- OOXML and ODF are document formats, like JPG and PNG are image formats. Open formats mean that anyone can write a program to read the file. Closed formats mean you cannot write a program to read the file. PNG is an open format, like HTML is an open format. Document formats are best when they are open.
- OOXML is Office Open XML, Microsoft's attempt to pass another standard. It is a competitor to ODF.
- ODF is already an ISO standard, and is already open, and already implemented and used by a variety of software.
- OOXML is NOT Open. There are many many technical reasons why it is almost impossible to implement it fully.
- India is forced to vote on the issue, and India's vote is important.
- Everyone who is in the business of writing Office Suites: IBM (which owns Lotus), Sun (which owns Star Office), Google (which owns Google Docs), and the Open Office team agrees that ODF is the superior format. ODF is already supported by many programs, some of which cost no money.
- China's IT experts are completely against OOXML.
- IIT Delhi is already on the ODF committee, and is strongly against OOXML. We don't know what IIT Bombay's view is, but my guess is that they are against OOXML as well. CDAC is against OOXML. IISc, and IIM-A are against OOXML.
- There is no "document war". ODF is already an open, ISO standard, and Microsoft refuses to follow along, and make its office software read and write ODF files. This is plain simple, bullying by a monopoly.
- Two standards for the identical thing are a very bad thing for consumers. Realizing this, US and South Africa have already stated that they will vote against OOXML. China is against OOXML as well.
Please take the time to write to the Indian delegation at ird@bis.org.in. Please be polite, and respectfully tell them that you are against OOXML. If any other Indian bloggers pick this up, I'd be grateful.
For technical reasons why OOXML is harmful to you, please see the previous post. For a quick slideshow about why OOXML is bad, please see Anand Vaidya's delightful slideshow.
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2 comments:
Hi Vikram,
Only after Mark Shuttleworth's post (http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/132) did I realize that I could possibly do something on India's vote against OoXML.
But after going through all the info available on India's BIS site and other blogs (your blog came up on a Google search) I realized that 'technical' points alone are relevant. I'm not a technical person, but I am one of the long time Microsoft customers who has realized the lock-in that MS perpetuates. The No OoXML vote I'm championing is not an anti-Microsoft vote but a vote for non-monopolistic standards (which this industry needs desperately).
I have found several good sites with good arguments against OoXML as a standard, and counter points to the MS response to them so far (with a lot of silence on some key issues). But I don't know how I could add to the 'technical' points for BIS to vote "No" to OoXML as a standard.
Hope efforts from people like you and of course Dr. Nagarjuna, Dr. Bhattacharya and Mr. Gautam pay off in this regard.
Regards,
Indian
for u information , OFFICE 2007 allows opening and writing of ODF files .... i am using it ....
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