Friday 8 February 2008

OOXML meets EU antitrust

CNN notes that the EU is looking into the OOXML actions of Microsoft (the original article requires a subscription).

I wouldn't count on the EU to show more backbone than last time, but I guess the company won't be so happy about the timing, considering the BRM takes place in about two weeks from now. (By the way, isn't all this bad press quite ridiculous? People keep confusing themselves with ideas such as "quality", or "fair play". It's so annoying!)

After that, there's another month for voting countries to present their final opinion, so I guess we'll have to wait until the beginning of April for the actual outcome. (Would a rejection from ISO put an end to it, though? Or would an approval of OOXML be taken seriously?)

One thing is clear: both Microsoft and ISO will have to reshape - the length of the rubber stamping process demonstrates clear deficiencies on both ends. Let's hope for the best.

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