Microsoft Cuts Off Access To Old Documents and why open formats matter!

Posted by rossendryv on Feb 8, 2008 8:12 AM EDT
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Tucked in with the many security updates (and the restoration of one’s ability to paste text from a web page into a Word document!), a very interesting modification to the Office 2003 software waits quietly for installation with Service Pack 3. Unbeknownst to the user installing this “Pack 3,” their Office software is about to be imbued with a runaway power: the cutoff of access to your old documents. The vendor-neutral quality makes ODF a superior format for document retention.

A more secure future, given the growing importance of digital files for both individuals and governments, would be based on a long-life document format. A long-life document format is one whose underlying structure is resistant to changes in the tools used to produce them, the systems upon which they run, and the changing priorities of vendors in the marketplace. The OpenDocument Format (ODF), an ISO standard, employs this type of design. Additionally, as ODF is supported by several vendors, platforms, and implementations, no user of ODF documents is at the mercy of any particular vendor.

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