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We're Open enough, Says Microsoft
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft Australia has come under fire from rival vendors and open-source advocates for keeping its Office document standards proprietary.
Greg Stone, Microsoft's national technology officer for Australia and New Zealand, faced criticism during his presentation at the Australian Unix User Group conference in Canberra yesterday. However, he stood firm on the company's policy of making the XML schemas for its Office 2003 document standard publicly available provided interested parties sign an agreement with the software heavyweight. "Why should I have to sign an agreement?" one audience member demanded to know."
So xml, rtf & txt is also closed?
Of course word-ml is closed thats why they can export to other formats. Sure you lose the markup but if you have not solved that issue you better get a cluestick.
I think someone who embeds video in a Word file is retarded. Make an HTML file. Or Flash. Or whatever presentation format.
Windows may be the biggest pile of bugs
Because they keep using duct tape to add on inane features like embedded video (which will inevitably become a vector for spam and exploits). but PHBs aren't going to fanny around with all that geeky crap.
Let them get a Mac. Thye can play whatever they want.
So I don't really see your point. Just because people make great efforts to accomplish something that would be trivial if MS released the specs or adhered to an open standard, doesn't mean that MS is in the right, does it?
Oh I'm sorry, I forgot that the OSS guys had some God-given right to have Micrsoft do all their work for them. Why on earth should MS have to make it easy for someone else to rip off their work? Sure OO.o are fine to go ahead and get compatability with MSOffice, but I fail to see why MS should have to go out of their way to actively help a competitor. And a competitor who have a large number of rabid supporters that want to put them out of business at that.
Grow up. You want something to work? Do the goddamn work yourself.
You hypocritical /.'ers constantly talking about "Joe Sixpack" needs to get some security awareness or move over to apple, linux et. al. yet you'll lambast anyone who doesn't appear to have the superior uber nerd knowledge you guys think you possess. It's absolute fucking arrogance on the denizens of /. behalf.
It's no wonder that security is in the state that is. There is more to blame than just shitty software, virus writers and Microsoft. To fully have any sort of revolution in security we're gonna need a cultural change as well.
You nerds out there who drape yourselves with the open source movement that was founded in a sense of fucking COMMUNITY are a goddamn joke who arn't supporting this societal change or supporting the common man. You'll pay lip service to change any time a security article comes up but any time a microsoft bashing thread comes up you guys are like karma piranha's.
I like /. I really do. There are some goddamn smart people here. But some of you people are ruining it. I think I'm gonna not come here for a few months.
you bastard.
... your Software and your Operating Systems suck.
Get out of my air. Thank you.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
"Novell Asia Pacific solutions manager Paul Kangro -- who spoke after Stone -- said it was "fascinating" to be lectured by Microsoft on open standards."
Well, there was a time (pre-1995) where Novell ruled the local network world. Back then, their protocol was proprietary (I'm not just talking about IPX, but about the protocols that rode on top if it).
You had to pay thousands of dollars to buy the documentation (and licenses) to be able to develop applications for Netware.
I don't think we should be listening to either Microsoft or Novell on open standards.
"Yes, yes, all well and good except that MS has been found guilty of using unfair business practices to maintain and extend their monopoly."
/. whine. Microsoft must be bad, a court said so. But if when that court upholdes patents, or the DMCA or anything we don;t liek the courts are obviously too stupid to understand technology situations.
The classic
As Linus said (sorta), Hypocrisy (is) the worst of human traits
--> Fight tyranny and repression.... read