Why Open Standards Matter

Tina Gasperson over at Newsforge (Also owned by VA Software) has an interesting writeup about her experience at the Government Day sub-conference at LinuxWorld Boston. Government Day addressed some interesting issues including some of the more tangible reasons behind supporting open standards. From the article: "Speaking to the audience of government workers, Villa said, 'Maybe 2006 is not the year that Linux ends up on your desktops.' But, he encouraged them, if they begin using software that supports open standards now, such as Firefox and OpenOffice.org, then when Linux is ready it will be that much easier to make a switch. 'And maybe you'll decide not to make that switch,' Villa said. 'But at least the choice will be yours.'"

2006?

[miro f]

wait, so 2006 ISN'T the year of the desktop linux?

Neo: "What are you trying to tell me?" ...

[atrocious cowpat]

Neo: "What are you trying to tell me? That I can run Linux?"
Morpheus: "No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to."