Slashdot Mirror
IBM To Support OpenDocument Next Year
An anonymous reader writes "IBM announced this weekend that early next year it will begin supporting the OpenDocument standard in its WorkPlace line of products. They're planning on pushing this widely accessible format and their products in developing nations." From the article: "Rather than create an analog to Microsoft Office, IBM is offering editors for creating documents, spreadsheets or presentations within a Web browser. Documents are delivered via a Web portal and stored in shared directories. Access control and document management tools allow people to share and edit documents with others. Until now, Workplace supported the formats from open-source product OpenOffice, from which the OpenDocument was derived. Workplace Managed Client software also can read, write and edit documents created with Microsoft Office."
Anyways, with MS going to an XML document base, it is moot to believe their is a need for an open document format. XML IS OPEN, I mean, its a text document in a highly structured standardized format. The tags might mean something different from document to document, but XML is inherently an even easier document format to reverse engineer. By MS going with XML, they are almost implicating that they don't care about proprietary documents anymore.
First, MS has been calling their new format "Open-XML." Now I don't seem to have as big a problem as you do about sticking "open" on the beginning of everything, but it would be nice if the format actually was open so people like you aren't confused into thinking it is an open format.
Second, as I mentioned, their format is not open. It is an XML based format, but it relies upon embedded binaries in closed patented formats and the format itself is only licensed to developers, not truly open. Allow me to detail the practical ways in which MS's format differs. Future versions of the format will not need to be open. No one can add or propose innovative changes to the format without MS agreeing. There is no guarantee that it will be legal to offer a program that opens old version of the format. Technically (according to the license) if MS comes out with a new version of the format every word-processor that still offers the old version is in violation of their license. The license specifically prohibits redistribution, which means no GPL licensed application (like their biggest competitor) can offer that format. The spec as it now exists implements all images embedded in a proprietary format, owned by MS, that only has libraries for viewing available on Windows; instead of with one of the many well documented and supported image formats.
Now if you are being paid by MS you probably already know all this and are just astroturfing for them. If not, please actually read some information on the subject you are espousing opinions about. Preferable read information that is not just an MS press release.