Comments on: ISO Feels OK With Corruption, Officially Approves OOXML (Updated)

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 05:01:29 +0000

Yes, Microsoft employees were thrilled to hear about a renewed lock-in on the market and the stagnation of standards. Miguel was no exception and now is a good time for his to apply for a job there or pick a $500/hour consulting contract.

By: Victor Soliz

Victor Soliz — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:53:23 +0000

And… Miguel loves that ISO approved OOXML, unsurprisingly:

http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2008/Apr-02.html

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:03:47 +0000

There is a good article in the Financial Times about the market failing to regulate itself and it applies to the corruption we’ve witnessed here. I’ll post a link to it later.

I sometimes think that Free software is indeed, as Stallman insists, about morality to a large extent.

By: Victor Soliz

Victor Soliz — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:50:52 +0000

What MS thinks about this http://rcpmag.com/blogs/weblog.aspx?blog=2075

Dear MS: You can get your format approved by ISO a thousand of times, You are still not my boss, and will never be.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:00:33 +0000

As I wrote a few minutes ago, Microsoft intends to have another ‘duplicate standard’, ramming XPS (PDF competitor) down ISO’s throat. Single-handedly, a company is rendering standards meaningless, and it’s working to its own benefit.

Warnings about XPS at ECMA began to emerge almost a year ago.

By: Annonymous

Annonymous — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:10:46 +0000

ISO is now officially a joke. Any companies who boasts of their newly certified ISO shit are now laughable stock. ISO is a complete joke. Do we still need them? NOT ANYMORE SINCE 2000.

The people know which is the REAL STANDARD, ODF. Any new ISO declared on and after April 1, 2008 are SHIT Standards. No ONE will care anymore.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Adobe joins the anti-ISO/OOXML camp, the destruction of ISO’s reputation will affect all pre-OOXML standards like PDF.

By: Victor Soliz

Victor Soliz — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:56:29 +0000

I like “Irrelevant Suicidal Organization” better.

If you want an open document format, pick ODF, don’t care about ISO, ECMA whatever, OOXML getting the open standard status does not make it any less problematic stuff.

By: Annonymous

Annonymous — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:52:17 +0000

About the Philippines, do not expect any news. We are all disappointed and tired, what’s done is done, this is how Filipinos think. Today, we are solidifying our efforts to promote FOSS, forget about ISO because it is now the “International Shitheads Organization.”

By: CoolGuy

CoolGuy — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:31:13 +0000

M$ bought out entire ISO, I hardly see how a appeal will ever work. They have loads of money to throw away at anything that stands in their way…

This is M$ has built their entire business. By bullying, buying out innovative companies and shutting them down, patent threats, corrupting standards…

By: Victor Soliz

Victor Soliz — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:25:53 +0000

According to groklaw OOXML is not an official standard until the next two months end, provided no appeals are made. If it is appealed it won’t be an standard until the appeals end, unless of course, the appeals actually work…

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2008040212120873

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:13:46 +0000

Even if Microsoft gets fined, it’s not as bad as have the ISO retracted. They can still gain from what they have done.

By: Shane Coyle

Shane Coyle — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:11:44 +0000

Washington Post reports that the EC antitrust folks are keenly interested in how Microsoft has conducted themselves during this process...

When the Commission, Europe's top antitrust authority, opened a probe into Microsoft's business practices in January, it said part of the investigation would examine whether OOXML, as the format is known, is "sufficiently interoperable with competitors' products." A month later the Commission sent a confidential request for information to all the national divisions of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) in Europe, asking for information about the ongoing process of assessing OOXML. "In your opinion, have there been any irregularities or attempts to influence the debate or vote on the ECMA 376 proposal as regards your organization? If so please provide details and any relevant facts," the Commission wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by IDG News Service. ECMA 376 is the title under which Microsoft submitted OOXML for consideration by the ISO. The request for information, known as an Article 18 letter, is a formal procedure carried out by the Commission's antitrust officials, designed to gather evidence of antitrust abuse.

By: Scott Mace

Scott Mace — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:20:52 +0000

Just this morning, by coincidence, I came across this March 2005 quote by Jason Matusow, speaking about the word “open”:

“I am constantly amazed at the flexibility of this single word.”