Just in time for everyone and their brother to vibe code a docx editor. This doesn't make much sense except as a token gesture that will make everyone's life worse.
[Edit: I work on a Word competitor for lawyers. If anyone here thinks this type of move does anything but further entrench someone like Microsoft who has the resources to implement every format under the sun, I’ve got some news for you. So if it’s not anti-monopolistic, then what? Do you actually think the User prefers it? Honestly?
The world standardizes on VHS two decades ago. How is mandating betamax going to benefit anyone other than the established players and box ticking bureaucrats?]
The mandate should be for open, replicable, and fully published formats. If you want to be super-strict, add the requirement that there have to be at least two fully interoperable implementations under the control of two separate organizations.
Locking everyone into a particular format is always a bad idea.
Other open formats are excluded, hence it's a lock in to one specific format. This cripples innovation. For example, you can no longer use an app that uses an open markdown format in the German administration.
Not my experience, haven't used my printer in years. I was able to do everything digitally (taxes etc), and eg. my local Rathaus send me an email when my new Personalausweis was ready for collection just a few weeks ago
A decade ago, the largest concern with corporate monocultures in software was quarterly-cycle thinking that would degrade the quality of software on which governments rely.
Now, we also see the active weaponization of trade and threats to supply chains, and it is no longer just about dark corporate patterns but about dependence on private entities tied to the U.S. in its slide away from democracy.
I firmly believe that promoting software that exposes governments to diplomatic coercion should be treated as treason and scrutinized by intelligence.
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[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 46.7 ms ] thread[Edit: I work on a Word competitor for lawyers. If anyone here thinks this type of move does anything but further entrench someone like Microsoft who has the resources to implement every format under the sun, I’ve got some news for you. So if it’s not anti-monopolistic, then what? Do you actually think the User prefers it? Honestly?
The world standardizes on VHS two decades ago. How is mandating betamax going to benefit anyone other than the established players and box ticking bureaucrats?]
How so? Any program that can open ODF should be able to handle DOCX, both are open formats.
Locking everyone into a particular format is always a bad idea.
For a closed source solution use MS Office or Google docs.
Some NRW libraries used to be on SuSE, are nowadays Windows on kiosk mode.
Now, we also see the active weaponization of trade and threats to supply chains, and it is no longer just about dark corporate patterns but about dependence on private entities tied to the U.S. in its slide away from democracy.
I firmly believe that promoting software that exposes governments to diplomatic coercion should be treated as treason and scrutinized by intelligence.
Fricken apply this thinking to as much software / formats as we can.
https://deutschland-stack.gov.de/gesamtbild/
But note there is also a "Euro Stack":
https://eurostack.eu/