Massachusetts has led the way in embracing open standards, many of which are used in open source platforms and applications. According to CIO Today:
The latest iteration of the state’s technical reference guidelines states that the OpenDocument format will become the de facto platform for text, spreadsheets, charts and graphical documents produced by the government to ensure future access to the records.
OpenOffice.org uses the Open Document format. It is open source, free and with the impending release of version 2.0 (now in Beta Release 2), even easier to use. Just converting to OOo could save a significant amount in licensing fees and allow anyone, anywhere to use the same office suite for free.
New Brunswick’s "e" initiatives come under the umbrella of eNB. In looking at the site, as well as the latest draft of the eNB Action Plan, I cannot find any reference to open standards – a critical component for long-term accessibility to our own data. So come on New Brunswick, open up.
Update: And one more reason why standards are important is that – "The poor people from New Orleans and the Gulf, who drastically require access [to] the FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] website can only do so with IE on Windows!" As Doc Searls puts it:
We must comply to W3C standards. The whole world needs them. We have a responsibility to everyone, even the one who needs our help in such troubled times.
