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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics |
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July 18, 2007Microsoft Packs Standards Committee...and still failed to get a vote across that they wanted. This decision was about passing a Microsoft XML document standard, OOXML, on to a more reputable body, ANSI with a recommendation. The OOXML format description is very long, badly designed, and incomplete. Microsoft started to push OOXML as a standard after the state of Massachussetts came close to adopting a non=Microsoft format, the newly-standard ODF, as a format to move to. Reasons for that included because MA and MA citizens reading the formats were paying alot more for the proprietary Office than they would for ODF, supported by the free OpenOffice, and freedom for worry over the MA AG using MS programs to write documents to sue MS with. MA ended up not going for ODF after the man heading that effort conveniently became the target of scurrilous Boston Globe articles and had to resign. A subsequent investigation failed to find any real dirt. The standards committee MS submitted OOXML to is an obscure choice, possibly chosen for smallness and ease of packing. Posted by Jon Kay at July 18, 2007 02:42 AMComments
In the comments to the referenced article, there is the assertion that for the establishment of a US position on an international standards matter to be delegated to a private body, as in this case, is a violation of Federal law. Can any of the legal types here check that out (to be sure I've read it correctly) and comment? Posted by: wj at July 18, 2007 12:06 PM |
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