November 21st, 2005
Office XML as ECMA and ISO Standard?
As announced today, Microsoft plans to submit the Office 12 file formats to the ECMA for standardization, followed by standardization through ISO. I’m gratified, because I predicted Microsoft would be open to the idea in a previous blog post discussing Massachusetts’ decision to standardize on ODF.
According to the aforementioned article, Redmonk’s Stephen O’Grady is skeptical. Quoting the article:
He noted that Microsoft submitted its C# and Common Language Runtime software to ECM, and both are used by the open-source project Mono. But Mono "is eyed warily by Microsoft," he said.
I guess I would call this the "very sneaky" argument. Microsoft is "very sneaky," and somehow will manage to work around the best efforts of the standardization committees in order to hinder interoperability. That, or Microsoft executives have managed to acquire mutant powers like "Cyclops" of X-Men fame, vaporizing everyone upon whom their "wary" eyes may fall. I knew Bill Gates wore glasses for a reason, though they didn’t seem ruby-tinted.
It all makes me wonder whether Microsoft might be damaging the health of its opponents. The more reasons Microsoft removes for the open source world to adopt its technology, the fewer justifications its opponents have for refusing to use it. This leaves them stewing in impotent rage until their heads explode like that scene from the movie "Scanners" (and if you have seen the movie, you know EXACTLY what scene I’m talking about).
John Carroll has delivered his opinion on ZDNet since the last millennium. Since May 2008, he is no longer a Microsoft employee. He is currently working at a unified messaging-related startup. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 11/22/05
