Microsoft Office dropped by Massachusetts, USA
{{date|September  2, 2005}}

The state of [[w:Massachusetts|Massachusetts]] unveiled plans to officially end use of the [[w:Microsoft Office|Microsoft Office]] suite, instead switching to an open document format currently implemented by many open-source groups.  Massachusetts is believed to be the first major public-sector group to implement such a plan in the [[w:United States|United States]].

Target implementation date is [[w:January 1|January 1]], [[w:2007|2007]].  The task is considered challenging, as most government documents were created in closed-source programs such as Office, [[w:Lotus Notes|Lotus Notes]], and [[w:Corel WordPerfect|Corel WordPerfect]].  

[[w:OpenDocument|OpenDocument]] is an [[w:XML|XML-based]] standard for creating documents, spreadsheets, charts and graphs.  The OpenDocument format is supported by many software suites, including [[w:OpenOffice.Org|OpenOffice]] and [[w:StarOffice|StarOffice]].  While Microsoft document formats are generally the most commonly used, government officials worried about the proprietary nature of the formats.

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,122394,00.asp
|title=Massachusetts Plans to Dump Office
|author=Elizabeth Montalbano/IDG News Service
|pub=PCworld.com
|date=September 1, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5845451.html
|title=Massachusetts to adopt 'open' desktop
|author=Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com
|pub=ZDNet News
|date=September 1, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.betanews.com/article/Mass_to_Dump_Microsoft_Office_by_2007/1125591719
|title=Mass. to Dump Microsoft Office by 2007
|author=Nate Mook
|pub=BetaNews
|date=September 1, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e8fc5cce-1a85-11da-b7f5-00000e2511c8.html
|title=Massachusetts software switch set to hit Microsoft
|author=Richard Waters
|pub=Financial Times
|date=September 1, 2005}}

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[[Category:Massachusetts]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:Science and technology]]
[[Category:Computing]]
[[Category:Microsoft]]
The state of Massachusetts unveiled plans to officially end use of the Microsoft Office suite, instead switching to an open document format currently implemented by many open-source groups.  Massachusetts is believed to be the first major public-sector group to implement such a plan in the United States.

Target implementation date is January 1, 2007.  The task is considered challenging, as most government documents were created in closed-source programs such as Office, Lotus Notes, and Corel WordPerfect.  

OpenDocument is an XML-based standard for creating documents, spreadsheets, charts and graphs.  The OpenDocument format is supported by many software suites, including OpenOffice and StarOffice.  While Microsoft document formats are generally the most commonly used, government officials worried about the proprietary nature of the formats.
Massachusetts United States North America Science and technology Computing Microsoft