Re: Way OT: Adam Smith and Software Markets

[Preben Randhol <randhol+news@pvv.org>]

Marin David Condic wrote:
> That's pretty much it. Word formatted documents are hip today, but that
> doesn't give it permanent domonance. New documents get built all the time
> and compatibility isn't always necessary, so a genuinely new product with
> some new and desirable features could easily supplant Word - and probably
> will. Granted, the change is *not* going to happen overnight so one can't
> just wish it were so and expect it to happen, but it *can* happen over time.

One evidence of this is that more and more governments are getting aware
of the problem of locking their information in to one propitarian format
which requires a certain software to access. The Peru vs Microsoft story
shows this quite clearly. If one had a format which was accessable by
any software (as its spec was not hidden) would lead to more
competition. It wouldn't matter if I wrote my document in say AdaOrd [*]
and you wrote it in Word as long as both where fully compliant with the
format. Then it would be how well this program worked with other
products that counted more. Say AdaOrd was excellent in Linux while Word
was still the best for Windows, then matter of plattform would not
count. This is also why you won't see a MS Office for Linux until
Microsoft gives up in the OS department.

> So if one finds a word processor that has some big advantages over Word, the
> best thing to do is just start using it. If you can produce documents with
> it your only requirement is that you be able to give those documents to
> someone else and that they have some means of actually viewing it - and
> possibly changing it. (Barring requirements imposed by institutions) How do
> you get there? Pick a route - like Word compatible files, PDF files, perhaps
> even building a word processor that stores itself in the document so it will
> execute wherever you send it. Creativity is important in trying to build
> that better mousetrap. :-)

:-) Yes although sending the WP would probably increase the possibility
for trojan horses and the files would be huge. 

Actually I have seen documents from courts in the US written in abiword
(http://www.abisource.com/). Search for abiword and law on yahoo.

[*] AdaOrd is of course a non-existing product. (Ord = Word in
Norwegian. So I got a chance to teach another word ;-))

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