Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Joins OpenDocument Alliance
Jim writes "Microsoft has joined a committee that has a key role in the ratification of OpenDocument as an international standard, leading to accusations that it intends to sabotage the process. Microsoft has denied this accusation, claiming that the only reason why Microsoft employee Jim Thatcher has joined the group was to get involved in the ISO standardisation of its own file format." From the article: "'There sits Microsoft, waiting, like a spider,' wrote Jones, in a posting on her site. 'I am imagining ODF plodding along, with Microsoft asking questions, fine-combing through the comments, did you mean this or that?, getting bogged down in minutia until, lo and behold, either Microsoft's XML makes it as an ISO standard first, or they arrive neck and neck.'" More information here on a subject we touched on in a recent Slashback.
update a few readers have asked for the clarification
that MSFT has not joined ODF, but rather the "INCITS/V1
Technical Committee"
I dont' see any added information than what was already on the slashback. Just total speculation. Not that I'm terribly pro-MS, but come on! They both need ISO approval, and they both go through the same committee. Microsoft is one company. TFA states there are several others. If MS, as one company, tries to block ODF, then what do you think the other companies will do? Granted MS is a large company, but I can't imagine it'd be terribly difficult to find things for the other companies to gripe about in xmlrs. Golden rule here people!
I'm not sure if it matters if the MS format becomes an ISO first or at the same time. The lines are already drawn. Every software group that produces word processing documents seems to either be using or at least supporting ODF. Who supports Microsoft's format aside from Microsoft? No one right now, and those who do support it will follow microsoft no matter what the outcome of all of this is anyway.
If anything I'd say they put him there to observe the progression more than anything else.
Or maybe I forgot my tinfoil hat today.
Unlike the AC responses, I'll posit that it's because you thought it was funny. Of course, ACs are mostly asshat trolls anyhow, so it's no wonder they have a difficult time lightening up and seeing an attempt at humor. I've already commented on this topic, so I can't mod you as funny.
But, hey, may the shwartz be with you.
ISO certification or not, true open standards are the wave of the future. Too many companies and people have gotten burned by vendor lock too many times, to the point where the movement toward open standards and open source here in Taxachusetts has attracted mainstream press, not just technical journalists. Perhaps ODF won't gain steam quite as quickly if it became an ISO-certified standard immediately, but with states' and commonwealths' accepting ODF as the document exchange and archival solution, it will quickly filter down to education, state vendors (who want to keep their contracts) and law offices, and from there trickle down to everyone else. Small companies will quickly learn "Oh, I DON'T have to plunk down $450 for Microsoft Office any more? Where do I get this OpenOffice?"
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
If MS doesn't join the alliance, they're seen as factious and self-serving.
If MS joins the alliance, they're seen as sneaky, underhanded, factious and self-serving.
"I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey
They intentionally pervert the standards. See Kerberos as an example. They have to know what the standards are to screw things up so royally.
Infuriate left and right
Guys: I am a member of the group that Microsoft joined, JTC1 SC34. This is a very broad group that encompasses SGML, XML, HyTime, topic maps, Font Interchange and ODF. As per Microsoft's claim, it would probably include Microsoft's formats when they show up at ISO.
http://www.jtc1sc34.org/#scope
The Slashdot heading is VERY incorrect and biased against Microsoft.
We damn Microsoft if they do, and damn them if they don't.
If Microsoft really wanted to support ODF, they could stop screwing around and start doing their job: programming! I want MS Word to natively support the ODF.
Atleast I don't think so. I mean, you cant get more original than Microsoft Joins OpenDocument Alliance, can you?
but seriously, what is the issue in whose format is the standard, as long as it is standard? The standard needs to be something easily defined, can be adhered to without loss in functionality and is extensible. If MS's XML satisfies that, good enough..just make sure balmer guy does not sabotage that once it becomes the standard
We damn Microsoft if they do, and damn them if they don't.
Actually, we damn Microsoft for their general attitude about standards bodies. The company has a deserved reputation for ignoring standards when it helps them, and subverting standards when they can't ignore them. Microsoft has engendered ill will through past behavior, and it takes more than an announcement that they are acting in good faith to get me to believe them.
Actions speak louder than words.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
There was some reluctance from members of that JAVA organization back then too, and their worst fears proved correct.
Other examples of the same M$ infiltration method are out there and they earned a reputation that they cannot be trusted on a standards organization.
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
People, look at HTML, CSS, and various other web standards, MS has their name all over these standards and look at how IE implements them. MS does this with all standards, so why should this be any different.
Mod this down if you wish, flame it, etc, but I'm right and you know it!
Only 'flamers' flame!
Does slashdot hate my posts?
Corporations have a lot to gain / lose when sitting a committee like this. A lot of standards start life as a corporate standard first. Even ODF started life as a corporate standard (at Sun, I believe).
Generally, the folks sitting the committee wish to come to a real consensus. We can hope that Microsoft is merely hedging its bets by testing the ODF standards waters. It could be that Microsoft ends up adopting ODF in an MS-Office generation or two.
I believe Microsoft is finding it harder and harder to buck the standards trends. Imagine how much money they spent trying to push their own web 'standards.' In some research I did recently, it turns out that most of the time, standards beat out proprietary formats every time, usually to the point that people forget there was ever a standards battle. Imagine ASCII vs. all the proprietary character encoding schemes, or IP vs. IPX vs. NETBUEI vs. any number of other networking protocols.
In the end, even Microsoft ends up bowing to the pressure of true, open standards. The only exceptions are when Microsoft products are only concerned about interoperating with other Microsoft products, such as an MS-Windows-based network. The document format world is getting too fragmented for that now. Even within the world of MS-Office, there's document format fragmentation.
Anyway, corporations have a major vested interest in these standards, so it is only appropriate that they sit in committee with the other interested groups. In general, obstructionism is identified and dealt with by the other committee members.
Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
yep, any long time OpenGL developer can tell you, Microsoft attempted to stall opengl with IP nonsense designed to get a slow government response. Open(*) should kick out microsoft or any company without a clear plan for industry wide collaboration since there is a percieved (blatant) conflict of interest.