Backwards compatibility lock-in
,----[ Quote
| Backwards compatibility of formats is a curse. An arcticle of Microsoft
| Internet Explorer Platform architect Chris Wilson provided me with some
| insights how the market locks in developers of the non-conformant practice.
|
| [...]
|
| What does it mean for Office Open XML? No one can make sure that there will
| ever be an implementation of OOXML that conforms to the DIS 29500
| specification. When changes are made to the specification there is still no
| guarantee that they would be applied in actual implementations. This is
| especially of concern for a government user that would decide to adopt a
| technically fully fixed ISO standard.
`----
http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-39330/backwards-compatibility-lock-in
Related:
Opera CTO: 'We're punished' for following Web standards
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp.'s refusal or inability to fully support three Web standards
| has cost Opera Software ASA users, the Norwegian browser maker's chief
| technology officer said today.
`----
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9053122&source=rss_news50
http://tinyurl.com/3xnqn2
Halloween Memo I Confirmed and Microsoft's History on Standards
,----[ Quote ]
| By the way, if you are by any chance trying to figure out Microsoft's policy
| toward standards, particularly in the context of ODF-EOXML, that same
| Microsoft page is revelatory, Microsoft's answer to what the memo meant when
| it said that Microsoft could extend standard protocols so as to deny
| Linux "entry into the market":
|
| Q: The first document talked about extending standard protocols as a way
| to "deny OSS projects entry into the market." What does this mean?
|
| A: To better serve customers, Microsoft needs to innovate above standard
| protocols. By innovating above the base protocol, we are able to deliver
| advanced functionality to users. An example of this is adding
| transactional support for DTC over HTTP. This would be a value-add and
| would in no way break the standard or undermine the concept of standards,
| of which Microsoft is a significant supporter. Yet it would allow us to
| solve a class of problems in value chain integration for our Web-based
| customers that are not solved by any public standard today. Microsoft
| recognizes that customers are not served by implementations that are
| different without adding value; we therefore support standards as the
| foundation on which further innovation can be based.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070127202224445
ECIS Accuses Microsoft of Plotting HTML Hijack
,----[ Quote ]
| An industry coalition that has represented competitors of Microsoft
| in European markets before the European Commission stepped up its
| public relations offensive this morning, this time accusing
| Microsoft of scheming to upset HTML's place in the fabric of
| the Internet with XAML, an XML-based layout lexicon forn
| etwork applications.
`----
http://www.betanews.com/article/ECIS_Accuses_Microsoft_of_Plotting_HTML_Hijack/1169824569
Is Microsoft learning from Web standards mistakes?
,----[ Quote ]
| In a video interview with ZDNet Australia last month, Microsoft blogger and
| group manager of technical community, Frank Arrigo, explained how important
| it is for the Redmond giant to follow Web standards.
|
| "Standards are important," said Arrigo, who admitted that Microsoft had been
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| guilty of ignoring them in the past. "If you look at IE6, we didn't quite
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| follow all the standards but standards are important ... IE7 as an example is
| trying to address that."
`----
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Is-Microsoft-learning-from-Web-standards-mistakes-/0,130061733,339280240,00.htm
,----[ Quote ]
| From: Bill Gates
| Sent: Saturday, December 05, 1998 9:44 AM
| To: Bob Muglia (Exchange); Jon DeVaan; Steven Sinofsky
| Cc: Paul Mariz
| Subject: Office rendering
|
| One thing we have got to change is our strategy -- allowing Office
| documents to be rendered very well by OTHER PEOPLES BROWSERS is one of the
| most destructive things we could do to the company.
|
| We have to stop putting any effort into this and make sure that Office
| documents very well depends on PROPRIETARY IE capabilities.
|
| Anything else is suicide for our platform. This is a case where Office has
| to to destroy Windows.
`----
http://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/2000/PX02991.pdf
|
|
