Slashdot Mirror
Novell Releases OO–OOXML Translator
Tookis writes in with news that Novell has released an Office Open XML (OOXML) translator for OpenOffice.org. The article argues that, though this move may represent a nail in the coffin of the franchise known as Microsoft Office, and therefore a Good Thing, what is truly needed is a fully supported Evolution on Windows.
So what is needed is Evolution for Windows eh? Kind of like this? I don't have Windows around anywhere to try it out, but it looks like it runs fine. I expect it still has a few kinks to be worked out, but it is certainly up and running, so not only is a port in progress, it looks like it is even usable already.
Craft Beer Programming T-shirts
//Microsoft made a new format (instead of using ODF) because they thought they could do it better, not because they wanted to lock people into using Office 2007.//
That is not correct. Microsoft's supposedly "open" format in fact avoids "open" as much as it can. For example, where OpenDocument uses SVG for graphics, which is itself a W3C open format that any vendor may use, in the Microsoft format Office Open XML (OOXML) they could have used SVG, but no, they could have used CGM, but no, what did they use? WMF. That is right, a buggy Microsoft proprietary graphics format, the one with the security hole, WMF. WMF relies on the Microsoft GUI API to render properly, as WMF has embedded metadata meant for calls to the Microsoft GUI API.
That is not the only thing in OOXML like that. If there is an open format for anything, Microsoft avoids it. Microsoft's OOXML is as packed as can be on dependencies that the underlying platform on which any application runs is a Windows platform.
Microsoft wanted to lock people in all right. It will be impossible to achieve perfect fidelity with OOXML on any platform other than a Windows platform.
If you have documents saved in OOXML format, you will be locked in to Windows platforms.
This will do squat for putting any nails in anything.
/ 02/openoffice-support-for-the-openxml-formats.aspx
Microsoft wanted this. Infact, Microsoft helped Novel do this: http://www.novell.com/ctoblog/?p=43
And the Microsoft Open XML developers were more than helpful to advertise this: http://blogs.msdn.com/brian_jones/archive/2007/03
This is a GOOD THING for everyone. OpenOffice.org users get interopability with MS Office. MS Office meets many government required interopability and open XML format requirements. Win-win.
Let's keep the absurd commentary out of the summary and in the modded down comments, please?
http://brandonbloom.name
There is no "SuSE OpenExchange", OpenExchange is a separate product, and it uses the binary connector to allow outlook clienten access calendar, taks and appointments at the openExchange.
Â_Â
There is plenty of good information on motivation, etc. here: http://blogs.msdn.com/brian_jones/default.aspx
/ 21/interoperability-of-the-office-open-xml-formats .aspx
/ 27/679703.aspx
A great summary of arguments can be in this post: http://blogs.msdn.com/brian_jones/archive/2006/09
Reguarding your particular question, that post states:
"If you look at my blog, I probably spend less than 5% of my time discussing ODF. The only reason I talk about it is that people have asked me why we didn't use it as our default format. A simple "it wouldn't work" answer obviously isn't good enough, so I had to show specific examples to help explain my view."
In this post: http://blogs.msdn.com/brian_jones/archive/2006/07
Brian lists a whole bunch of examples of why it "wouldn't work" with references to previous posts with more details:
"
The OASIS ODF technical committee claims it's still over a year away from defining spreadsheet functions and tables in presentations, and no mention of solutions to the international numbering issues or even simple things like character highlighting.
"
http://brandonbloom.name
We don't need Evolution for windows, we need something other than the pile of crap that Evolution is.
Disclaimer: I use Evolution.