Slashdot Mirror


Saving in OOXML Format Now Probably A Bad Idea

orlando writes "Much drama is unfolding prior to the OOXML Ballot Resolution Meeting in Geneva, currently schedule for the end of February. After that there's a subsequent 30 day period while countries can still change their vote. As a result, Bob Sutor is recommending that saving your documents in OOXML format right now is probably about the riskiest thing you can do, if you are concerned with long term interoperability. At this point nobody has the vaguest idea what OOXML will look like in February, or even whether it will be in any sort of stable condition by the end of March. 'While we are talking about interoperability, who else do you think is going to provide long term complete support for this already-dead OOXML format that Microsoft Office 2007 uses today? Interoperability means that other applications can process the files fully and not just products from Microsoft. I would even go so far as to go back to those few OOXML files you have already created and create .doc, .ppt, and .xls versions of them for future use, if you want to make sure you can read them and you don't want to commit yourself to Microsoft's products for the rest of their lives.'"

150 comments

  1. Unwarrented by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    There's nothing to worry about. Microsoft will NOT be making any changes to the OOXML format. They will listen to all the suggestions/complaints, nod their heads and ignore them. The format will be passed, unchanged.

    1. Re:Unwarrented by digitig · · Score: 1

      And although it's a pain in the butt, we'll cope. OOo is already pretty good at reading MS proprietary files -- better than MS Office in some cases. Although I usually work in MS Office, I keep OOo on my computer as a recovery tool, because it will successfully read MS Office files that are too damaged for MS Office to read even in recovery mode. Yes, it would be better if OOXML didn't exist. Given that it exists, it would be better if it's not accepted as a standard. But even if it does get accepted as a standard then I bet the free (at least as in beer, hopefully as in speech) tools would be along smartish. Maybe not good enough to claim full standard compliance, but good enough for everyone to open their documents and get on with their jobs.

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
  2. Not risky by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Microsoft won't actually use whatever becomes standardized. They'll add a strict output mode toggle that meets those requirements burried somewhere in their user interface. That way they can claim OOXML is a standard and they support it to keep the ignorant bean counters happy. However what everyone actually reads and writes by default will be whatever Office 2007 currently outputs (until OOo supports it 95%, and then it will be time for Office 2010.)

  3. I'm not too worried by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    How can the format be dead if it's being supported by Office 2007 currently? It may continue on through that vein, and I certainly don't fear for saving my documents this way. Not to mention if it does continue on in the Office Suite, I would think competitors would still seek to work with it if the market demands it.

    It's not the standards bodies that drive the market ( despite what most of us would prefer ), it's the demand in the market itself.

    1. Re:I'm not too worried by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 1

      How can the format be dead if it's being supported by Office 2007 currently? It may continue on through that vein, and I certainly don't fear for saving my documents this way. Not to mention if it does continue on in the Office Suite, I would think competitors would still seek to work with it if the market demands it So long as Microsoft products are the only products that will read and write this file correctly, with no formatting problems or anything, what makes you think that it isn't a bad idea?

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow?
    2. Re:I'm not too worried by KublaiKhan · · Score: 3, Funny

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow?

      Wish that I had shorted Microsoft stock, and look for the price of Apple to go up.
      --
      In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
      A stately pleasure dome decree
    3. Re:I'm not too worried by jhol13 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow? Invade some random country?
    4. Re:I'm not too worried by Jarjarthejedi · · Score: 1

      "What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow?"

      ???
      Profit?

      --
      There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
    5. Re:I'm not too worried by Chosen+Reject · · Score: 3, Funny

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow?
      That's like asking what we would do if all of Robin's minstrels were eaten in the frozen land of Nador.

      And there was much rejoicing.
      --
      Stop Global Warming!
      Just say no to irreversible processes!
    6. Re:I'm not too worried by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 4, Funny

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow?


      Check my alibi!
      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    7. Re:I'm not too worried by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Terrorists"? or..."Freedom Fighters"?

    8. Re:I'm not too worried by Nate-the-Gr8 · · Score: 1

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow? Somehow I don't think my copy of Office 2007 will be harmed. Worse case scenario and Office 07 is the last version of Office to support OOXML, I'll simply open up the documents I need and Save as.
    9. Re:I'm not too worried by guruevi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Except that the current iteration of OOXML in Microsoft Office is not the OOXML that they submitted and changed throughout the ISO process. They implemented the 'old' OOXML and in the mean time they have deprecated lots of proprietary features that Office is actually using because nobody but Microsoft can implement those features (RenderLikeWord97 comes to mind).

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    10. Re:I'm not too worried by plague3106 · · Score: 1

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow?

      Um, nothing different, because the software I have will continue to work, and MS does have their source code backed up offsite.

    11. Re:I'm not too worried by CSMatt · · Score: 2, Funny

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow? Um, is this a trick question?
    12. Re:I'm not too worried by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 1

      "Terrorists"? or..."Freedom Fighters"? I think it depends on if they're French or not.

    13. Re:I'm not too worried by Tom · · Score: 1

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow? By definition, bombing MS headquarters means you are not a terrorist, but a freedom fighter. You know, like the afghans back when they were firing at soviet tanks instead of US tanks.
      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    14. Re:I'm not too worried by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow? Dance to the Ewok celebration song!!!
    15. Re:I'm not too worried by J_Doh! · · Score: 1

      The happy dance

      --
      To secure peace is to prepare for war ...
  4. Future compatibility? What about now? by EggyToast · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's a bad idea anyway, regardless of your future data needs. I've already received a handful of .docx files in my job and have had to email the person back, asking them to save as an alternate format. And inevitably the response is "Oh right, I always forget that not everyone can open these files."

    Microsoft's done a crappy job introducing a crappy format, and only people on the latest office (or the ability to install the Windows-oriented Windows-installer for old Office for Windows) can even work with the files.

  5. Allow me to quote Scott McNealey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    ASCII.

    Of course, most Slashdotters have never heard of ASCII.

    1. Re:Allow me to quote Scott McNealey by hedwards · · Score: 4, Funny

      Of course we have, it's the only type of porn that can be viewed without a GUI.

    2. Re:Allow me to quote Scott McNealey by netsavior · · Score: 4, Funny

      I agree ascii porn is not good enough to achieve "gui" - I guess that's what the kids are calling it these days.

  6. Zonk on acid by sm62704 · · Score: 1
    Dude, sorry. Everybody has a bad day once in a while, but that was nearly unparseable. Here-

    Much drama is unfolding prior to the OOXML Ballot Resolution Meeting in Geneva, which is currently scheduled for the end of February. There is a subsequent 30 day period when countries can still change their vote. As a result, Bob Sutor is recommending that if you are concerned with long term interoperability, then saving your documents in OOXML format is probably about the riskiest thing you can do.

    At this point, nobody has the vaguest idea what OOXML will look like in February, or even whether it will be in any sort of stable condition by the end of March. 'While we are talking about interoperability, who else do you think is going to provide long term complete support for this already dead OOXML format that Microsoft Office 2007 uses today?

    Interoperability means that other applications can process the files fully and not just products from Microsoft. I would even go so far as to go back to those few OOXML files you have already created and create .doc, .ppt, and .xls versions of them for future use, if you want to make sure you can read them and you don't want to commit yourself to Microsoft's products for the rest of their lives.'"
    --
    mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    1. Re:Zonk on acid by FlyByPC · · Score: 1

      That's being rather picky, I think. I know it isn't saying much, but I routinely see much worse from the likes of CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post etc. Also, Slashdot tends to be a bit more niche-oriented while maintaining roughly the same timeliness, so the occasional rough grammar is to be expected, I'd think.

      --
      Paleotechnologist and connoisseur of pretty shiny things.
    2. Re:Zonk on acid by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      True, but you don't get a chance to correct CNN and those guys. And I did apologise, Zonk usually does an excellent job, at least he has on the stories I've submitted.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    3. Re:Zonk on acid by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      Ehhhh, we got all the info we need to know on Slashdot. It's today. Microsoft OOXML is bad, someone said it was, and it was someone new (or at least they said something slightly differently)... now let's all have a flamefest on that summary alone.

  7. Let's just make one thing clear. by khasim · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No matter what is in the published specification ... the ONLY implementation of OOXML that will matter will be the "de facto" standard that is whatever Microsoft is shipping at that moment.

    You can be 100% compliant with the published spec ... but if you aren't 100% compliant with what Microsoft apps produce, your product is not an option.

  8. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by jayp00001 · · Score: 1

    ...only people on the latest office (or the ability to install the Windows-oriented Windows-installer for old Office for Windows) can even work with the files
    no, you can download the word viewer to view those files. You do not need to purchase anything to view them. However unless I know the person has windows I'd probably send a PDF instead.

  9. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by KublaiKhan · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not to mention that the various kinds of .doc are often problematic, when one party has a newer version of office (and has saved in said format) while the other party has not upgraded.

    The 'classics' are always best, anyway--because, frankly, if you need more formatting than some basic markup that would be covered by rtf or html, you ought be using something aimed more towards desktop publishing than word processing--and for that, you can use TeX or something.

    These fancy-schmancy formats are just feature creep, really, in my opinion. If you need clip art to say it, then perhaps you don't need to say it at all.

    --
    In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
    A stately pleasure dome decree
  10. Nelson: Ha Ha! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

    In all seriousness, though, this is a bit of a sticky wicket. Not that it'll affect microsoft; but trying to introduce a nonstandard implementation of a standard that is still in considerable flux is a rather gutsy move. Particularly if you are doing so while insisting on the cardinal importance of backwards compatibility and so on.

  11. Did he say that about ODF before approval? by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 1

    I don't recall any dire warnings that we should avoid saving in ODF at the late stages of its journey through the standardization process. Why is it suddenly an issue for OOXML?

    1. Re:Did he say that about ODF before approval? by DaleGlass · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Probably because back when it was being approved, it already existed as a standard, and was already implemented by multiple applications.

      Unlike OOXML, ODF (or OASIS as IIRC it was referred to more often) was the main format for Open Office, and at least KDE was supporting it as well.

      The fact is, if MS suddenly drops OOXML, everybody else will instantly lose interest in it. Meanwhile ODF has wide adoption: You can open it with OpenOffice, AbiWord, KWord or a MS Office plugin, for instance.

    2. Re:Did he say that about ODF before approval? by jhol13 · · Score: 5, Informative

      The biggest difference is that ODF did not go through Fast Track, it went trough a long and tedious process in OASIS. Besides, OOo did not save to ODF before it was done deal in ISO.

      Then there is the problem that Office 2007 does not fully support the OOXML (so you cannot save to OOXML now, only OOXMLish).

      Furthermore Microsoft has clearly stated they will not follow ISO-OOXML - unless it does exactly what Microsoft wants it to do.

      So no matter what you do, your file will be outdated in a few years.

    3. Re:Did he say that about ODF before approval? by mingot · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The biggest difference is that ODF did not go through Fast Track, it went trough a long and tedious process in OASIS. Besides, OOo did not save to ODF before it was done deal in ISO.

      Wrong.

      Wikipedia Article on OASIS

      And although the WP article does not mention it ODF actually got to skip the one month contradictory period that was required of OOXML. So this long and tedious process for ISO certification you're talking about . . . Didn't exist.

      Then there is the problem that Office 2007 does not fully support the OOXML (so you cannot save to OOXML now, only OOXMLish).

      So someone has found bugs in Office 2007? Say it ain't so.

      Furthermore Microsoft has clearly stated they will not follow ISO-OOXML - unless it does exactly what Microsoft wants it to do.

      Can I get some sort of cite here?

    4. Re:Did he say that about ODF before approval? by Osrin · · Score: 1

      No, that is WRONG. ODF went through PAS which is near identical to Fasttrack, comments were raised, no BRM was held and as yet non of the maintenence (which is all done in OASIS still) has been handed back to ISO for any further approval.

    5. Re:Did he say that about ODF before approval? by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 1
      OOo supported ODF in version 2, which came out over a year before ODF was an ISO standard.

      And furthermore, that ISO standard is quite incomplete. ODF 1.2, which is now in the process of being standardized, adds things like a specification for spreadsheet formulas. Should we refrain from using ODF until that is finished? Are we to believe that minor differences between Office 2007 and what will be finally standardized is fatal, but the gigantic additions ODF is currently undergoing are just fine?

      This article was just another in a long line of articles that point out "flaws" in OOXML that also exist in ODF.

    6. Re:Did he say that about ODF before approval? by jhol13 · · Score: 3, Informative

      OK, I was wrong about the Fast Track, but that was not my point. The point was that it took a long time in OASIS to prepare ODF.

      The article in question says Office 2007 does not fully follow OOXML. Bugs they are not.

      Brian Jones has said that Microsoft is not committted to OOXML http://www.techworld.com/storage/features/index.cfm?featureid=3685&pagtype=all

    7. Re:Did he say that about ODF before approval? by AberBeta · · Score: 1

      "ODF actually got to skip the one month contradictory period that was required of OOXML"

      It didn't skip the period because it was not needed as there were no contradictions. It's all part of the process and perfectly legit.

  12. UTF8 by Reality+Master+201 · · Score: 1

    Cause some people still like using their own funny looking character sets.

  13. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by msuarezalvarez · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You do not need to purchase anything to view them.

    Apart from the OS, of course.

  14. Plain text by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Um, so tell me again what is wrong with plain text? I find it is perfect for text documents, extremely portable and will almost certainly be readable millenia into the future .

    XML of ANY kind is totally retarded.

    1. Re:Plain text by orclevegam · · Score: 1

      Look at it this way, CEOs are always going to want some sort of format they can put extraneous clipart and other useless eye candy into, so they'll never accept plain text. The advantage to xml, is when you get something from them, you can just s/<[^>]+/\n/g and get a semi-legible file out of the other end no matter what document viewer you use. Even better, you can find the XMLish equivalent of paragraph and header tags and use XSLT to strip everything but those.

      --
      Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
    2. Re:Plain text by RightSaidFred99 · · Score: 1

      You're plain retarded. Let's use ascii art, too, and stop using those stupid JPGs.

    3. Re:Plain text by Lewrker · · Score: 0

      Middle management likes clip-arts.

  15. Re:I'm STILL not too worried by Phid · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't suddenly stop using the software on my PC, and would be able to export or save in any format I wish, or continue using the same software. There is no situation where things stop dead in their tracks. I don't think this is a bad idea because traditionally, there hasn't exactly been a problem with .doc and .xls formats that have been proprietary and the same since 97.

    I don't think it's a bad idea because I don't see any dangers of being stuck by surprise. Let's say something happens and a whole slew of folks are using these formats. Suddenly there's a market for working with OOXML, or whatever format is in question. It's solvable, there's nothing scary or end of the world here. There's not even anything too stressful involved.

    Besides, let's say MS really wants OOXML to fly. They continue to doggedly push it, and they have the inertia to make it stick, regardless of what industry experts/influencers want. Good for them. Nothing says the world has to be governed by standards bodies.

  16. Aw, c'mon by smittyoneeach · · Score: 4, Funny

    At this point nobody has the vaguest idea what OOXML will look like in February
    If this were Jeopardy, I'd ask Alex:
    "What is the most-linked image in /. history?"
    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    1. Re:Aw, c'mon by Lordpidey · · Score: 1

      Well its quite hard to know what it will look like, considering the huge gaping hole in what we know about the format.

      --
      Some people encrypt by using rot-13 twice. I prefer the more secure method of using rot-1 a total of twenty six times.
  17. I distinctly recall frowning.. by MacarooMac · · Score: 1

    ..when I booted my new laptop running Vista and MS Word 2007 started to save my docs with a suspicious looking new '.sucx' extension.
    Foolishly I didn't take the time (nor had I the inclination) to investigate the implication of this change and I assumed it was just another completely unnecessary m$oft 'enhancement' designed to (i) annoy me (ii) make it harder for 'lesser mortals' to migrate their platform.

    Yep, I know: what a naïve, conceited, presumptuous fuckwad, etc. etc.

    At the time I had intended to - and have since - started dual-booting Linux K/ubuntu, on a separate partition, and so I didn't think that adopting Bill's new file format was something I should be at all concerned about...

    And now that I've accumulated a truck stop full of .sucx docs - with all kinds of embedded attachments - you're telling me I should start thinking about going through 'em all and convert them *back* to the .doc?!

    OMFG WTF USOBs. S.O.S. nearest Borg - please take me away from this place

    --
    "He Who Dares Wins" ...or gets twenty-to-life for totaling their Bimmer on a poodle parade
  18. Re:Niggers still a bad idea by kjkeefe · · Score: 3, Informative

    Seriously, can't we block these IP's already? I mean this is happening in ever story...

    --
    1, 2, 3, 4, 5... That's the combination on my luggage!
  19. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by vux984 · · Score: 1

    Correct, but I'd rather teach people to use a format other people can readily use rather than require recipients to jump through hoops.

    The burden of sending a conveniently readable file lies with the sender. .doc may be proprietary but at least it meets the conveniently readable threshold, nearly any office software can handle .doc adequately.

    That said, I personally don't recommend sending .doc files for most inter-business communication. PDF is a lot more sensible in most (but not all) circumstances.

    This who debate is like the those stupid outlook emails with .dat attachments, because the sender is using outlook rich text format instead of plaintext or html. Sure I and all the other recipients *could* download a .dat file viewer, they do exist... but I shouldn't have to. The sender should be instructed to use formats that are compatible, especially when sending to recipients outside his organization.

  20. DOCX Conversion by Ohio+Calvinist · · Score: 1

    I've started getting OOXML (docx) Word documents, which I've found take forever to convert using MS' own builting converter (2007 to 2003) and that the conversion frequently jacks-up the formatting, which doesn't bother me, but makes collabaration difficult, and I have to re-format the documents if we're in a crunch since my project lead is anal about asthetic things like that.

    <rant>If it were up to me, I'd do reports in plaintext (or if necessary, PDF)</rant>

    --
    Forgive my spelling from time to time. I'm often posting during short breaks.
  21. Tagging by raftpeople · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A comment on tagging:
    "whatcouldpossiblygowrong" is pretty entertaining when used sparingly, like maybe on a story about a new robotic dentist. But when we are talking about document formats, I think it starts to lose that special something.

    1. Re:Tagging by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Aww come on, what could possibly go wrong?

    2. Re:Tagging by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      I remember working at an office that was hit hard by I Love You.

      Document formats are a big deal to me now.

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
  22. Use MS-OOXML and reduce confusion by nadaou · · Score: 4, Insightful

    To reduce the (probably intended) market confusion over the pedigree of the format names, it would be nice if people used "MS-OOXML" to differentiate it from ODF and OpenOffice.

    [repost]

    --
    ~.~
    I'm a peripheral visionary.
    1. Re:Use MS-OOXML and reduce confusion by codemachine · · Score: 1

      What makes you think that the name Office Open XML was intended to be confused with the OpenOffice's XML file format (ie. ODF)?

      Too bad OpenOffice.org doesn't even have the trademark for Open Office (hence the .org), otherwise they could probably do something about it.

    2. Re:Use MS-OOXML and reduce confusion by Jonner · · Score: 1

      I would be disappointed if trademark were used to bring legal action over any use of the two English words Office and Open. I think MS did use the name OOXML deliberately to cause people to confuse it with ODF, but to sue over it would be an abuse of the legal system IMHO. Microsoft's predatory, monopolistic business practices can and will be defeated by honest competition in the marketplace, rather than the courts.

    3. Re:Use MS-OOXML and reduce confusion by codemachine · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the idea of a trademark like "Open Office" is that it would apply only to that specific field. One of the reasons for trademarks in the first place is to prevent this very sort of confusion that MS is trying to cause.

      You can bet that MS would sue if I released an operating system called MacroSoft Windows, and they'd be well within their rights, as the only reason to name it that is to cause confusion and/or leech of the well known product's name.

      However, you do make a good point about it being a very generic name. Though that is allowed up to a point, it can work against a company. In Sun's case, the Open Office trademark was actually already owned by someone else, so it turned out to be a poor choice, and forced them to use the name OpenOffice.org everywhere instead.

    4. Re:Use MS-OOXML and reduce confusion by Jonner · · Score: 1

      It's a good point that trademarks only apply in a specific field. Perhaps it would have been better to choose a less generic name, such as the original one, StarOffice.

  23. That's the point by Tony · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You can be 100% compliant with the published spec ... but if you aren't 100% compliant with what Microsoft apps produce, your product is not an option.

    You don't think Microsoft *planned* it this way, did you?

    The *only* reason Microsoft purchased... I mean, went through the IEEE standardization process was to fast-track to ISO. This is because places like Massachusetts were pondering passing resolutions that would require certain government agencies (in the case of Mass, the executive branch) to publish documents in a standard, open format. Microsoft, of course, fought that with money, lobbying, and disinformation (Microsoft's best weapons).

    By getting a rubber-stamp standard, Microsoft can continue doing exactly what they do now: locking in customers by creating the perception that theirs is the only office suite that can handle the "standard" correctly, making the other suites look inferior (despite the actual compliance of the other suites).

    Notice the timing of OOXML-- it happened just as OOo was beginning to render .doc formats exceptionally well. The barrier to conversion to OOo was damned low. So, it was time to introduce another incompatible document format, which is what they have always done when the competition gets too hot.

    I don't know why Microsoft doesn't believe they can compete on merit alone. They almost *always* resort to market manipulation to maintain the upper hand. It'd be funny, if they weren't teabagging capitalism in the process.

    --
    Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
    1. Re:That's the point by CSMatt · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The barrier to conversion to OOo was damned low. So, it was time to introduce another incompatible document format, which is what they have always done when the competition gets too hot. If it was low then, it's probably even lower now thanks to Ribbon. Given the choice between spending 5-15 minutes training employees to convert from Office 2003 to OpenOffice.org and spending 30+ minutes training employees to convert from Office 2003 to Office 2007, I know which suite I would deploy.
    2. Re:That's the point by mattpalmer1086 · · Score: 1

      OOXML is not an IEEE standard. Are you thinking of ECMA?

    3. Re:That's the point by ErkDemon · · Score: 1
      Yep, I'd assumed that MS's sudden interest in nominal support for open standards was down to the European Union considering whether to declare that good government practice involves using open formats for all documentation.

      If every EU government department was instructed to consider migrating to open standards, and MS couldn't say that they supported open standards, then that'd potentially mean MS government sales for a whole continent being wiped out. The EU wouldn't care that this meant a US company losing zillions of sales. And if EU IT people started spreading the perception that it was "unprofessional" to use MS Office, and that perception filtered down to IT buyers for the universities and schools ...

      MS had to be able to say that they could "tick the box" for open standards support under new versions of Office. Support didn't have to be useful or helpful or interoperative with other companies' products in any useful way, but it had to be nominally there.

  24. Again by AndGodSed · · Score: 1

    MS is going to try and force the issue with money, and sheer weight of numbers.

    All together now: "MICROSOFT - BECAUSE IT'S THERE."

  25. Isn't Google/IBM providing support for OOXML? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is the danger of these formats if this is true: http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1121

    1. Re:Isn't Google/IBM providing support for OOXML? by Jeremy+Allison+-+Sam · · Score: 2, Informative
  26. Sutor has a point, but... by SwashbucklingCowboy · · Score: 1

    Sutor is correct that it's quite possible that the OOXML that comes out of ISO will not be compatible with the OOXML that Office currently saves. But do keep in mind that Sutor works for IBM and has long been a vocal opponent of OOXML.

    1. Re:Sutor has a point, but... by grcumb · · Score: 1

      Sutor is correct that it's quite possible that the OOXML that comes out of ISO will not be compatible with the OOXML that Office currently saves. But do keep in mind that Sutor works for IBM and has long been a vocal opponent of OOXML.

      Ah, so what you're saying is that he has an agenda... to tell the truth?

      --
      Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
    2. Re:Sutor has a point, but... by SwashbucklingCowboy · · Score: 1

      I'm saying he has an agenda against OOXML. But having an agenda doesn't make someone wrong...

  27. Re:N*** still a bad idea by Stanistani · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you're going to reply to this crap, could you please at least take out the N-word in the subject?

    Thanks!

  28. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by norite · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Maybe you should send them files in .odt format, and when the inevitable reply comes back, saying that their latest and greatest version of word 2007 cannot open it, say "Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting, not everyone is using OpenOffice." Then email them the link to OpenOffice's download section ;)

    --
    -- Fuck Beta
  29. dude.. by rastoboy29 · · Score: 1

    They can't make an operating system; what makes anyone think they can make a standard file format for the ages?

  30. Standards by Bellum+Aeternus · · Score: 1

    Sadly, it doesn't matter all that much what ISO has to say, since MS Office is the standard application choice in business. What ever it uses will continue to be the defacto "standard". Therefore Microsoft gets to set the standard for document formats. I'm not happy with this at all, but it's a fact of life I'm learning (aka being forced) to live with.

    --
    - I voted for Nintendo and against Bush
  31. Saving in OOXML Format Now Probably A Bad Idea by batquux · · Score: 1

    Thanks, but I'm way ahead of you on this one.

  32. "standard" vs "de facto standard" by InlawBiker · · Score: 1

    Here's my serious & naive questions: Is Microsoft really under any obligation to follow a standard? Playing devil's advocate here, Microsoft can pretty much do whatever they want. They dominate the market, whatever format they see fit to save their documents in is what they'll do. They've always used their market share to get their own way, why would this one be any different? I'm already getting "how do I open this .docx" document?" questions, as are many others I'm sure. It's just another way for Microsoft to get people to buy their software. If the format was open & shared it could erode their market share.. eventually, maybe. Why would they possibly adopt an open standard?

    1. Re:"standard" vs "de facto standard" by corsec67 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      People are trying to get laws passed that say that government documents must be saved in an open, documented format. If OOXML gets forked into the ISO version and the MS version, then MS loses there since they don't save in a documented format.

      One option for MS is to have a very hidden "save in ISO OOXML" switch that is hard to toggle, or only available in more expensive versions of office, with a converter between the MS and ISO versions of OOXML.

      If MS uses the ISO version of OOXML, then as you say, anyone could make an office suite that used that format, and MS would have to compete on something more than "everybody uses office".

      If it wasn't for those laws that people are trying to get passed, you would be completely correct.

      --
      If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
    2. Re:"standard" vs "de facto standard" by SwashbucklingCowboy · · Score: 1

      There certainly is a moral obligation to support a standard that you've forced into existence. To force hundreds, if not thousands, of people around the world to work to vet your proposed standard and then not support it is... uh... bad form...

    3. Re:"standard" vs "de facto standard" by msebast · · Score: 1

      Do you think Microsoft cares about moral obligations? They don't even care about legal obligations.

  33. Re:Blah blah blah by CSMatt · · Score: 1

    Well at the very least Slashdot could use decent CAPTCHAs. For a technology site it's pretty dumb of them to be using dictionary words.

  34. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by plague3106 · · Score: 1

    Correct, but I'd rather teach people to use a format other people can readily use rather than require recipients to jump through hoops.

    I know, I can't expect people to have a PDF reader on their workstation already. I just give them something that works.

  35. The XML schema should also change. by iron+Dan · · Score: 2, Informative

    When the document specification is revised, the XML schema should also change. Older documents will then still be readable because an application has to use the older (non OSI approved) XML schema.

    1. Re:The XML schema should also change. by SwashbucklingCowboy · · Score: 1

      Older documents will then still be readable because an application has to use the older (non OSI approved) XML schema.
      They do? Says who?
  36. This is crazy. by Columcille · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Fear mongering on Slashdot again? I am all for standards but when it comes to thinks like file support, it doesn't really matter all that much. OOXML is here and it will be around a while. And in 10 years when you are trying to open your old files, there will still be filters to open OOXML files, just like we can still open a whole host of old and obscure file formats. Why in the world go through the trouble of converting all of your files already created using OOXML?

    For myself, I'm a pretty savvy computer user. I've been on them for a while and know their ins and outs better than even most Slashdotters (no, not better than YOU, of course!) I like standards and support them, moreso with web standards than file formats. I don't really care what file format I use so long as it works. My office product of choice is Office 2007. I happen to like it a lot and I could care less how it saves its files. I know that 5, 10, 20 years from now I would still be able to open the files, though I have no idea why I would want to.

    --
    I love my sig.
    1. Re:This is crazy. by webmaster404 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I know that 5, 10, 20 years from now I would still be able to open the files, though I have no idea why I would want to.

      Or so you think. It seems that every MS "standard" is nothing more then just a memory dump of the product in question. For all we know, MS could release an Office 2007 Service Pack 1 that changes the format however could ignore all data on CDs/Flash drives when they update all the files. It doesn't help that chances are you are going to have to buy an Office 2009 to use the new OOXML format to even open newer OOXML files. The problem is MS is a company and a large one that doesn't care about stabbing its customers in the back to make a buck.

      --
      There is no "disagree" moderation, and troll, flamebait and overrated are not valid substitutes
    2. Re:This is crazy. by medge_42 · · Score: 1

      It's not that files written in in MSOffice 2007 can be opened in MSOffice 2015 that is the issue here. It's files written in MSOffice 2015 able to be opened in MSOffice 2007. IE If someone I know sends me a word document, then I shouldn't have to upgrade to be able to read it (even if it doesn't handle all of the formatting and content correctly.
      Of course in a perfect world, I would even need MSOffice 2007 to read it.

    3. Re:This is crazy. by jdeisenberg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I know that 5, 10, 20 years from now I would still be able to open the files, though I have no idea why I would want to.

      Governmental bodies, corporations, and other institutions may indeed have a need to keep their documents available and readable for more than 20 years. (Imagine birth certificates stored in a obsolete, proprietary, undocumented, binary format on media that can only be read on equipment that is no longer available. Hilarity ensues.)

    4. Re:This is crazy. by Columcille · · Score: 1

      I can understand that some people need long term file storage, but the vast majority of people don't. I could see opening an old file for nostalgic purposes. Fine - there will always be converters or filters. But on the whole it is not a crucial thing. And yet the advice given is that everyone should use alternate file formats even though for most people it makes not a difference in the world.

      --
      I love my sig.
    5. Re:This is crazy. by Columcille · · Score: 1

      I hope that Office 2007 cannot read files written in Office 2015... If desktop computing, even office/wordprocessing has advanced so little in 7 years or so that my office program now can open files created then (assuming no compatibility upgrades - that is a different discussion altogether) then things in the software world will have stagnated somewhat. Granted the basics will still be the same and have been the same for a long time, and perhaps that's all you mean, but I want to see a little more innovation over the next 7 years so that buying Office 2015 isn't just to be able to open the new file format, but also to use all the cool new tools and such, the results of which are saved in the new file.

      --
      I love my sig.
    6. Re:This is crazy. by AJWM · · Score: 1

      I know that 5, 10, 20 years from now I would still be able to open the files, though I have no idea why I would want to.

      I've got a few documents that are nearly 20 years old that I still refer to and have had occasion to edit. They were written in MS Word 5 for Mac. Good thing I long ago converted them to a more portable format.

      --
      -- Alastair
    7. Re:This is crazy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've got a few documents that are nearly 20 years old that I still refer to and have had occasion to edit. They were written in MS Word 5 for Mac. Thats pretty impressive considering Word 5 for the Mac was only released 14 years ago...
    8. Re:This is crazy. by IntlHarvester · · Score: 1

      Word 4/5 used the same format. I still have some 18-19 year old files around too (and they open fine in Office 2003).

      --
      Business. Numbers. Money. People. Computer World.
    9. Re:This is crazy. by Monx · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why in the world would you want your data to expire? If it was worth creating, it should be readable for a long, long time. Imagine if all documents (books, carved tablets, etc.) faded away after 20 years. We'd have no history at all.

      Formats based on open standards guarantee that it is possible to write a reader from the spec no matter how long ago the document was created. I don't think there's a single legitimate argument against this.

    10. Re:This is crazy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What flavour KoolAid are you drinking today?

      Granted the basics will still be the same and have been the same for a long time, and perhaps that's all you mean

      Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what he meant. Why should new features require a new file format, by the way? Have you any idea how SGML type documents (like XML) work?

    11. Re:This is crazy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Office 2007 Service Pack 1 is already out.

    12. Re:This is crazy. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why is nobody willing to admit that if OpenOffice can't open M$ OOXML than that is a fatal flaw in OpenOffice not M$.

      If OpenOffice can't open the latest files from its commercial competitors we can never expect it to catch on.

      Docx, etc is (mostly) XML after all so it should be a lot easier than writing the code to open OOXML than it was to write the code to open .doc and .xls binaries.

    13. Re:This is crazy. by Columcille · · Score: 1

      I guarantee you it will be easy to open OOXML files in 20 years. They will not "expire".

      --
      I love my sig.
    14. Re:This is crazy. by malevolentjelly · · Score: 1

      They're already pretty close to supporting OOXML in openoffice, aren't they? I mean, so what if it doesn't belong to Sun, it belongs to another West Coast US company...

      I think the problem is that OOXML is too hard for part time open source developers. I am sure some professionals at Sun will implement it for you, no worries. I doubt Corel is going to have any trouble with it, either.

      This slashdot post is so alarmist it's borderline hilarious. Will my data vanish into hell if I use OOXML? Or will I have to open it in *gasp* a filter?

  37. Call me crazy, but... by ContractualObligatio · · Score: 1

    At this point nobody has the vaguest idea what OOXML will look like in February,

    I'm guessing it's gonna look pretty similar to the current version. What does the guy expect, a complete re-write from a company that isn't known for making concessions and has the market share to mostly get their way?

    No matter how many and how significant the changes made to OOXML as M$ forces it through the standards bodies, the situation then will be no different than now - OOXML is not yet supported by many applications, not many people are using it just yet, anyone on MS Office will be able to open it, there will be a spattering of converters out there for those that can be bothered to get hold of it.

    To use the phrase "the riskiest thing you can do" (highlighted in bold in the centre of the page, no less) in reference to a format that - no matter how proprietary - consists of XML files and a zip container is basically just pathetic. Having no patience for FUD, I wonder if Sutor realises that posts like this simply inspire the hope (against my better instincts) that M$ get their way soon so I can stop reading pathetic whiney shite like this.

    1. Re:Call me crazy, but... by Osrin · · Score: 1

      He doesn't expect it... look up the deffinition of FUD on Wikipedia, Gene Amdahl defined the term to describe IBMs marketing techniques. Bob is just doing all he can to try and muddy the waters.

  38. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by EggyToast · · Score: 1

    This who debate is like the those stupid outlook emails with .dat attachments, because the sender is using outlook rich text format instead of plaintext or html.

    Not to mention those users that are on networks that simply strip attachments (under the guise of "any files you work with should be accessed via a backed-up server, not email," which is worthwhile) or using crappy netware Groupwise (which doesn't support .dat, as far as I know -- and if it did, IT would never install it anyway!).

    It's incredible how many people don't realize that just because you're using fancy markup, everyone else will see it the same way. They probably think all those unformatted emails they get are from "boring people" who don't "understand the web."

  39. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by paul.schulz · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just received a Resume for a C Developer position, in docx format. Pity we can't open it.

    The advertisement also specifically said that job applicants will only be contacted if they make the short list

  40. Re:N*** still a bad idea by pembo13 · · Score: 1

    why? seriously?

    --
    "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
  41. There's an error in the article. by CSMatt · · Score: 1

    I would even go so far as to go back to those few OOXML files you have already created and create .odt, .odp, and .ods versions of them for future use, if you want to make sure you can read them and you don't want to commit yourself to Microsoft's products for the rest of their lives. Fixed.
  42. Re:N*** still a bad idea by kjkeefe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I can't tell you how many times I've replied and as I clicked submit I realized that I didn't change the subject... Now I have this stupid subject in my posting history from no until eternity... Great...

    --
    1, 2, 3, 4, 5... That's the combination on my luggage!
  43. Re:I'm STILL not too worried by Darius_Acriter · · Score: 1

    That's fine for your documents that you are using currently. But extrapolate this for a large company with thousands-millions of documents and the scale of the problem become apparent. Or consider the disks that I have in my small office with Multi-mate spreadsheets or even 1-2-3. Sure *I* can open them if I try hard enough, but what about everyone else in my office? Think bigger. Document-format-lock-in is a really anti-competitive practice that needs to go away.

  44. Re:N*** still a bad idea by Stanistani · · Score: 1

    These are only my personal preferences, but I'll try to justify them:

    1. Leaving the offensive word in the subject further publicizes the troll's message.
    2. The word in and of itself is upsetting to many people.

    I am not generally a 'PC' person, but I feel it's a good idea to obscure the offensive word in the subject, especially since [i]the poster them self was offended by the troll.[/i]

    Of course, opinions differ on most anything.

  45. Re:N*** still a bad idea by Stanistani · · Score: 1

    Eh. We all make mistakes. Look at my italic tags above, which don't work on this forum. I need to use 'preview' each time.

    Perhaps our foibles may enrich others.

  46. Worst case goes like this by rewt66 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You save something in OOXML today. The standard gets re-written in February. Now Microsoft has a problem. Everybody running Office 2007 is saving in a non-standard-conformant format. What to do?

    Windows Update to the rescue! So MS pushes out an update that patches Office. Now it saves in the real format, the one that came out of the February meeting...

    But now nobody's saved stuff can be read back in.

    But hey, that's all just hypothetical. Microsoft wouldn't be that stupid...

    Would they?

  47. Office 2007 default switcher app? by Rob+Y. · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Somebody - that people would trust to not be sending around viruses (Sun?, Google?) - ought to write a tiny downloadable app that will change your default format in Office 2007 back to .doc. Seriously, this .docx default is causing a lot of people problems, and not just ODF fans. You'd be surprised how many people can't figure out how to change the default. And without MS0 2007 as a reference, I can't walk some of the more literal users that end up asking through finding it in the entirely new menu system I've never seen (click File, click Print,... where's File?).

    A nice little web link on google.com ("Are your friends complaining about not being able to open your Word 2007 documents? Fix it here") would do the trick.

    --
    Posted from my Android phone. Oh, I can change this? There, that's better...
    1. Re:Office 2007 default switcher app? by digitig · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A nice little web link on google.com ("Are your friends complaining about not being able to open your Word 2007 documents? Fix it here") would do the trick.

      That could just link to OOo -- tell them to use that, instead :-)

      Yes, I know it's not a complete substitute -- I have to use MS Office because my customers require me to use forms with macros that OOo won't handle (they pay the piper, they call the tune) -- but it would be fine for most users.

      Oh, and of course, you'd still have to deal with the wrong default format. Drat, it was looking so promising...

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
    2. Re:Office 2007 default switcher app? by ardin,mcallister · · Score: 1

      a simple google pulls up a site that will convert docx to doc. i've had to use it.

      Google DOCX to DOC

      --
      "Some men just want to watch the world burn..."
  48. Re: The video's already on Youtube by hullabalucination · · Score: 1

    What would you do if a terrorist bombed Microsoft headquarters tomorrow?

    Proclaim loudly to anyone who would listen that the Bush Administration knew the attack was coming for at least a year in advance; produce some documents of questionable authenticity purporting to be a communication between CIA Director Hayden and the White House discussing an "Operation Chairtoss;" speculate wildly on the identity of the individual mentioned in said document and referred to only by the mysterious handle "12th Monkey Boy;" then begin a 16-city book signing tour as sales of my expose reached #4 on the 'New York Times' best-seller list.

    * * * * *

    The preceding poster is a wholly owned subsidiary of the the Mitsubishi Corporation and his post may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the consent of Major League Baseball.

  49. Re:Niggers still a bad idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Seriously, can't we block these IP's already? I mean this is happening in ever story...


    Naggers are a bad idea?
  50. Re:Trolls still a bad idea by BeanThere · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately IP-based blocking is *hopelessly* flawed for many reasons (dynamic IPs, transparent proxies etc.) ... in some cases significant percentages of entire countries are routed through clusters of transparent proxies (and the headers behind that to determine 'actual' IP are not necessarily reliable, plus could contain private IPs etc.). There seems to be little one can really do about this kind of thing, short of modding the trolls down as quickly as possible into oblivion, and giving them as little attention as possible.

  51. it was ECMA, not IEEE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The *only* reason Microsoft purchased... I mean, went through the IEEE standardization process was to fast-track to ISO.


    It was ECMA they went through, not IEEE.

    (I am an IEEE member.)
  52. keeping records: audits, lawyers, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know that 5, 10, 20 years from now I would still be able to open the files, though I have no idea why I would want to.


    Depending on your jurisdiction, you can be audited up to seven years after you file your finances. Teachers (where I live) also have to keep paper work for several years in case there's an issue with students' records (e.g., you had a grade nine student, and four years later, when they apply to college, there's a mix up). Of course there are lawyers, where if they appeal, things can drag on for years.

    On a corporate level, insurance companies have to keep records for a long time as well.

    It all depends on your situation, but it isn't hard to imagine why this could be important for many people, if it's not you personally (but maybe a family member).

  53. No worries by PPH · · Score: 1
    We can always save in older Office formats.

    What?!! Not supported anymore, you say?

    Oh crap!

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  54. Re:Niggers still a bad idea by KiloByte · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The word in and of itself is upsetting to many people. And that's a problem with the people, not the word.
    Since we're not going to run out of idiots anytime soon, they will use the word just because it is perceived as offensive. The only solution is to stop being offended by it.

    The only way you can be offended by somebody (you or not) being called a nigger is if you yourself think that being a nigger is bad. Once you realize this, it's not an insult anymore. Heck, it's often used as a term of pride (that's bad too).
    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  55. ISO DIS 29500 == RTF v2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    At best ISO DIS 29500 will become the new RTF.
    It will never be the native format for MS Office.

    It will provide a "standard" format that MS can export to without having to bow to ODF.
    It provides two large advantages for MS over ODF.
    1. It will be a standard that MS can control and manipulate without asking.
      They will never have to comply with it. It will change to comply with them.
    2. Nobody will ever use it--just like RTF today. Outside a few niches, it will not be used.
      Even if other vendors implement it, it will not threaten the Office lock-in.
  56. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by KiloByte · · Score: 1

    Just respond with a document with content-type: application/x-troff.

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  57. Word 97 .doc format lives forever by Glasswire · · Score: 1

    ...the safest option. :-)

    1. Re:Word 97 .doc format lives forever by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

      Nope. Word 2005 Sp3 disables the ability to import Word97 files. One would be tempted to think it will detect the fingerprints of OpenOffice as the author and then refuse to import it.

      --
      sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  58. Re:I'm STILL not too worried by Duke+Blazingstix · · Score: 1

    You mean the kind of large company that would standardize on the software they write and read said documents in?

    Or the kind of small company who has *always* had to support multiple document formats (internally and externally) because they couldn't/wouldn't standardize on software?

    And if there comes a time where you need to re-save all these "dead" MS-OOXML in a living format, then it's as simple as hiring an intern for 10 minutes to write a vb program that will batch convert them all. Is ALL big enough for you?

    We're always going to have "Document-Lock-In" to some degree. No matter how much you try, or how clever you're being, you cannot anticipate every possible future document feature one group or another will want to implement in their programs... it's just like project forking: the whole basis of Open Source. One company gets an idea on how to make the document format better, or how to implement a new feature they thought of, so they create their own verison of OOXML document, which now becomes incompatible with previous versions of that document. Future-proofing a file-format is an uphill battle.

    The point is that we're not any worse off now with Word '07 .docx files, than we were with Word 97 .doc, and we may just be better off. Calling it Dead is a might bit premature.

    Just on the surface of things:
    * A .doc extension could be from any bloody program, in any bloody format; .docx only has the one.
    * Any other program that currently supports the Word'97 format has has to reverse engineer it; even with half-assed standards documentation, that's a good deal half ass more than we had with Word'97.

  59. OOXML by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    God damn, do you people ever stop bitching? A few points:

    Microsoft Office was around long before OpenOffice, so if there is any confusion with multiple format names, OpenOffice should be the one to change. Face it, OpenOffice was an attempt to create a Microsoft Office workalike, and it chose a conflicting name on purpose. So, no MS-OOXML. How about OOo-OOXML? See, you think it's a stupid idea too.

    Microsoft WILL USE OOXML no matter what you do, and people WILL CONTINUE to use Microsoft Office. Nobody cares about the file format that their office app saves stuff in except the Slashdot Crowd. Go to a regular office that does non technical stuff, and measure the give-a-damn levels in the air. Negligible. So, would you rather have Microsoft use the ISO OOXML well-documented format, or the MS proprietary OOXML format? They're exactly the same, by the way. MS is simply giving you a chance to decide what level of documentation you want.

    People WILL CONTINUE to use MS Office because it is familiar to them, and because large corporations have a tendency to trust other large corporations. I can't stand the way you people try to sell your product, by the way. Please stop bitching about Microsoft and promote the virtues of your own stuff instead. Think of it this way: If I am BigCorp, and the first thing you do in your sales pitch to convince me to use OOo is to launch an attack on Microsoft, who provides the software for all my computers, and who I implicitly trust, I'm not going to listen to your argument at all now. You've just turned me away with your own abrasiveness.

    It's called Monroe's Motivated Sequence, and it SELLS. Because face it, you all lament SO HARD about your technically superior product being shot down by a sales pitch, but you NEVER LEARN that being better is never good enough - you have to SELL IT. You have no concept of your target audience - they don't think like you do, but you assume that they do. And that is your downfall.

    1. Re:OOXML by J_Doh! · · Score: 1

      'Nobody cares about the file format that their office app saves stuff in except the Slashdot Crowd. ' Wrong. People working in industries that have to conform to Records Management Acts, Privacy acts ... 'Insert Legislation name here' have to be concerned with file formats and the ability to retrieve and read in the future. You Sir 'Anonymous Coward' are a Troll and should bugger off. MS-OOXML is a bad idea. Get it....!!

      --
      To secure peace is to prepare for war ...
  60. Re:Niggers still a bad idea by pembo13 · · Score: 1

    well said my friend. beat me to it.

    --
    "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
  61. Re:N*** still a bad idea by pembo13 · · Score: 1

    word of advice: save your offense for words directed at you at the very least

    --
    "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
  62. Who Cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who cares what some kind of communist scum ball in Geneva thinks. Don't you open source weirdos get it? The rest of us will use MS Office, and the smart among us will give you the thumb along the way.

  63. What's actually wrong with OOXML? by LostMyBeaver · · Score: 1

    Ok, I've read at a list a bit of the OOXML spec. I have also read the ODF spec. What I have to say is that, while OOXML appears to "over-represent" the objects by saying in 50 words what ODF can say in 30, the spec itself appears to be sufficient enough.

    The only problem I see with OOXML is that Microsoft, instead of just implementing the standard in Word 2007, should also produce filters for Word 2003, Abiword, and KWord.

    What I also find more than a little disconcerting is, noone from the open source community appears to have bothered to suggest the most obvious solution to many of these file format problems. If applications can support ODF, and the same applications can support ODF metadata, and there is an ODF import/export filter for Word, then wouldn't it make sense to abstract the document creating interfaces used by the ODF importers on all these platforms to make it possible to write a single API across all word processors?

    I mean seriously... I can't for the life of me imagine how, if all the word processors actually support a single standard format (ODF), then a document loading API couldn't be made and wrapped for each application. The best part of this solution is that it would allow other application developers to be able to read all the files as part of their application without actually having to install a word processor to do it.

  64. Re:Niggers still a bad idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slavery: Worst Idea Ever! Don't you mean "Slavery: Best Idea Ever!"?

    Or, "Niggers: They Cause Cancer."
  65. Re:Fuck Niggers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck fucking niggers with cunts.

  66. Those devs are better off doing something else... by botik32 · · Score: 1

    But even if it does get accepted as a standard then I bet the free (at least as in beer, hopefully as in speech) tools would be along smartish.

    I would rather the developers of those tools spend their time writing their own stuff, pushing forward their interesting ideas, instead of spending all that effort making the world interoperable with Microsoft.

    Microsoft has been good at forcing this catch-up game for years. It does not have to be this way anymore.

  67. Re:Which app will be around longer? by Monx · · Score: 1

    For which app do we have thousands of copies of the source code stored around the globe?

    If you have the source, you can get it to work again in the future. If you don't then there's no guarantee that the app will exist, no matter how popular it is today. Source availability is a much better indicator for longevity than current popularity is. Nobody can take ooo away. Microsoft can take Word away whenever they want (or if they go out of business).

  68. MOOX! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    MOOX is so much better... short, to the point, pronounceable, and fits in with Microsoft's new line of four letter acronyms (e.g. SCCM).

    Can you justify Microsoft and XML each having more than one letter?

  69. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by mahlerfan999 · · Score: 1

    It's a bad idea anyway, regardless of your future data needs. I've already received a handful of .docx files in my job and have had to email the person back, asking them to save as an alternate format. And inevitably the response is "Oh right, I always forget that not everyone can open these files." Microsoft's done a crappy job introducing a crappy format, and only people on the latest office (or the ability to install the Windows-oriented Windows-installer for old Office for Windows) can even work with the files. Not only that but the odd compatibility problems with the older format are inexcusable. I have many documents in the old format with blacked out images just because '07 doesn't know how to handle them.

    And since most can't handle the new crappy format, I just save everything I'm going to email or post on the web as pdf, that way no matter what people are using they should be able to read it. It's funny that I have far fewer compatibility issues with open office, which is FREE, unlike the expensive office suite that can't open files from it's predecessor correctly.
  70. Re:Which app will be around longer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you have the source, you can get it to work again in the future.


    So you guys are... what? Praying that every single copy of Microsoft Office disappears from around the globe? Is THAT your plan for "beating" Microsoft?

    Look here, numb nuts. If, at some point in time, my company can't open old Word formats... we will just have an older version of Word installed somewhere. Problem solved! Heck, we STILL run WordPerfect! Those documents don't work well with anything either... but OH WOW!!! Somehow, we found a way to still use them!!! And better yet, we don't even need to dick around in any FOSSie's buggy crap of a joke source code.

    This whole "issue" is really something some idiot FOSSie thought would be a good way to attack Microsoft. You guys don't really understand IT, because if you did, you would know what a non-issue all this is. IT staff have been dealing with this "problem" for decades, and certainly longer than your pimply, angsty ass has been alive.

    Face facts, kid: nobody wants FOSS. Nobody prefers the crapplications you guys churn out. And nobody cares about your "cause". MS makes products which Just Work, and more than 99.9% of consumers will never have a reason to give two turds about having access to source code.

    If you care about whether you can see the source code of your application or not, that's more than half your problem right there.

    Personally, I'd rather hitch my company to a software vendor which will not only still be around in 30 years, but actually cares about implementing improvements it's customers are looking for. As opposed to some idiotic FOSS class project built on the back of a movement which is too busy being it's own worst enemy than to actually see what consumers want.

    My money is on OpenOffice.org closing up shop within the next ten years. When that happens, it's going to be a good laugh seeing all the idiots who hitched their cart to them start scrambling for a replacement.
  71. Motivation... by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 1

    I know microsoft is teh devil.

    But from a pragmatic point of view I don't think that the OSS community can ignore .swx. Also a lost format that didn't open in any programs outside of OpenOffice (and one other document application that I can't remember right now).

    Now Microsoft could have supported it, there could be a plugin for support (as there can be with .docx though with imperfect results). From a pragmatists perspective sometimes formats fail, it looks like .docx will be one of them...

    Now I like open source, but that perspective has always been a product of its superior interoperability and user moddability. Both of these are lacking only slightly (think .pdf not ntfs). In this case its really a question of ideology, so let's not go insane about technical problems that were present in an OSS product as well, we're bigger than that.

  72. Re:Future compatibility? What about now? by jayp00001 · · Score: 1

    Yes you should purchase windows to use windows...