Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on September 24, 2005 06:46 AM
How Microsoft can believe that these formats are open in any way shape or form is laughable. XML does not mean 'open' at all, and I would have stopped reading Alan Yates' response immediately at Massachusetts because their definition of open does not equal XML, nor have they stated it as such. I also love Alan's 14 page response, whereas everyone else kept their responses to the point<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-). It was also a 14 page insult to a potential, and an existing, customer.
Yes, the formats use XML (yay, at Microsoft XML == open!) but they rely on proprietary schemas that are so hideous and complex an application can only reasonably support it, 100%, by using a proprietary API. There is also no telling what binary data can be embedded in these file formats as well. At least the Open Document Format has set standards for such things. You've also got Office creating deliberately mangled files (already been done with MS HTML) and users who can also create their own non-standard entities with their own tags on Office. These games have been played before, and they were played fifteen or twenty years ago. Back then we had proprietary network stacks and protocols as well. How many of those are still around, and how many of the companies selling them are still around?
It would have been very easy for Microsoft to support Open Document by simply sticking with Oasis and contributing exactly what was needed to get it working with Office. Alas, the games remain the same.
It's really quite funny how isolated Microsoft have been from the real world, and I really enjoyed Alan Yates' response letter. Here in the real world, thats called 'how not to do it'<nobr> <wbr></nobr>;-). In a procurement or tender process in any sensible, professional field or industry in the world you either meet the requirements or you are out of the running (and you do not insult your potential customer as Alan did). Since simply talking about XML does not meet that requirement, you're out of the running within the first two sentences.
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Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 24, 2005 06:46 AMYes, the formats use XML (yay, at Microsoft XML == open!) but they rely on proprietary schemas that are so hideous and complex an application can only reasonably support it, 100%, by using a proprietary API. There is also no telling what binary data can be embedded in these file formats as well. At least the Open Document Format has set standards for such things. You've also got Office creating deliberately mangled files (already been done with MS HTML) and users who can also create their own non-standard entities with their own tags on Office. These games have been played before, and they were played fifteen or twenty years ago. Back then we had proprietary network stacks and protocols as well. How many of those are still around, and how many of the companies selling them are still around?
It would have been very easy for Microsoft to support Open Document by simply sticking with Oasis and contributing exactly what was needed to get it working with Office. Alas, the games remain the same.
It's really quite funny how isolated Microsoft have been from the real world, and I really enjoyed Alan Yates' response letter. Here in the real world, thats called 'how not to do it'<nobr> <wbr></nobr>;-). In a procurement or tender process in any sensible, professional field or industry in the world you either meet the requirements or you are out of the running (and you do not insult your potential customer as Alan did). Since simply talking about XML does not meet that requirement, you're out of the running within the first two sentences.
Please pass on my congratulations to Alan.
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