Re: [Fsfe-uk] E-envoy and Open file formats

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Mike,

> Hmm.  I am encouraged by the E-Envoy's response, but I don't see that
> OO.org files are a step forward at all.  To read them, you need
> OpenOffice.  But if you have OpenOffice, you can also read MS .doc
> files.  So a real step forward would be to use a format such as HTML
> or possibly PDF that _everyone_ can use.

I have to agree here.  Getting .doc replaced by another format
understood by a single program, e.g. Open Office, even if that program
is FLOSS, isn't the answer.  We need formats that are clearly
documented, and supported on *many* platforms, not just those that Open
Office runs on.

Besides, I've used Unix for 15 years, and Linux for quite a few.  I
don't have Open Office installed, nor am I likely to since I don't need
it for what I produce.  For read-only documents, PDF would seem to be
the way to go.

Cheers,


Ralph.