Critics urge rejection of Microsoft “open” format
Microsoft document format that may be adopted as
an international standard this weekend.
A Microsoft document format that may be adopted as an international standard this weekend is a ploy to lock in customers, who could lose control over their own data in a worst-case scenario, critics say.
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is balloting its members on the issue in a vote that closes on Sunday.
Opponents of Open XML, which is the default file-saving format in Microsoft Office 2007, say there is no need for a rival standard to the widely used Open Document Format (ODF) that is already an international standard.
They argue its 6,000 pages of code, compared with ODF’s 860 pages, make it artificially complicated and untranslatable.
Open XML is unnecessarily bloated, partly because it packs in unrelated features that lead users to other Microsoft applications, Free Software Foundation Europe’s Georg Greve says.
“This is a classic vendor lock-in strategy,” he told Reuters. “It’s not that new, it’s not that ingenious but it’s quite effective.”
Yup.
Posted: Tue - August 28, 2007 at 04:14 PM