Sep 7, 2007

OOXML Rejected by ISO

As I'm sure you've heard by now, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has failed to pass Microsoft's Office Open XML "standard" through "fast track" approval. I'm glad to hear this because there are a lot of scary criticisms out there of the OOXML specification.

It's a six thousand page specification. Yes, you read that right: six thousand pages. Through "fast track". Uh-huh.

Anyway, lots of people are celebrating this triumph, but just remember that this is a battle won, not the war. I've decided to dust off my wet blanket and toss it out there because:


  1. A lot of very smart people work at Microsoft

  2. They learn from their mistakes

  3. Just like the Terminator, they'll be back.



They might not be back with OOXML, but they won't just give up and go home.

1 comment:

Jimbo said...

I generally think of OOXML to be one of the greatest current examples of Orwellian Newspeak (other than "Nation Building").