Microsoft has hit back at critics, including IBM, which voted against approving the company's Office OpenXML format as an Ecma standard, claiming it is nothing more than a vendor-dictated specification that documents proprietary products via XML. Ecma International announced the approval of the new standard Dec. 6 following a meeting of its general assembly and said it will begin the fast track process for adoption of the Office OpenXML formats as an ISO international standard in January 2007.
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Member since:2005-07-06
Corel, Novell, Apple, and Microsoft are making apps that support OpenXML on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Are they implementing ActiveX and the OLE specifics that Microsoft have opened that will be embedded in Microsoft OpenXML documents? Additionally, will Microsoft being opening their rights management extensions as well?
You can do the exact same thing with OpenXML.
Yay. Microsoft have developed a compression format marked up in XML. Good for them.
Tell me. When I uncompress that file will I be able to open the resulting binary files from Microsoft Office in Open Office on a non-Windows platform or Pages on a Mac?
It's ODF that's being extended not OpenXML.
Alas, any extensions that Open Office has created are all open sourced, and by definition, can be included in the standard without any intervention or opening from anyone. Nothing in Windows or Office is.
OpenXML also supports more features (since it supports the MS Office features that OpenOffice lacks)
And those Microsoft Office features are closed, yes. Anything else you want to add?
There's really no reason to choose ODF over OpenXML (beyond fanboy politics).
Says the company who wants to protect its monopoly on Office suites, which has been enforced by closed file formats :-).
ODF advocate IBM voted against the OpenXML standard, but came away looking isolated and foolish
When Microsoft Office users start sending OpenXML documents embedded with ActiveX components wrapped in rights management protection that Novell's Open Office users and Apple's Pages users can't open, and Microsoft shrugs its shoulders and tells everyone that's what customers have chosen, guess who's going to look foolish?
The people defending Microsoft here look like the usual astroturfer characters and the laughable buffoons there have always been. Seriously, what banana boat do you and Microsoft think everyone has got off?
Edited 2006-12-09 00:00
Member since:2005-07-06
Tell me. When I uncompress that file will I be able to open the resulting binary files from Microsoft Office in Open Office on a non-Windows platform or Pages on a Mac?
As much as you would with an OpenOffice.org file that embedded a RealAudio file. This has nothing to do with OOXML or ODF.
"OpenXML also supports more features"
And those Microsoft Office features are closed, yes.
They're entirely open and documented in the specification. Jeez, do you actually read the specs or just see the name "Microsoft" and fly off your handle?
Member since:2006-10-08
"Corel, Novell, Apple, and Microsoft are making apps that support OpenXML on Windows, Linux, and Mac."
Wow, cool! Where can I download the source code? And what about Solaris, NetBSD, IRIX? (Personally, I don't like the idea of being tied to several OSes or program vendors).
Why reinvent something (ODF/XML) to have something similar with less advantages especially such as interoperability and program independance? If OpenXML is published as an open source project, it could really get very useful.
"OpenOffice has already extended ODF for its own purposes, to fill in the gaps that are present in the ODF spec (e.g. ODF lacks a standard way to store spreadsheet formulas). It's ODF that's being extended not OpenXML."
The extensions are well documented and viewable for everyone, so for developers and for (experienced) users.
"OpenXML also supports more features (since it supports the MS Office features that OpenOffice lacks), its file sizes are smaller and the files load faster (up to 10x faster for spreadsheets). There's really no reason to choose ODF over OpenXML (beyond fanboy politics)."
You're right. A good compression (such as provided by bzip2) are very useful. But I could imagine tons of features that OpemXML (and ODF) won't serve, e. g. reading a Geoworks Ensemble GeoPaint document. :-)
Member since:2005-07-06
Wow, cool! Where can I download the source code?... If OpenXML is published as an open source project, it could really get very useful.
OpenXML is a format, not a program. There's no "source code".
You can't download the "source code" for ODF or RTF or HTML or whatever else. The concept doesn't even make sense.
Member since:2005-07-06
ODF advocate IBM voted against the OpenXML standard, but came away looking isolated and foolish, as the vote went 20 to 1 against them. IBM is going around the world lobbying government entities to mandate exclusive use of ODF. They're afraid to compete on the merits.
You cannot say IBM looks foolish because these votes were expected anyway.
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20061...
[...]in that everyone knew that Ecma was going to approve OOXML. After you write up a working group charter that says, and I quote, "The goal of the Technical Committee is to produce a formal standard for office productivity applications within the Ecma International standards process which is fully compatible with the Office Open XML Formats," you haven't left much up in doubt.[...]
What it really means is for PR purpose Microsoft will be able to state that "OpenXML is international standard format".
The real test is on this quote:
What happens next is that Ecma will submit OOXML to JTC1 for a long and much more complex approval process that will take from nine months to a year (at least)
Edited 2006-12-09 02:55
Member since:2006-11-22
really youre a fool, were not afraid to compete on merit, but when was the last time MS showed merit, usually they just subvert governments, and use strongarm tactics to bully competition. this what its about, MS has screwed everyone in the industry, and IBM is still wary of their cowardice. IBM was overpowered this time yes, but soon you right winged drongo's will be shown up
Member since:2005-07-06
really youre a fool, were not afraid to compete on merit, but when was the last time MS showed merit, usually they just subvert governments, and use strongarm tactics to bully competition.
That's funny as this is what IBM is doing to try and con governments into exclusive adoption of ODF. It's a good thing it isn't working.
Member since:2005-10-02
Member since:
2006-07-04
"Regardless of the used operating system or support programs."
Corel, Novell, Apple, and Microsoft are making apps that support OpenXML on Windows, Linux, and Mac.
"You even don't need the creation program or a specific viewer, because you can simply uncompress the file and read the XML content as plain text. (Remember: Plain text is the best interchange format.)"
You can do the exact same thing with OpenXML.
"This happens as soon as it gets modified, "extended" in terms of MICROS~1 and therefore is incompatible with existing standards; in fact, it isn't an international standard any more."
OpenOffice has already extended ODF for its own purposes, to fill in the gaps that are present in the ODF spec (e.g. ODF lacks a standard way to store spreadsheet formulas). It's ODF that's being extended not OpenXML.
Speaking of the gaps in ODF, there are no less than three OASIS committees trying working on extending the ODF spec to fill in those gaps. OpenXML, on the other hand has no such gaps.
OpenXML also supports more features (since it supports the MS Office features that OpenOffice lacks), its file sizes are smaller and the files load faster (up to 10x faster for spreadsheets). There's really no reason to choose ODF over OpenXML (beyond fanboy politics).
ODF advocate IBM voted against the OpenXML standard, but came away looking isolated and foolish, as the vote went 20 to 1 against them. IBM is going around the world lobbying government entities to mandate exclusive use of ODF. They're afraid to compete on the merits.