NoOOXML

The new Fraunhofer Fokus lab will validate the ISO/IEC 29500 aka OOXML.

Doug Mahugh of Microsoft is pushing inside the ODF Technical Committee for proprietary extensions, by which the monopolist vendor could embrace and extend the format to "innovate". The extensions possibility is the door open to proprietary closed source parts, that renders the ODF customer a Microsoft slave once again like in the good old times of the .DOC.

Some Open XML based products as Microsoft Excel are affected by a security flaw and the Trojan.Mdropper.AC.

Russia pioneers the concept of a National Operating System. Are National Office suites also an option to sent a clear message to end software extortion and make way for a competitive environment based on true open standards?

Andrew Tridgell is still upset about the Open XML process. In other news we watch the fallout when passionate supporters of open standards in a successful SME get really upset.

Open XML and software patents are concerns where they want to see regulatory action, Gerry Gavigan wrote on behalf of the Open Source Consortium to European Commission interoperability decision makers .

NORMAPME, the association that represents European small and medium sized companies in standard bodies urged CEN members to vote against Open XML.

ECMA has just published two documents related to the patent licensing of ECMA376v1 and ECMA376v2. Microsoft promises to give a patent license under so called "reasonable terms". Reasonable for whom?

It is time for caramels again. Microsoft released three interoperability solutions.

Buy the OpenXML specification now at the ISO store! Only 280USD or 342 Swiss francs. By the way, do you know is when the official burial date of ISO?

The Dutch standard researcher asks: "Who pays for interoperability in public IT procurement?". Our site reproduces her letter sent by email to standard professionals.

A while ago, I was riding my mountain bike under the deluge, with plenty of mud in the eyes, I was unable to ride correctly, it was dangerous. Now it seems that Alex Brown has also some mud in the eyes.

Microsoft finds the Open Specification Promise (OSP) "provides the assurance that Microsoft will not assert its Necessary Claims against anyone who make, use, sell, offer for sale, import, or distribute any Covered Implementation under any type of development or distribution model, including the GPL."

Standards Australia has cast a vote to abstain from the ISO/IEC JTC1 ballot to adopt the DIS 29500 Office Open XML format draft standard as an International Standard. The decision to cast an abstain vote from the current ballot follows months of consultation and a clear lack of consensus in Australia on this issue by stakeholders.

BoycottNovell has a right vision of the Microsoft ecosystem.

The company from Redmond has heavily invested in the ISO SC34 committee. Thanks to a blogger who managed to shed some light on what was going on inside SC34, we hear now that Microsoft Korea was paying for dinner. I hope the meal was good.

BoycottNovell has published a copy of the final OOXML specification! It seems that ISO does not want the public to review the broken specification before it is released. One country should just continue to appeal, and submit another complain, using the date of distribution of the specification as the basis for a 2 months appeal. Appeals are not finished.

Alex Brown mentions copyright violation for the leak of the draft specification. He is calling on ISO lawyers to pursue the infringers. Some countries should move and draft a resolution to respect ISO's copyright, and defend the business model of Standard Bodies.

Microsoft recycles its lobby platform "Voices for Innovation" to lobby against Open Source software in the European Parliament systems. Over the past few weeks radical elements in the open source community have intensified their efforts in the European Parliament.

13 members of the TC in Norway has left their Standards Body in protest. They say that the Standards Body has lost its credibility in the IT area. Remember that Standards Norway was voting Yes with the support of only 2 companies (Microsoft and Statoil), and against the will of the rest of the technical committee.