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RTF Vs. OOXML

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the already-extinguished dept.

Rob Weir has an interesting essay comparing the viciousness of RTF and OOXML: "The [document format standard] concerns of 2004 (or 1995 even) are very similar to the concerns of 2007... 'RTF is defined as whatever Word saves when you ask it to save as RTF.' This should sound familiar. OOXML is nothing more than the preferences of Microsoft Office. Whenever Word changes, OOXML will change. And if you are a user or competitor of Word, you will be the last one to hear about these changes. The coding of Office 14 a.k.a. Office 2009 is well underway. Beta releases are expected in early 2008. But are file format changes needed to accommodate the new features being discussed in Ecma? No. Are they being discussed in ISO? No. Are they being discussed anywhere publicly? No. By owning the 'standard' and developing it in secret, in an Ecma rubber-stamp process, Microsoft rigs the system so they can author an ISO standard with which they are effortlessly compatible, while at the same time ensuring that their products maintain an insurmountable head start in implementing these same standards. Is this how an open standard is developed?"

7 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Too much internet... by oahazmatt · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's official, I've been on the internet way too much. I saw "RTF Vs. OOXML" with just a quick glance and read it as some new, bizarre acronym like "ROFLCOPTOR".

    --
    Those who believe the Internet is private,
    find their privates are on the Internet.
    1. Re:Too much internet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      http://members.cox.net/pimpbot9000/roflcopter.gif

  2. RTF Vs. OOXML by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think I could beat OOXML, if I took a few weeks to train up with some old kung fu movies beforehand.

    -- RTF

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    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  3. maybe they should merge RTF and OOXML by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Funny

    call it ROTFL

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  4. RTF What? by Shinmizu · · Score: 5, Funny

    RTF? RTF what? What am I supposed to be reading to eliminate my ignorance of some set of operations?

  5. Re:ISO or ANSI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    So .doc and an XML walk into a bar, they scoped out the scene... they saw a hot RTF and OOXML by themselves. .doc walks over to the OOXML and says... ASL? OOXML was like.. "WTF? Get away from me... As... If"

  6. Re:Acronyms in headlines? by mcpkaaos · · Score: 3, Funny

    I have a vague idea about what OOXML is, but not RTF

    Imagine hell with more backslashes.

    --
    It goes from God, to Jerry, to me.