Bait and Switch
,----[ Quote
| So what Ecma is offering SC34 is nothing close to what was promised. Ecma is
| really seeking to transfer to SC34 the responsibility of spending the next 3
| years fixing errors in OOXML 1.0, while future versions of OOXML ("technical
| revisions") are controlled by Microsoft, in Ecma, in a process without
| transparency, and as should now be obvious to all, without sufficient quality
| controls.
`----
http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-32595/bait-and-switch
New proposed dispositions extend progress in addressing all National Body
comments, seek to document and resolve legacy issues – Nearly 2/3 of comments
now reviewed
,----[ Quote ]
| b) Leap year calculation
|
| ECMA-376, the original Open XML standard adopted by Ecma, treats 1900 as a
| leap year in order to maintain compatibility with earlier spreadsheet
| applications that included this error. This is an important compatibility
| consideration, but based on the comments received by many National Bodies on
| this issue, Ecma acknowledges that the date system should be correct. The
| newly defined date system described in the previous item treats 1900
| correctly. The leap-year bug will be deprecated, as described in the next
| item.
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
`----
http://www.ecma-international.org/news/TC45_current_work/New%20proposed%20dispositions%20extend%20progress%20in%20addressing%20all%20National%20Body%20comments.htm
They try to hide the bugs.
Related:
Microsoft moves the hot potatoes in a 'deprecated' basket
,----[ Quote ]
| Moving the hot potato in an 'optional' annex is not a solution. The solution
| is to remove those horrors out of the standard, not to sideline with a
| solution that please the vendor.
|
| [...]
|
| Where is Terminator to wipe out this deprecated stuff out of the ISO planet?
`----
http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-32339/microsoft-moves-the-hot-potatoes-in-a-deprecated-basket
Bait and Switch
,----[ Quote ]
| Promises have been made. Assurances have been given. Commitments have been
| proffered. But far less has been delivered.
|
| [...]
|
| So what Ecma is offering SC34 is nothing close to what was promised. Ecma is
| really seeking to transfer to SC34 the responsibility of spending the next 5
| years fixing errors in OOXML 1.0, while future versions of OOXML ("technical
| revisions") are controlled by Microsoft, in Ecma, in a process without
| transparency, and as should now be obvious to all, without sufficient quality
| controls.
`----
http://www.robweir.com/blog/2007/12/bait-and-switch.html
Microsoft won't commit to the open document standard it's pushing so hard
,----[ Quote ]
| Now consider this from Brian Jones, a Microsoft manager who has worked on
| OOXML for six years. In July, Jones was asked on his blog whether Microsoft
| would actually commit to conform to an officially standardised OOXML. His
| response:
|
| ?It?s hard for Microsoft to commit to what comes out of Ecma [the European
| standards group that has already OK?d OOXML] in the coming years, because we
| don?t know what direction they will take the formats. We?ll of course stay
| active and propose changes based on where we want to go with Office 14. At
| the end of the day, though, the other Ecma members could decide to take the
| spec in a completely different direction. ... Since it?s not guaranteed, it
| would be hard for us to make any sort of official statement.?
|
| Now that?s cynical. After all this work to make OOXML a formal, independent
| standard ? a standard created and promoted by Microsoft, remember ? Microsoft
| won?t agree to follow it.
`----
http://www.techworld.com/storage/features/index.cfm?featureid=3685&pagtype=all
Evidence of Microsoft Influencing OOXML Votes in Nordic States
,----[ Quote ]
| "This is how a standard is bought," Bosson wrote later. "I left the meeting
| in protest - pissed off."
`----
http://www.betanews.com/article/Evidence_of_Microsoft_Influencing_OOXML_Votes_in_Nordic_States/1188335569
Microsoft Memo to Partners in Sweden Surfaces: Vote Yes for OOXML - Updated
,----[ Quote ]
| He acknowledges that the rules might need to be changed.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070829070630660
The OOXML Problem
,----[ Quote ]
| Another thing, by introducing a "new fancy" document format, MS can hold a
| tighter grip round existing customers and get more on the false pretence that
| they've "opened up".
`----
http://phun-ky.net/2007/08/the-ooxml-problem
Rejecting OOXML
,----[ Quote ]
| All the CIOs say they want is XML documents; unfortunately they aren't as
| aware as Georg Greve, above, that Microsoft's implementation of XML is
| exceedingly half-hearted.
`----
http://fussnotes.typepad.com/plexnex/2007/08/rejecting-ooxml.html
Interesting headline regarding XPS
,----[ Quote ]
| This is a pessimistic view, of course, but I would love to be proven
| wrong. That means a fully transparent process where all minutes and
| group emails are public. This means a full and open plan for the
| active maintenance of the standard. This means a full description
| of how the intellectual property will be be handled for everything
| necessary to implement the specification. This means a complete
| implementation for every platform, including Linux and the Mac.
|
| That is, the opposite of OOXML.
`----
http://www.sutor.com/newsite/blog-open/?p=1707
|
|
