NoOOXML

Rob Weir is explaining in 10 pages why the proposed OOXML standard should be rejected, and why it conflicts with existing ISO standards. An extract: "OOXML, however, incorporates very little of the consolidated best practices of the industry. Worse, would-be implementors of OOXML are asked to use Microsoft's proprietary, legacy formats, even when relevant and superior W3C standards are at hand."

Mark Shuttleworth of Ubuntu in an interview with ZDNet: "I have no confidence in Microsoft's Open XML specification to deliver a vibrant, competitive and healthy market of multiple implementations. I don't believe that the specifications are good enough, nor that Microsoft will hold itself to the specification when it does not suit the company to do so," Shuttleworth said. OpenDocument Format, or ODF, is better, and Microsoft should improve its support for that standard, he said.

Rumors are being spread that Microsoft is forcing its Gold Partners in Belgium to endorse the specification to become an ISO standard. We just hope that Microsoft will be more intelligent then just asking them to sign the same letters that they sent to the ANSI in the United States... The deadline for submitting comments in Belgium is the 25 June, and there will be a meeting at the IBN on the 29 June.

An extract on the Microsoft spam letter sent to ANSI: "Even though this is a form letter from Microsoft I thought I would add this personal touch. I understand that there is a monetary drive from Microsoft in allowing Open XML to become an ISO standard, but I have to say that if this is not added to the standard that many small businesses may be forced to go back and have many of their web applications retooled to function under the new standards at great expense the them." An impressive list of spam comments asking for supporting OOXML and backward compatibility, claiming also that "Open XML in no way contradicts any other international document standard". No really?

Rick Jelliffe: "I think by now most people are pretty phlegmatic about accepting various assertions about Open XML and ODF on face value. The sky is not falling. The boy is crying wolf. A seive is full of holes no matter how loudly someone shouts that it is a bucket."

Rick Jelliffe says: "Here is a little diagram showing the major modules (namespaces) used in the Ecma 376 Office Open XML schemas. (A member of a nation standards body’s technical committee asked me if I had anything to help his review: the schemas are quite complex, with about 27 namespaces organized into about 86 different schema documents.) Here is the diagram in ISO PDF/A format: Download file (Updated with namespace names and schema modules.)

Onlamp says: "OOXML shows relative weakness in each criteria and offers fundamental flaws that undermine its candidacy as a global standard. OOXML elements require an application to emulate Microsoft Office... OOXML is therefore unlikely to ever be fully implemented by any application other than Microsoft's Office, for which it was created."

Historian as well as any user may be in trouble : following the study below, OOXML does not accept dates before 1900

There are approximately 2300 XML examples in the WordProcessingML section. It's clearly not feasible for the (volunteer) BSI committee to check all of them manually, so I've written some code to automatically extract the examples from the OOXML source, check them for well-formedness, and for validation errors. The results are below. Approximately 300 of the examples are in error - more than 10% !!!

Florida Rep. Ed Homan: "Microsoft sees what's coming. Things like Word and Excel are sort of like a drug now getting ready to go generic."

Can you imagine better way to spend 4 hours of your Friday afternoon time than discussing OOXML problems with non-techies from Microsoft? I can't. Thus I decided to spend this Friday afternoon at Czech standardisation institute, attending the workshop with Microsoft about OOXML specification and its fast-track process.

The workshop at the Czech Institute has been invaded by a lof of well known Microsoft proxies, such as their Gold Partners companies, or the well known Brussels based Microsoft proxy association CompTIA.

The FFII has sent an open letter to all delegations of the International Standardization Organization (ISO) to oppose with contradictions the "fast track" adoption of the Microsoft's 6000-page OOXML specification (ECMA-376) before the deadline of February, 5th. Microsoft's proposal damages the adoption of the existing ISO 26300 standard (OpenDocument) that covers almost the same functionality in just 600 pages.

Jeremy Allison reports on his experiences with MS Office 2007. Quote: "If you use the trial version of Office 2007 for thirty days, all documents you create will be completely unreadable by any other software unless you buy back access to your documents by purchasing the full version of the software. No easy way to get your documents out."