"I kept waiting to weigh in on the ISO approval of Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) format, searching for some kind of silver lining for open source. Sure, there are those that say technical and interoperability issues will limit uptake of the standard. But this is Microsoft and Office we're talking about, so it seems clear that there will be some pretty widespread adoption. While Microsoft will likely be penalized to an extent for any perception or reality of gaming the system, this will also be limited largely to its most ardent opponents. So we're still in need of some truly silver-tinted lining.
"Then I saw Paul McDougall's report on the nations that represent emerging markets and how they voted against OOXML approval as an ISO standard. (Fittingly, Gartner's Michael Silver is quoted, so this works as 'silver' lining on a couple of levels)..."
