After takin' a swig o' grog, bbgruff belched out
this bit o' wisdom:
> "Activists in the Boycott Novell forum have exposed the more than 5,500 page
> document in PDF, HTML, Microsoft spreadsheet, and various other formats on
> their website. Even though OOXML was certified as an ISO standard under
> turbulent and unsteady circumstances, ISO has been keeping the comprehensive
> documentation under wraps"
>
> http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/online/news/ooxml_documentation_iso_concerned
>
> Interesting - threats of copyright abuse, etc. (Not piracy?)
The Boycott Novell activists describe the documentation exposure as a
reaction to the "systematic abuse and the demise of ISO." Alex Brown,
who was partly responsible for the OOXML process at ISO, describes
the exposure in his weblog as a "brazen act of copyright violation."
Brown goes on to say that "the boobies have even been so good as to
boast about the bandwidth requirements their crimes have occasioned"
and ends with the words, "Even now, I can hear those Geneva lawyers
licking their lips over this one..." Boycott Novell webmaster Roy
Schestovitz is not fazed by the possible legalities. He adds, "Feel
free to pass around (or even ridicule) those ~60 megabytes of
lock-in, which Microsoft won't let you see." He is not alone in this
opinion: the numerous ongoing updates are tagged with the
authors' names.
> HOWEVER, let me say that I WAS under the impression that this document is
> supposed to be a STANDARD, and an OPEN standard at that?
> It's name is Office Open XML, I thought?
>
> Can somebody (anybody!) explain to me what the hell is the use of a Standard,
> and particularly an Open one, that I'm not allowed to see????
>
> In short, what the hell is going on here?
Well, one thing is that standards bodies and similar groups (e.g. the
IEEE) tend to charge some cool cash for copies of their documents.
(Certifications are also a nice income for "standards bodies").
Brown goes on to say that "the boobies have even been so good as to
boast about the bandwidth requirements their crimes have occasioned"
Ha, hyperbole worthy of Hadron. But I thought at least some of this
stuff had already been posted publicly. What gives?
--
Are we running light with overbyte?
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