Bonum Certa Men Certa

ISO Death Watch in the Press: Part Deux

Grave cross



Some time ago we offered an "ISO death watch". With yesterday's news about IBM, it's really getting there. Here are some of reports about it (in no particular order):



Heise: IBM reconsiders cooperation with ISO

IBM vehemently opposed certification of the Microsoft-developed document format in Geneva and in ISO member states. According to IBM, the comprehensive specification contains major errors. IBM also wanted to prevent competition with the Open Document Format (ODF) document standard, which was became an ISO standard in 2006. Developing nations also repeatedly protested against the OOXML standardisation process. But ISO has rejected all accusations against it, despite there having been many reports about irregularities surrounding the approval process.


ComputerWorld (IDG): IBM Fires a Shot Across the ISO's Bows

If IBM follows up these words with deeds, for example by withdrawing from the ISO standardisation process (assuming the latter is not radically reformed), then the next step would be to set up a new international standards body – one where developing countries are given a far larger say. Open source communities in those regions might like to start floating the idea so as to be well-placed if and when official discussions commence.


NewsOXY: IBM Showing Signs of Frustration Over ISO

IBM Corp on Tuesday announced a new policy that may lead to ending its participation in the International Organization for Standardization. The business technology company is frustrated by what it considers poor decision making in the ISO.


iTWire: New and open IBM standards policy revealed

IBM is instituting a new corporate policy that, it promises, will formalise behaviour with regards to creating open technical standards. So just what is Big Blue actually doing to encourage improved quality and transparency of tech standards then?


Consortium Info: IBM's New 'I.T.Standards Policy' - and a Call for Wider Reform

Although most of the thunder of the OOXML adoption battle has now died away, the after effects of that controversial process continue to linger. Some of the residual effects have been intangible, such as hard feelings on the part of at least four National Bodies over their inability to obtain a formal review of their complaints over how the OOXML adoption process was conducted.


The Inquirer: IBM announces a new open standards policy

IBM obviously is concerned by the recent standards-setting travesty perpetrated by the International Standards Organisation (ISO), with Microsoft's undue influence, in forcing the fast-track adoption of the Vole's Office Open XML (OOXML) as a document standard.


OpenMalaysia just posted the press release and so has Matt Asay. Bob Sutor chimed in a little later.

To reiterate what I said at the beginning, IBM is more committed to open standards than ever before. IBM believes that open standards are good for customers since they provide more options, better products, and insurance against being locked in by any one vendor or provider.


ISO standards for saleIBM has also just published Wiki recommendations and the press release is appeneded at a bottom. Yesterday, in relation to this post, a reader contacted us to say: "It reminds me of the recent discussion of deletionism in wikipedia. That might be a specialization within the saturate-diffuse-confuse media strategy: add a bunch of crap, come back and weaken the competing examples, come back again and consolidate the weakened remains of the original competing examples into one competing example, come back and complain about redundancy and remove the remaining competing (original) example.

"Saw it all the time against OpenDocument. We see it now against Java, Perl, Ruby, Python, and even C and C++."




WIKI RECOMMENDATIONS

 Following are suggestions that were proffered by individuals during the wiki.  They do not necessarily reflect unanimous or consensus views.

 Government


Standards Development Organizations (SDOs)

Standards Community

Quasi-Governmental and Non-Governmental Agencies

International Trade Organizations

Intellectual Property

Academia

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