February 7, 2007
Office 2007 standards push on hold for now
Winning recognition for the "Open XML" formats in the new Office 2007 as international standards is a vital step for Microsoft. Without it, governments around the world will be less likely to adopt the new formats (and the Microsoft software in which they are embedded.)
So it is at the least inconvenient for Redmond, and potentially more worrying, that the International Standards Organisation has just added another three months to its review of the matter, following representations from the UK (and possibly other countries.) The ISO already recognises the rival Open Document Format, which has been gaining ground, so matching that is a must for Microsoft. How damaging could this be? Impossible to tell until more details of potential objections become clear, but being forced to return to the drawing board at this stage could cause Microsoft real problems.
Meanwhile, Texas has become the latest US state to join the rush to "open" document formats.
Given that MicroSoft needs the “standard” label to get contracts, but doesn’t actually want interoperability (which would increase competition and drive down prices), it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’re encountering resistance from the standards bodies. I would expect them to create the worst possible standard they can get away with. It’s the rational thing to do, and the people who run Microsoft are very skilled.
Posted by: S. Dolgoff | February 8th, 2007 at 1:39 am | Report this commentMany national bodies have private members including Microsoft employees. I would not be surprised that they remained silent until now, and that an abject lobbying is going to happen from now on, all privately.
Posted by: Stephane Rodriguez | February 12th, 2007 at 6:08 pm | Report this commentThree months will not even begin to be enough time to sort out the numerous problems that have been identified in Microsoft’s Office XML. The biggest two being that it is impossible to find a defining schema or DTD on Microsoft’s own website and that every element seems to have a “We can put proprietary stuff here if we want too” definition. Many of the technical problems are described at http://www.grokdoc.net/index.php/EOOXML_objections In its present form, MS’s Office XML should never be allowed to become an ISO standard.
Posted by: Charles Meier | March 7th, 2007 at 5:48 pm | Report this comment