Open XML links for 10-17-2007

I'm pretty knee deep in work for the next version of Office, as well as the ISO comments on OpenXML, so my blogging over the next few weeks will be pretty limited. I did want to point out a couple links I came across recently though:

Mac OS X Leopard

supports multiple file format standards

"Mac OS X is now a fully certified UNIX operating system, conforming to both the Single UNIX Specification (SUSv3) and POSIX 1003.1. Deploy Leopard in environments that demand full UNIX conformance and enjoy expanded support for open standards popular in the UNIX community such as the OASIS Open Document Format (ODF) or ECMA's Office XML."

The X Factor

"In IT you had the data inside the SQL database and then you had all the other trash that was locked up inside of Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. All the data inside databases and that data inside documents is now going to be accessible to the organization," Falk says. "That's a quantum shift."

What Domino Effect?

Mathers recalled when Melanie Wyne, executive director of the Initiative for Software Choice, visited him in committee offices to lobby against ODF and informed him that to the best of her knowledge, only 27 computers in Massachusetts use applications that create files in ODF.

"She got up and she testified to that," Mathers said. "This is where the ODF people I think, unfortunately, get a black eye. If you watch the public hearing, you can see me walk off the stand a couple of times.

"What I'm doing is going to the ODF people and saying, 'OK, would you please come up to the podium and tell the committee what you've been telling me, which is different than what the Initiative for Software Choice is saying,'" he recalled. "They were unwilling, or unable, to come to the podium."

…..

"This is not the first time this has happened, but it is rare," Mathers said. "It's a quick way to kill a bill. Most lobbyists and public-interest groups know that, especially in Texas, if you don't want to wait another two years, you pretty much come with full disclosure."

Talk to everyone later.

-Brian

OpenXMLCommunity.org Quote of the Day:

ESS Australia – Australia

" As a software development company we strongly support Open XML becoming an international standard. We have developed systems for clients using numerous document formats in the past, and Open XML is the first document format we have used that simplifies development and integration with existing and external systems.

Through the use of xml the level of interoperability provided by Open XML is unsurpassed.."

- Murray Francis – Development Manager