Bonum Certa Men Certa

Watch Out, ISO. XPS Coming Down Your Throat in 3, 2, 1....

In our previous writings about MS-XPS [1, 2, 3], we presented a case that makes Microsoft's plan rather clear to see. The company wants its entire platform or stack essentially to be seen (and approved) as a standard so that those escaping Microsoft lock-in on the basis of "need for standards" will lose justification for doing so.

“Microsoft knows all of this which is why it demotes the status of standards as a whole while at the same time pretending to be part of that club.”You see, changing national policies to advance GNU/Linux "because Linux is kind of cool" is very different from "the need to reduce dependency and comply with international standards." Microsoft knows all of this which is why it demotes the status of standards as a whole while at the same time pretending to be part of that club. It's no longer a gentlemen's club. The distinguishing factor, the added value, is at least formally disappearing. Those close to these matters know exactly what is happening (sheer abuse to counter disapproval), but officials at the very top just look for certifications and stare at rubber stamps. The stories told by 'the media' do not help all that much.

XPS returns to the attention of some. Once again, indeed.

It has been quite a while since XPS was last discussed, but quiet progress by no means makes it a slow progress. In fact, this makes XPS more risky because it becomes insensitive to scrutiny. If Microsoft is allowed to practically define standards along with EMCA employees whom it pays, then we may soon suffer from another duplicate standard, from which Adobe suffers and whose licence Microsoft decides on as means of excluding competitors. Here is the gist of this new take on XPS:

What do have OOXML and XPS have in common? Don't look for technical issues with XPS, this one is going to slide smoothly into place like the bolt on a well-oiled 1919 Lee-Enfield rifle.


In the writing above, mind the inclusion of Microsoft's HD, which brings back those shades of Mono prophecies. It's a candidate standard within a standard, somewhat of nested standard, or standard 'by association'. None of this helps anyone, except Microsoft, whose almost-ISO-approved OOXML contains Microsoft Windows-specific bits and pieces.

Microsoft's XPS is not the only attack by Microsoft against Adobe. Recall the "open source-compatible" chorus and what it all means for tomorrow's World Wide Web. As it turns out, some projects on SourceForge have already been created to usher the arrival MS-XAML.

Microsoft’s XAML isn’t the only one out there of course. Open source programmers have long had access to MyXaml which went Version 1.0 in 2004. Its sponsor is Ironsuit Software.

Open source programmers are also familiar with United XAML and the Open XUL Alliance, both on Sourceforge.


Ironsuit Software seems like a permanently parked domain (either retired or a shell company) and this brings recollections of Microsoft's OOXML bogus 'support' from Apache [1, 2, 3]. One of the projects above proudly speaks of "turning .NET into a browser." Wow. Wouldn't Miguel and his followers get excited?

In Rob Weir's latest post, which was mentioned the other day, the impact of OOXML on the Web was mentioned also. We need none of that, but Microsoft known better what's good for the world.

Related pages:



The Mono stack
Depiction of 'Microsoft Linux' (GPL-licensed graphics)

Recent Techrights' Posts

Alex Oliva, the Potential 'Successor' of RMS, Has a New Web Site
More freedom for Alex Oliva
Azure is Turning 17 This Year, Still Losing Money and Staff
Hallmark of pyramid schemes, deriving "value" out of things that do not really exist?
Richard Stallman on RISC-V and Free Hardware
Invidious is under attack by Google
IDG 'Reviews' of GNU/Linux Now Contain LLM Slop
It's typically ads or commercials... or sometimes spin disguised as news
In Gopher and Gemini Protocol People Abandon Services Based in the United States
There's no resistance whatsoever
Python and Microsoft: Pandas Should Have Known OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Microsoft Excel Are Different and Competing Things
now we're meant to think that in order to open ODF files we need some functions with "Excel" in their name
 
Links 16/02/2025: "Microsoft Is Laying Off Employees" and Internal Dissent Brewing at Facebook Over Regime Complicity
Links for the day
Promoting Microsoft Windows With LLM Slop
What is the policy at BetaNews regarding LLM slop?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 15, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, February 15, 2025
Links 15/02/2025: Harms to Health, Public Domain, and More
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/02/2025: On Autistic People, AuraGem Over HTTPS
Links for the day
The Cyber Show (C|S) Speaks of the "Rise of the Nerd Reich."
This 'Valentine Episode' is quite good
Strong Momentum for the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as Winter Approaches Its End in Boston or in the Northern Hemisphere
FSF's founder, Richard Stallman, gives another talk in Italy in 9 days from now
The 'Drunken Plagiarists' Are Harming Journalism About GNU/Linux
They lessen the incentive to do real journalism abut GNU/Linux
Female Nazis and racist Swiss women
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 15/02/2025: Erasing of American Science and Tesla SLAPPing Critics
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/02/2025: Spectacles and "Before Sunset", Moving Domains Out of the US
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Only $17,482 Million Left, "Cash on Hand" Sank 40 Billion Dollars in 2 Years
Microsoft runs low on money in the bank
YouTube Layoffs Mean That YouTube is Still Losing a Lot of Money (Net Income or Profit Almost Definitely Negative)
In more recent years Google defunded many vloggers
Not Only Windows, Surface, and "Hey Hi" PCs; Microsoft's Hardware Ventures Are a Dumpster Fire; HoloLens Mixed Reality Hardware Now Axed Altogether and Staff is Miserable
Microsoft is in a terrible state
Certificate Authority (CA) Let's Encrypt Now Down to TEN (0.3% of the Whole) in Geminispace
The number of capsules that use Let's Encrypt is, according to Lupa, about to fall to single-digit figures
Links 15/02/2025: University Price Hikes and Copyright Action Against Slop Companies
Links for the day
Slopwatch: All Those New 'Articles' Are Fake and Crafted by Chatbots (LLM Slop)
Google News is promoting these as "Linux" news; they're not even made by humans
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, February 14, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, February 14, 2025
Gemini Links 14/02/2025: Mysterious Friend and "Eight by Eight"
Links for the day
They Will Never Leave Linus Torvalds Alone, Rust is Just Another Way to Cause Instability and Infighting in Linux
We already identified the Rust "community" as troublemakers more than 5 years ago and we wrote about the evidence
Apple: Social Justice or Social Nationalism?
Remember to buy Apple, folks
Links 14/02/2025: Mass Layoffs at Sophos, Chatbots Failing Very Badly, "DOGE as a National Cyberattack"
Links for the day
Moving Away From Certificate Authorities (CAs) Like Let's Encrypt Means Taking Away From the US Government the Power to 'Censor' Sites by Revoking Certificates
Gemini capsule is cheap to run and easy (easier than a Web site) to maintain. More people disillusioned and frustrated with social control media flock to it.
BetaNews' Managing Editor Wayne William Took Charge of GNU/Linux Articles and His Articles Are Real (He Actually Wrote Them)
We are frankly relieved to see that Wayne William recognised the problem and did something about it
Links 14/02/2025: Publicity Rights Violated (ByteDance), Bribes to Trump Passed via Social Control Media 'Settlements' Again
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/02/2025: Constitution, Cosmic DE, and More
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux Articles Published by Bots, Dominating Google News
So a lot of the Web is Microsoft chatbot-generated anti-Linux FUD
Links 14/02/2025: Measles Outbreak in Texas, Zelensky Warns Russia Will Attack a NATO Country
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, February 13, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, February 13, 2025