[Nottingham] OOXML and the BSI (fwd)

[Martin]

The saga continues and gets expensive...


The UKUUG's application was rejected on a private reading by the High
Court judge, who, from his judgement, apparently did not read the papers
properly.

UKUUG has appealed and is seeking support, see here:

http://www.ukuug.org/ooxml/


#####
Alain Williams, Chairman of UKUUG, said:

    We are concerned about future generations being able to access today's
    electronic documents. That can only happen with fully disclosed document
    formats. To ensure continued profits, Microsoft prevents effective
    competition in word processors by keeping file formats secret. Adopting
    OOXML would be like setting to sea in a sieve, Lear's Jumblies might
make
    sense of it, but I can't.

and continued:

    all help, small or large, will be gratefully received. Please visit
our web
    site to join UKUUG, email us at chairman at ukuug.org, to donate see:
    http://www.ukuug.org/ooxml/fund/
#####


Looks like the Microsoft Obfuscation Bulldozer is winning the first
rounds...

What I believe that means is that industry and the open source community
are to be forced into a lot of time wasting expensive turgidness to work
through and around a mammoth (deliberately?) broken 'standard'...

Regardless, my guess is that Microsoft will not follow their own
published version of their 'standard' in any case in the name of
self-perpetuating lock-in...


So why is this in any way 'important' other than for concerns of time
wasting?

Microsoft have been required by various governments to follow an open
document standard to break out of the usual proprietary lock-in. I
believe this 'standard' is a rubber-stamp effort to claim working to a
'standard' yet through broken turgidness maintain that proprietary
lock-in still.

And why is that 'important' for people in general?

Well, if you live on some desert island, it isn't important at all.

However, if you take part in society and consumerism and wish to
interact with your government, then such an unwieldy and 'broken'
'standard' makes life a 'little' more expensive in time and costs and
irritation.


What can you do?

Take a look at:
http://www.ukuug.org/ooxml/


It's your choice.

Regards,
Martin


LEGAL DISCLAIMER: All just my own personal opinions and personal
viewpoints as usual! You have your own mind to judge for yourself...

-- 
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Martin Lomas
martin at ml1.co.uk
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