[A2k] Reuters: Microsoft gets another shot at Open XML standard

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

<SNIP>

Standardisation of Open XML, which is the default file-saving format
in Microsoft Office 2007, would allow other companies to build
products using the file format and simplify file exchange between
different software suites.

Opponents of the proposed ISO/IEC standard DIS 29500 argue there is no
need for a rival to the widely used Open Document Format (ODF) that is
already an international standard.

They say that the Microsoft product's 6,000 pages of code, compared
with ODF's 860 pages, make it artificially complicated and
untranslatable. The productivity software suite OpenOffice uses ODF,
which is supported by International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N:
Quote, Profile, Research). (IBM) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA.O:
Quote, Profile, Research).

"Microsoft could easily provide full support for ODF," said Rishab
Ghosh, senior researcher at the United Nations University in Maastricht.

Ghosh said Microsoft's drive for a competing standard was part of its
broader strategy to encourage consumers to use only Microsoft
products, as has been alleged in anti-trust cases in Europe and
elsewhere.

"Because their software is used by so many people, you don't switch to
anyone else's software because you are worried that your files are
going to be lost," he told Reuters by telephone.

"If you can save by default in ODF using a Microsoft product, that
means your documents will be easily readable by users of a competing
software. And when your documents are easily readable by others, maybe
you can consider switching to a different software," he said.


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http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSL2555696320080225

  By Laura MacInnis

GENEVA, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile,
Research) ramped up its fight to have its Office Open XML document
format made into an international standard on Monday as delegates from
37 countries met to reconsider the proposal.

Their meeting hosted by the International Organisation for
Standardisation (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) in Geneva is meant to help broker consensus after a preliminary
vote on the standard failed six months ago.

There will be no ballot during the week-long talks, but the 87
national standards bodies who previously voted will have until March
29 to adjust their positions, giving the world's largest software
maker another shot at the two-thirds majority it needs for approval.

"The ISO/IEC members who voted on the draft in September will have 30
days to change their votes if they wish," said Roger Frost, a
spokesman for the Geneva-based agency.

Microsoft won only 53 percent support in September.

Standardisation of Open XML, which is the default file-saving format
in Microsoft Office 2007, would allow other companies to build
products using the file format and simplify file exchange between
different software suites.

Opponents of the proposed ISO/IEC standard DIS 29500 argue there is no
need for a rival to the widely used Open Document Format (ODF) that is
already an international standard.

They say that the Microsoft product's 6,000 pages of code, compared
with ODF's 860 pages, make it artificially complicated and
untranslatable. The productivity software suite OpenOffice uses ODF,
which is supported by International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N:
Quote, Profile, Research). (IBM) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA.O:
Quote, Profile, Research).

"Microsoft could easily provide full support for ODF," said Rishab
Ghosh, senior researcher at the United Nations University in Maastricht.

Ghosh said Microsoft's drive for a competing standard was part of its
broader strategy to encourage consumers to use only Microsoft
products, as has been alleged in anti-trust cases in Europe and
elsewhere.

"Because their software is used by so many people, you don't switch to
anyone else's software because you are worried that your files are
going to be lost," he told Reuters by telephone.

"If you can save by default in ODF using a Microsoft product, that
means your documents will be easily readable by users of a competing
software. And when your documents are easily readable by others, maybe
you can consider switching to a different software," he said.

Microsoft says multiple standards are normal in software and other
industries, that competition makes for better products, and that its
format has higher specifications and is more useful than ODF.

The company has collaborated with Novell (NOVL.O: Quote, Profile,
Research) to develop a tool to translate Open XML documents into ODF
and vice versa, though critics believe the tool cannot provide a
complete translation due to the complexity of the Microsoft product.

XML, short for Extensible Markup Language, is a standard for
describing data in a way that allows it to be shared across various
systems and applications. Microsoft has handed over control of Open
XML to the standards-making body Ecma, which would make it available
even in the event of its demise.

Delegates submitted about 4,200 suggested modifications to the
Microsoft documents in the lead-up to last year's ballot. Those have
been whittled down to 1,100 comments for consideration during this
week's meeting, the ISO said. (Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Jason Neely)

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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
thiru@keionline.org


Tel: +41 22 791 6727
Mobile: +41 76 508 0997