Microsoft Opening Office XML Formats http://www.microsoft.com/office/xml/default.mspx
I'm sure ya'll saw this on slashdot. I'm sure this is a good thing for OpenOffice compatibility, and hopefully we'll even get an OO visio component! But I'm concerned at the naivete of the Massachusetts government. Correct me if i'm wrong, but it appears MS retains full control over the format. Most "standards" are developed by a committee of organizations each with their own interest in the direction of the standard. Everything is then overseen by an organization such as ICANN, IEEE, ANSI, ISO, etc. I don't see this with MS. They can and probably will change the "standard" at will to keep competitors at bay and always playing catch-up. I doubt the standard is 100% documented, and wouldn't surprise me if their own products didn't follow their own standards. With their history of intentionally breaking standards, anti-competitive practices, and talk of the "disease" of open-source, how can MS be trusted to sincerely provide an Open Document format for the benefit of everyone? ray
