UK Agency Files OOXML Complaint, EU Demurs

Christopher Blanc writes to let us know that although BECTA, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, has filed a complaint with EU regulators about Microsoft's business practices, the European Commission won't be doing anything particular about it. BECTA claimed that the OOXML format discourages competition. BECTA lodged a similar complaint with the UK Office of Fair Trading last October. A Commission press officer said, "We are already looking into the issues raised in that complaint already and we are not treating it as a formal complaint to us."

Comments

Re:some standards are more equal than others

[genican1]

One doc standard, ODF, is cool; another, OOXML is somehow evil. A truly bizzare thought process. One of them is actually open.

Re:So let me get this right

[WiglyWorm]

One of the biggest problems with this "standard" is that it specifically allows proprietary add-ons. That's no standard at all. Programs like Ooo.org will still not be able to properly open a Office document because A) you can bet your ass that Microsoft Office will be using any number of proprietary add-ons to the format, thereby screwing up Ooo.org's ability to render it correctly. And B), Microsoft will do like what they ddi with the internet and intentionally render it incorrectly. Since they have the lion's share of the market, this "not to standard" rendering will of course be the standard, and competitors will be forced to guess at how microsoft intentionally broke the standard in order to display Microsoft Office generated OOXML files, or just not display them correctly at all.

When Microsoft was doing this with the web, web developers had to create all kidns of hacks to get their page to display properly in IE, often times breaking the page in Mozilla. The non-techie types, of course, don't blame this on IE, they say that it must be Firefox that doesn't work correctly. It will happen exactly the same way with Ooo.org. It won't be Office that's doing it wrong, it will be blamed by the ignorant on Ooo.org.

I've gone on the record supporting Microsoft before, but OOXML is not one of the times I'll be doing that. This whole thing stinks.

Note the wording

[ymenager]

Note that the EC commission said: "We are already looking into the issues raised in that complaint"

Reading between the lines, and doing some extrapolation based on previous event, I am guessing that what is going in the their minds is something like that:

"Microsoft think they are above our laws and disrespect our authority by ignoring our rulings. That complaint is redundant because we are already investigating the OOXML mess, since it's going to be great ammunition when we need to bash them on the head AGAIN for continuing to break the rules"

Re:So let me get this right

[Danse]

The complaint is that the format is a standard in name only (i.e., it is vague and difficult to implement). Actually, it's more than difficult, it's currently impossible for anyone but Microsoft to implement it, and even they can't seem to do it.

Re:some standards are more equal than others

[mrsmiggs]

The actual complaint is not in relation to OOXML but the interoperability of Office 2007 with Open Office et al. BECTA can not recommend Office 2007 because it does not currently support ODF a format widely used by it's cheaper rivals. BECTA's concern here is that they kids (well their parents) on the edge of poverty will have to shell out for Office 2007 and Windows or face being unable to work on their documents at home. If Office 2007 without addons is deployed in a school it is an active barrier to learning and Microsoft should be ashamed for allowing parents to even have to think about the question 'Office 2007 or food?' when they go shopping.

Re:OOXML is sabotaged.

[Darkness404]

Tell me, when has MS ever "opened up" technology except to get people hooked and then change it? Or to destroy a competitor? I can name you many ways in which they did, IE for Unix/Mac which they abandoned as soon as Netscape was dead. On a similar note, ActiveX which in some ways forces people to use Windows and IE because the technology was (incorrectly) added into bank websites and similar. MS never, ever adheres to standards except for a way of making money and as soon as they have enough marketshare they extend and extinguish it.

Re:OOXML is sabotaged.

[tuxgeek]

If ODF had become the accepted standard

I'm sorry, I thought ODF already was an accepted standard. It had passed ISO and became a stable and solid format before it was ever implemented in office applications such as K-Office, OOo and Star Office.

Monkey-Boy-Balmer couldn't stand the thought of an even playing field and interoperability between platforms and just had to muck everything up.

But I believe Microshaft have shot themselves in the foot here, this will become apparent with time, as many members of the EU are calling foul over the ISO approval of OOXML. ODF offers file compatibility year after year whereas OOXML will be changed with every software upgrade and future versions will not be able to open and read older versions, and vise versa.

Re:Pay off.

[flnca]

Just read the last sentence of the article:

"We are already looking into the issues raised in that complaint already..." Microsoft is currently facing another EUR 899 million fine for not following EU antitrust regulations ( BBC article ). Recently, I read an article that mentioned explicitly that OOXML is already being investigated as yet another cause of concern. They're looking into it!