[Wylug-discuss] MS Office XML and ISO Standardisation

[Dave Whiteley]

On Wednesday 07 February 2007 13:47, ALLEN, David wrote:
<snip/>
> The key question is "does it matter?". I am as big a fan of Open Office
> as the rest of you and if a standard is developed which allows open
> office to work with office does it matter who publishes it? Or is it
> that the standard does not include all the required info?
>
> The longer this procedure goes on the more chance Microsoft will give up
> and use their closed format which has done them well over many years;
> after all the only company I can see to loose with this (or any) new
> standard is Microsoft!
>
> David
>

I suspect that it does matter.  I suspect that if their own proprietary stuff 
makes it into a standard then they will push those bits into their default 
documents, so as to discomfort others, to make other software "non-compliant" 
with their "compliant" documents - and thus appear broken. 

Or is it possible that I am biased and cynical (again)?

Dave 


-- 

Dave Whiteley
d.l.whiteley at ee.leeds.ac.uk
Phone +44 (0)113 343 2059
Faculty of Engineering
The University of Leeds. Leeds, LS2 9JT,  UK