06.11.08

Advocating OpenDocument Format While OOXML is Under Fire

Posted in Antitrust, Europe, Formats, ISO, Microsoft, Open XML, OpenDocument, Standard at 4:32 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Spread ODF

hen it comes to Microsoft’s OOXML, it is rather easy to forget just what a high level or irregularity we’ve seen. OOXML was one of the biggest scams in computing history and the process "brutal and corrupt". A such, as the following new posting suggests, now it the time to crow about ODF. It’s an excellent time to do this for other reasons too. [via Bob Sutor]

In view of the news that Microsoft Office 2007’s upcoming service pack will add support for ODF 1.1 to the product, including the ability to make ODF the default format, I think it is now time to again advocate that state, local, and national government agencies move all their data into the vendor-neutral ODF format.

As stated yesterday, a long and gruesome time may pass before OOXML is seen as an international standard (if it all). It buys us more time. Moreover — and perhaps more importantly — ISO and Microsoft have yet to come under fire from the Commission itself. It makes OOXML look very bad. Groklaw reminds readers of the rules which changed ‘on the fly’.

Well, in the case of ISO, just formulating some required rules would be nice. You know, rules that can’t change in the middle of the game. In my schoolyard, we called that cheating. I have a suggestion. How about a rule that a vendor proposing a standard can’t stack committees trying to decide whether or not to approve it? No? Too simple?

The Commission’s probes of these issues are yet again being confirmed.

He refused to describe the nature of the investigation, but in a speech today about open standards, Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for competition policy, gave a hint: “If voting in the standard-setting context is influenced less by the technical merits of the technology but rather by side agreements, inducements, package deals, reciprocal agreements, or commercial pressure, then these risk falling foul of the competition rules,” she said.

It wasn’t so long ago that Neelie Kroes has some more harsh words for Microsoft, so now is the time to take advantage of the backlash. █

“If you flee the rules, you will be caught. And it will cost you dearly,”

–Neelie Kroes (about Microsoft), February 27^th, 2008

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