The Silver Lining in OOXML Approval

“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)…”

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