Can We Avoid the Great Schism?

"Choice is an important element of free software, so it's perhaps no surprise that even at the level of the desktop environment there is more than one offering. But the main alternatives--KDE and GNOME--represent more than just a way of placing icons on a screen. Nowhere is that more evident than in their respective views on Microsoft's OOXML document standard, which are very far apart--perhaps dangerously so.

"Here's what the KDE side says:

"Recently, the ISO standardisation process of OfficeOpenXML ('OOXML') has gained a lot of public attention. What are the implications of OpenXML as ISO standard next to ODF for Free Software applications...?"

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Related Stories:

• GNOME, OOXML, and Half-Truths Colliding in the Night(Dec 19, 2007)
• Finer Points of OOXML Debate(Dec 13, 2007)
• ODF vs. OOXML: War of the Words Chapter 3(Dec 10, 2007)
• KDE Takes Stand on OOXML; GNOME Dithers(Dec 10, 2007)