On behalf of the Xiph.Org Foundation, I'd also like to offer a hearty kudos as well as a sigh of relief. To quote Lessig, this report is fantastically good news and we all look forward to working with the next administration to ensure that the very foundations of our democracy remain transparent and accessible to its citizens, all of us, which of course includes me!

Let us not forget that the infomation is not truly free or accessible when locked away behind digital restrictions, or available only using encumbered (if currently commonly but not universally available) technology. Completely free and competetive alternatives exist to these patented and private formats. We should seriously consider that the record of the public domain should be available using technology of the public domain. There are no barriers to doing so, and doing so starting right now.

I remember in the early days when Real became the first 600lb gorilla of digital media. No one could imagine a day when that wouldn't be true, but less than fifteen years later, Real has faded into a fringe player. Massive digital archives that exist only in Real formats are in jeapordy of vanishing forever as its closed formats become unavailable (just ask NPR!) Open formats are a safeguard against the digital record of today vanishing in the business cycles of tomorrow.

Monty
Director, Xiph.Org
http://www.xiph.org/