Microsoft gaming ISO system in Open XML vote bid, say critics
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Normally, the doings of the ISO's Joint Technical Committee 1 are considered boring but important, but the vote over Microsoft's Office Open XML is anything but.
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Speculation mars Burton Group report that suggests Microsoft's OOXML document format is preferable to ODF, says OpenOffice.org.
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Microsoft-endorsed Open XML Translator project releases downloadable ODF converter.
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Only a week remains to collect comments on a plan to adopt Ecma's Open XML standard.
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(InfoWorld) - A technical committee in India unanimously rejected Microsoft's Office Open XML file format as a standard, ahead of aÂ vote on Sept. 2 by the ISO on whether to approve Open XML as an international standard. However, the rejection may be temporary should Microsoft meet some of the objections to Open XML raised by committee members. The technical committee was set up by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), India's national standards body, which is a founder member of International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and represents India at the international standards organization. "There were a large number of technical objections raised about Open XML, and many of which Microsoft was not able to address at this point," said D.B. Phatak, professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai. One of the objections was that Open XML was not fully compatible with OpenDocument Format (ODF), a rival existing ISO standard, he added. IIT Mumbai is a member of the technical committee. The decision not to back Open XML as a standard was taken after a late evening meeting of the technical committee on Thursday in Delhi. Microsoft and Indian outsourcer Infosys Technologies were in favor of the committee voting "yes" but with qualifying comments, according to informed sources. That option wasn't available for voters. Open XML will be again reconsidered for a standard by the technical committee and BIS after Microsoft makes the required changes to the document format, Phatak said. Microsoft said in a statement that it respected the decision taken by the BIS, but it was important to note that all the BIS members unanimously supportÂ  the need for multiple standards. The company will work with the BIS and the committee members on the comments noted during the ballot resolution process, the statement added. Â
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft says it will focus on four key areas to improve interoperability between its own software and other vendors' products. Senior Microsoft representatives met with InfoWorld on Thursday to highlight identity management; Web services and related development; collaboration between information workers and system management comprise the new interoperability focus. "We are really working on new protocols in the WS-* [spoken as Web services star] space that enable interoperability across identity systems," said Jean Paoli, Microsoftâs general manager of interoperability and XML architecture. Lat week, Microsoft vowed to integrate its CardSpace identity management system with the OpenID Web authentication standard. Paoli emphasized the move as evidence of the commitment. WS-* represents a series of Web services-related specifications for standardization in areas such as security and messaging. A lot of the issues Microsoft has in interoperability tend to fall into these four categories, said Tom Robertson, the companyâs general manager of interoperability and standards. "Those are the four areas that we're hearing about now," as needing attention, Paoli said. "It doesn't mean the list is closed." Microsoft's identity management push, however, apparently will not be centered on its previous Passport initiative for Internet security.Â  "I've not been hearing about Passport in so long," Paoli said. Microsoft plans to be creative in addressing interoperability, using a host of tools at its disposal. "It's going to mean making IP available in a range of ways," Robertson said. The company already has dabbled in open source as a way to boost interoperability, offering a bridge between the OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Microsoft's Open XML electronic document formats, said Robertson. Paoli and Robertson listed multiple Microsoft interoperability projects in the past several years, such as its work with Novell on interoperability between Windows and Novell's Suse Linux. The company's interoperability effort with Sun Microsystems also was noted. But they remained upset with IBM for what Microsoft perceives are IBM efforts to block Open XML from becoming approved as a standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The two co-authored an open letter this week entitled "Interoperability, Choice and Open XML," that pointed fingers of blame at IBM. "The open letter is an effort to clearly articulate what Microsoft is trying to do," Robertson said. It is important to shine a light on what IBM is doing to block Open XML and block choice, he added. In response, an IBM representative pointed to the ConsortiumInfo.org Standards Blog, which states there is "significant commercial opposition" to Microsoft's electronic document proposal. Microsoft made a "bad bet " that ODF would fail in the marketplace, the blog stated.
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Ecma standards group considers developing a standard based on XML Paper Specification.
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The open source project to build a translator between Microsoft's new Office Open XML format and OpenDocument, the standard backed by OASIS, reached its first milestone Friday, releasing 1.0 of the technology for both Microsoft Word and competing ODF-compatible office suites.
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(InfoWorld) - Denmark's government agencies will be required to handle two competing document format standards, the Open Document Format (ODF) and Microsoft's Open XML, during a one-year test period that will begin next year. Denmark is requiring both standards for the test period since neither are "fully mature," said Rachid El Mousti, senior adviser for the IT strategy division of Denmark's National IT and Telecom Agency. A third party will evaluate the results of the tests in the first half of 2009, after which the Danish Parliament will conduct a further assessment, the Ministry of Science and Innovation said. The government is also requiring that new products bought by the agencies be able to accommodate at least one of the standards. It is also studying how its agencies exchange documents, including their use of converters to change document formats. Denmark could decide to use one standard, both, or neither of them, depending on market developments, El Mousti said. Government backing for document formats is seen as significant because it could help promote wider use of the standards in the market. If governments mandate the use of ODF, it could help office suites such as OpenOffice.org, which use the standard, to compete more effectively with Microsoft's dominant Office suite. El Mousti said Denmark has felt pressure from supporters of both ODF and Open XML, which was created by Microsoft and is used in Office 2007. Denmark has maintained an open dialog with all vendors, he said. "In order for us to succeed not just with open standards ... we of course need to have the vendors with us," El Mousti said. A Microsoft executive softly chided Denmark's move to mandate standards. "While I still believe that mandated standards are not an optimal solution for interoperability, this is an important step" in recognizing Open XML as a standard, wrote Jason Matusow, Microsoft's director for corporate standards, in a blog posting last week. Denmark does not widely use ODF. Most of its agencies use Microsoft software, and most documents that need to be published are turned into PDFs (portable document format). Microsoft has been strongly encouraging governments and organizations to use Open XML, which was approved as a standard by Ecma, a European standards body, in December. Microsoft argues that Open XML has more features than ODF, but some critics say the specification is overly complex. On Monday, the state ofÂ Massachusetts put Open XML on a list of standardsÂ that could be used for documents in the future, along with ODF. Â
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ODF fans say, 'we're not simple, we're elegant' Microsoft has made technical information for its older binary Office document formats available for download following pressure from participants in the ongoing, somewhat fiery, standardisation debate.â¦
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Microsoft Corp. has won approval for its Offfice Open XML document format from international standards body ECMA International.ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
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Redmond publishes open letter accusing Big Blue of blocking ISO from considering Office Open XML as document standard.
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Responding to requests, Microsoft will sponsor open-source project to build translators between older office formats and Open XML.
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Massachusetts Monday proposed adding Microsoft-developed Open XML to its list of approved open documents formats.
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As the ISO standards battle over Microsoft's Office Open XML document format moves into the final days before a Sept. 2 vote, the company admitted Wednesday that it offered "compensation" to Microsoft partners in Sweden for joining that country's national standards body and voting for OOXML approval.
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Officials in New York are nearing decision-making time about which XML-based office document format, ODF or OOXML, that state will use across the IT systems of its agencies as the debate over a universal file format continues.According to the state&#39;s Web site, the public comment period about whether the state should mandate a document format is scheduled to end Dec. 28. At that point officials will review all comments and decide which course of action to take.In August, the state legislature requested that New York Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office for Technology Melodie Mayberry-Stewart gather information and input from people who would be affected about how the state should approach access, creation and maintenance of electronic documents in a way that achieves, among other things, vendor neutrality and interoperability.A document posted to the state Web site outlines questions users should consider when debating whether ODF or OOXML would be a better fit for New York government agencies. They have until 5 p.m. EST on Dec. 28 to make their comments, which should be sent electronically to the state technology office&#39;s Principal Attorney Darlene Van Sickle via e-mail to erecords-study@oft.state.ny.usIn addition to New York, other states, including Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Texas, have eyed mandating one document file format across their IT systems.The debate over whether ODF (Open Document Format for XML) or OOXML (Open XML) should be the universal file format for office documents apparently will remain heated in 2008 after a stormy year for those on both sides.In September,&#160;the International Organization for Standardization rejected an attempt by Microsoft to use another standards body, Ecma International, to fast-track OOXML through the standards process. Complaints poured in that Microsoft placed people sympathetic to its cause in key voting positions toward the end of the process in an attempt to swing the vote in its favor.The next month, a group designed to promote ODF, the OpenDocument Foundation, withdrew support of ODF in favor of CDF (Compound Document Format). As 2007 closes, companies like IBM, Sun, and Google continue to promote ODF, while Microsoft remains the most visible supporter of OOXML.
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One of the major contributors to the leading open source alternative to the Microsoft Office Suite announced early this morning it will be offering additions to OpenOffice enabling it to support Office 2007's new XML-based Office Open XML format.