FYI. /Larry
Lawrence Rosen Rosenlaw & Einschlag, a technology law firm ( <http://www.rosenlaw.com> www.rosenlaw.com) 3001 King Ranch Rd., Ukiah, CA 95482 Office: 707-485-1242 From: Andy Updegrove [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 8:53 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Office to Become Fully Open XML Compliant (at last) Between 2005 and 2008, an unparalleled standards war was waged between Microsoft, on the one hand, and IBM, Google, Oracle and additional companies on the other hand. At the heart of the battle were two document formats, one called ODF, developed by OASIS, a standards development consortium, and Open XML, a specification developed by Microsoft. Both were submitted to, and adopted by, global standards groups ISO/IEC. But after the dust settled, Microsoft did not fully implement the standard that it had fought so vigorously to have become a global standard. Instead, it implemented what it called "Transitional Open XML," which was better adapted for use in connection with documents created using older versions of Office. According to a blog posted yesterday by Jim Thatcher at the Office Next Web site, Office 13 will - finally - permit users to open, edit and save documents in the format that ISO/IEC approved. Thatcher says that Office 13 will also provide similar capabilities for the latest version of ODF, approved by OASIS in January of this year (ODF 1.2), as well as for PDF. Much has changed since the great format wars of the last decade, and perhaps this is why, one day after the announcement, the announcement has been mentioned in only two brief articles in the trade press. That’s a shame, because document interoperability and vendor neutrality matter more now than ever before as paper archives disappear and literally all of human knowledge is entrusted to electronic storage. Only if documents can be easily exchanged and reliably accessed down ton an ongoing basis will desktop competition in the present be preserved, and the availability of knowledge down through the ages be assured. Without robust, universally adopted document formats, both of those goals are impossible to attain. Read the entire story here: http://tinyurl.com/czwwke9 As always, please let me know if you would like to be removed from this list. Andy Andrew Updegrove Gesmer Updegrove LLP 40 Broad Street Boston, Massachusetts 02109 T: 617/350-6800 F: 617/350-6878 www.gesmer.com www.consortiuminfo.org Have you discovered The Alexandria Project? http://amzn.to/xo00rn _____ Any tax information or written tax advice contained herein (including any attachments) is not intended to be and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. (The foregoing legend has been affixed pursuant to U.S. Treasury Regulations governing tax practice.) Electronic mail from Gesmer Updegrove LLP, 40 Broad Street, Boston, MA 02109. Voice: (617) 350-6800, Fax: (617) 350-6878. This communication is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named as the addressee. It may contain information which is privileged and/or confidential under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient or such recipient's employee or agent, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copy or disclosure of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify Christopher O'Sullivan at (617) 350-6800 and notify the sender by electronic mail. Please expunge this communication without making any copies. Thank you for your cooperation.
