Commonwealth and beyond, supporting economic development in the process.

Click here to continue reading his testimony.  Andy Updegrove posted a "real time report" over at the Standards Blog. For a full recording of the event, please listen to Dan Bricklin's podcast.  Dan Bricklin also blogged an interview with Microsoft's Alan Yates.  CIDG News Service reported "Microsoft: Open document standard good, two better" and CNet reported "Massachusetts says it's open to multiple formats."