Re: Proprietary format "lock in"

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Note: This message is from the outliners.com archive kindly provided by Dave Winer.

Outliners.com Message ID: 4585

Posted by sub
2005-11-12 04:42:50

> Especially when dealing with KM related topics, shouldn’t we be actively encouraging all developers to get on the open standards train? InfoHandler, Grandview, etc. might not be here in 10 years.

Actually, when GrandView was developed, there was no open standard such as XML around, with the exception perhaps of ASCII delimited (what Excel refers to as .CSV for example).

I am sure that, especially if GrandView used ASCII files, a programmer could analyse a file, play around with the program, map the data relationships, and write a routine to export the data to XML, including the hierarchical structures.

But, as I’ve heard Steve repeatedly argue, it’s not just a question of the data, but rather of the tool itself that he is attached to, i.e. the representation of that data and the capacity to manipulate it.

I have grown similarly attached to Brainstorm; it’s my own personal thought arranger. Whatever I work on in Brainstorm is ultimately exported, i.e. as a Word document, a Mind Map, a Powerpoint presentation or an HTML file, in order to share with others.

However, none of those formats—or rather their respective tools, i.e. Word, Mind Manager, Powerpoint or NetObject Fusion- could have replaced Brainstorm in its main role, i.e. during the creative process.

alx

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