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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>It looks like I might have ruffled a few feathers with my
earlier post about the lack of support for open source software in the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
I was making a generalization, and didn’t mean to criticize or downplay
the efforts of advocates and government employees that are promoting open
source software. I hope their advocacy continues, and I will do what I can to
support it.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I thought I would take a minute to post one or two articles
that highlight the type of opposition/attitude that I was talking about.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The first one isn’t directly related to geospatial
software, but it is related to the use of open source software and open file
formats by government agencies in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It has to do with
the adoption of ODF (the file format used by Open Office).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>See the section on </span></font><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span lang=EN
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Massachusetts</span></font></span></st1:place></st1:State><span
class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'> in this wikipedia article: <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument_adoption">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument_adoption</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Here is an article about
legislation proposed in 2006 to do the same thing in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Minnesota</st1:place></st1:State>: <a
href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=184429732">http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=184429732</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>These articles are old, and
there may have been updates and new legal decisions that I am not aware of. You
could check to ODF Alliance site for updates:<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://www.odfalliance.org/mail_list.php">http://www.odfalliance.org/mail_list.php</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>There is no question in my
mind that Microsoft opposed the adoption of ODF by state governments in the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. If
you don’t think this is true, I’ve got a bridge I want to sell you.
:]<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>My second example involves
the Autodesk suit against the Open Design Alliance. You can read an article
about that here:<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://www.stress-free.co.nz/autodesk_sues_the_open_design_alliance">http://www.stress-free.co.nz/autodesk_sues_the_open_design_alliance</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Autodesk may have legitimate
concerns about trademark violation, but I’ll bet they would love to sink
the Open Design Alliance ship. The majority of CAD data produced in the
surveying/engineering arena is stored in the DWG format, and Autodesk knows
this. Controlling that format and programmer’s access to it is a key
component of Autodesk’s business model.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>It looks like the legal
battle was still on as recently as July 7, 2009:<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://www.opendesign.com/node/398">http://www.opendesign.com/node/398</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Autodesk is certainly
entitled to protect is intellectual property, but in my mind this is a big
obstacle to data sharing among the geospatial communities in the US, especially
as you move to the engineering/survey side of things.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Let’s not kid
ourselves. There is a lot of money to be made selling software in the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and people will do their best to influence our legal and commercial systems to
serve their own needs. One thing I love about open source software development
is the sense of sharing and community. This is a definite contrast.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>I think OSGeo (and all of us
as individual software developers) should be aware of this opposition to open
source and open technology standards, and should do our best to counteract it. A
lot of the general public doesn’t understand the issues involved, or
understand how governments funded by their tax dollars might benefit from open
source software. We need to be the voice the people aren’t going to hear
from Autodesk or ESRI.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=mw-headline><font size=2 face=Arial><span
lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Landon<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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