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OOXML Won't Get Fast-Track ISO Standardization

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the but-it's-pretty-close dept.

realdodgeman writes "The International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) recently held an internal poll to determine the position that the United States should take on Microsoft's request for Office Open XML (OOXML) approval. With eight votes in favor, seven against, and one abstention, the group was one vote short of the nine votes required for approving OOXLM ISO standardization. This will mean a huge slowdown to the standardization to the OOXML format. 'Given the controversial nature, relative complexity, and significant importance of the standard, the results of INCIT's vote is unsurprising. An INCITS technical committee also voted against fast-track OOXML approval last month prior to the executive board's vote. Further deliberation is clearly needed as well as further refinement of the format. It seems as though many of the organizations participating in the approval process are generally supportive of the standard itself, but are unwilling to voice unconditional support until their concerns are resolved. OOXML may be down, but it's certainly not out.'"

4 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. Re:OOXML by bmo · · Score: 5, Informative

    "The entire standard in verbatim is 'Open Office Extensible Markup Language'."

    It's not.

    It's Office Open Extensible Markup Language.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Open_XML

    No lawsuit.

    And besides, Open Office precedes OOXML by a few years. If anything, OpenOffice.org *might* have a complaint about Microsoft misappropriating and reversing their name.

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    BMO

  2. Re:OOXML by doktor-hladnjak · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually OOXML stands for Office Open XML which is really just short for Microsoft Office Open XML. This whole naming issue is really rather laughable being that OpenOffice.org has to include that .org in their name to avoid infringing on another existing trademark.

  3. INCITS is USA only, not the world by Great_Geek · · Score: 4, Informative
    If you look carefully at their web-site (http://www.incits.org/), INCITS is the "InterNational ...", not "Internation ..."; and it "is the primary U.S. focus of standardization" and has only one vote on the real internationl body.

    My canonical reference for these things is Andy Updegrove's blog (http://consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/).

  4. Misleading article headline, it's far from over by pieterh · · Score: 4, Informative

    This decision was only for the U.S. and it's not over there. Look carefully at the comments by those who voted, and you'll see there is room for changes. Look at Lexmark's comment...

    It's very important to understand that the OOXML fight is not over. Microsoft are doing a fantastic job of explaining to committees why this format deserves to be an international standard, and of ensuring no-one gets onto the committees who can raise this dreamy proposition.

    We are looking at a lot of votes between now and end-August, across the world, and it's still not too late to submit comments to - for example - the Australian Standards Authority, which will almost certainly vote YES to OOXML.

    On NoOOXML.org the FFII is coordinating the fight. If you've not signed the petition, please do so.

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    My blog