[ILUG] [UKUUG] Please help prevent Microsoft creating a bad ISO standard

[Frank Duignan]

It appears that the national standards association of ireland is the body
responsible for voting on ISO standards - I rang them but wasn't able to
clarify who should be contacted directly.  Anyone know anyone in NSAI?
f.

On 1/24/07, Brian Foster <blf at blf.utvinternet.ie> wrote:
>
> this is very probably of interest to some on this e-list.
>   I've slightly edited the original posting to reflect the
>    broader, and Irish, readership of this e-list.
>
> please note that if you do wish to act, you must do so
>   very very soon (i.e., this week if at all possible!).
>
> I'm afraid I do not know what the national voting body is
>   for Ireland, or who to contact (or for France, for that
>    matter!) ....  ;-\
>
> I do not know if the ILUG itself takes positions on this
>   sort of matter, but perhaps the board should consider an
>    objection from the ILUG?  if so, then there are two letters
>     so send:  one to the BSI (to represent the members in the
>      North), and one to the Irish national voting body.
>       in addition, individuals should send in their own letters
>        to the appropriate national voting body.
>
> ------- Forwarded Message
>
> Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:26:46 +0000
> Subject: [UKUUG] Please help prevent Microsoft creating a bad ISO standard
> From: Alain Williams <addw at phcomp.co.uk>
> Organization: Parliament Hill Computers Ltd
>
>
> Summary
>
> The document format used by OpenOffice.org and other applications is
> an ISO standard.  An open standard has been needed in this area for
> many years to allow competition and for a range of tools to be
> developed that all use a common data format.  Until the ISO standard
> all we had (in the main) was de-facto proprietary binary standards.
>
> The ISO standard is now seen as being under threat from a competing
> standard proposed by ECMA based on Microsoft Office Open XML.
> We think that you may want to object and if you read below, you can
> find out why and how.
>
> You must act by Friday 26 January.
>
> Detail
>
> An open standard (ISO/IEC 26300:2006) for document formats is currently
> implemented by a number of office software suites, probably the most
> notable of which is OpenOffice.org
>
> Microsoft played little or no part in the ISO/IEC 26300:2006 process and
> subsequently made its own proposal to ECMA (European Computer
> Manufacturers' Association) for 'Office Open XML'.  That was approved by
> ECMA and then submitted  to ISO/IEC for ratification as an independent
> standard on a fast-track process.  A 30-day contradiction period is now
> running which terminates on 5th February.
>
> The fast-track proposal severely overlaps the existing ISO standard and
> apparently contains numerous technical issues which deserve serious
> consideration.  There does not appear to have been any effort at providing
> a gap analysis to see where the existing standard does not provide support
> for proposals in the ECMA document and hence no corresponding effort to
> produce a single combined standard to meet the needs of both parties.  The
> presence of more than one standard covering the same areas will inevitably
> lead to confusion amongst users of standards.
>
> Any voting national body (of which the British Standards Institute, BSI,
> is one) can register a contradiction with ISO/IEC to cause the fast-track
> proposal to be blocked and for a resolution phase to begin.
> [ ... ]
> [ Anyone with an interest in this area should read ]
> http://www.grokdoc.net/index.php/EOOXML_objections  and then [ register
> their view with their appropriate national voting body (such as the BSI).
> The Chairman of the BSI panel looking into this area is ]
> Francis Cave <francis at franciscave.com>, objections MUST be received
> by 26th January to have effect.
>
> To object to the fast-track procedure is not necessarily to object to the
> proposal itself but it will at least cause a pause for thought and may
> give time for more detailed scrutiny of the 6,000 page document.
>
> If you do wish to object, please read the objections document and then
> write to [ the appropriate national voting body ] (copy-and-paste from
> this letter would be a bad plan) requesting that [ they ] formally
> object to the fast-track proposal.
>
> - --
> Alain Williams
> UKUUG Chairman
> #include <std_disclaimer.h>
>
> ------- End of Forwarded Message
>
> cheers!
>         -blf-
> --
> Experienced (>25 yrs) kernel/software Eng: | Brian Foster   Montpellier,
> • Unix, embedded, &tc;  • Linux;  • doc;  | blf at utvinternet.ie   FRANCE
> • IDL, automated testing, process, &tc.   |  Stop E$$o (ExxonMobile)!
> Résumé (CV) http://www.blf.utvinternet.ie  |     http://www.stopesso.com
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