The Final OOXML Update: Part I

Oct 07, 2009, 12:04 (2 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Rob Weir)

"From the beginning of the Fast Track procedure Microsoft encouraged NBs to approve OOXML with the promise that their approval of the specification would guarantee that it would be handed over to the "global community" for maintenance. Vote against the standard — because it was obviously flawed — and you would lose this unique opportunity to transfer control from proprietary interests at Microsoft to the benevolent and international meritocracy of ISO. This was one of the main "selling points" for OOXML and what we Microsoft repeatedly sold.

"For example, here was Jerry Fishenden, Microsoft's National Technology Office in the UK:

"There's an easy question to consider here: would you prefer the Microsoft file formats to continue to be proprietary and under Microsoft's exclusive control? Or would you prefer them to be under the control and maintenance of an independent, open standards organisation? I think for most users, customers and partners that's a pretty easy question to answer: they'd prefer control and maintenance to be independent of Microsoft. And the good news is that the Open XML file formats are already precisely that: currently under the control of Ecma International (as Ecma-376) and, if the current voting process is positive, eventually under the control of ISO/IEC"

Complete Story

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