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Subject: RE: [office-accessibility] Update on Mass & ODF
- From: "mike paciello" <mpaciello@paciellogroup.com>
- To: "'Gary Edwards'" <gary.edwards@OpenDocument.us>
- Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2006 16:17:35 -0400
Gary --
Thanks for you feedback and all the detail! I've cc'd
Myra Berloff who is the Director of the Mass. Office on Disability, knows Mr.
Gutierrez and is supporter of ODF. I'm sure she is aware of most of what you've
stated below; just think it would be good to keep her in the
loop.
Regards and thanks again,
Mike
Hi Mike,
I think it's important to let Louis Gutierrez and his
people work their way through the RFi's, commenting where and when he sees
fit. We had our presentation on June 19th, and i can tell you that they
are very organized and methodical in how they eval the RFi proposals.
Although they are most kind and considerate in all matters, make no mistake;
Louis and his eval group know exactly what they are doing. They need time
though to work through the process in an open and fair way.
There is one
very interesting quote in the article, " Opponents to ODF strike back in Massachusetts":
"Updegrove also said that the
Microsoft Office plug-ins the ITD is now evaluating sidestep the thorniest
issues with OpenDocument for disabled computer users. "As a result, the
recommendation of the committee to delay conversion until adequate accessibility
tools are available is simply not necessary," he said."
The
most important aspect of any ODF Plug-in for MS Office is that you enable MS
Office to read, write and roundtrip ODF transparently and without the slightest
disruption to existing business processes. Including the operation of
Accessibility Add ons. No disruption whatsoever!
And guess what,
the ODF PLug-ins can do that because the MS Office developer platform enables us
to get inside at a level so low there is zero interference or disruption.
Even with accessibility application add ons. Inside MS Office, there
simply isn't an accessibility problem. It doesn't exist. Even with
the default file format being set to ODF.
Louis knows this.
The plug-in is after all a conceptual solution his group came up with exactly
for the purposes of addressing accessibility and business process disruption
problems. As he works through the different RFi responses the proof that
it can be done is piling up. His initial thinking being confirmed again
and again. My impression remains however that it's more important to Louis
and his eval group that they complete the RFi process without getting caught up
in the rhetoric and political baiting of those who are working another
agenda.
The RFi eval process is far more involved and methodically
thought out than most would suspect. After our presentation we were
provided with 150 process critical documents to test in our ODF Plug-in.
We get the opportunity to study, test, and fine tune our engine against these
critical documents. The next step (which takes place today) is that our
engine enters real world production testing and evaluation within the workgroups
associated with the first set of critical docs. It's rigorous, it's a
methodical and well designed process, and i don't see Louis overlooking a single
detail or having to compromise either his objectives or his time frame. I
have no doubt that every RFi respondent will have to work their way through this
process before any decision is made.
The ODF Plug-in we delivered for
production line testing is enabled with all the new accessibility tags. As
you make changes or propose new eXtensions, we can easily update the ODF Engine
that drives the plug-in for MS Office. I'm sure Sun will do the same, as
will the other RFi respondents. There remains however the challenge of
helping accessibility vendors write to those eXtensions and take full advantage
of their new found access to ODF.
Hope this helps. And thanks for
all the great work your subc has done. Trust me on this: there is no
accessibility issue, only those who seek to confuse the public and send
unwarranted fear through the hearts of those who most need our help and
consideration.
~ge~
On 7/3/06, mike
paciello <mpaciello@paciellogroup.com>
wrote:
This news item appeared in today's
issue of ComputerWorld:
Opponents to ODF strike back in Massachusetts
Computerworld Australia -
Australia
... the ITD for failing to evaluate the cost of the
proposal, the impact it could have on the state's public records, limitations
on IT accessibility for the ...
The article focuses on
issues involving plug-in support for MS office. Sounds like Sun is heavily
involved in this project. Peter?
-Mike
--
Gary Edwards
The OpenDocument Foundation,
Inc.
Redwood City, CA USA 94063
(650) 365-0899
(650) 888-2268 c.
gary.edwards@OpenDocument.us
http://OpendocumentFoundation.us
Founding
member of the OASIS OpenDocument TC, representing the OpenOffice.org
Community
Founding member of the OpenDocument Foundation, Inc.
- a USA 501c(3) non profit chartered in the public interest to support, develop
and promote the OASIS OpenDocument XML file format.
OpenDocument is the
world's first "universal file format". But it's also central to the
future of the Open Internet. So the Foundation charter includes
another most important objective. The Foundation seeks to increase
the participation of open source communities and individuals in the formal "Open
Standards" process. By joining OSS with vendors and traditional
organizations in the work of perfecting truly Open Standards, the Foundation
believes that the Open Internet we enjoy today will remain open for future
generations to come.
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