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Our Blogs Open Sauce KDE takes stand on OOXML; GNOME dithers
Our Blogs Open Sauce KDE takes stand on OOXML; GNOME dithers | KDE takes stand on OOXML; GNOME dithers |
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| by Sam Varghese | |
| Monday, 10 December 2007 | |
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Page 1 of 2 Microsoft has been trying to push OOXML as an ISO standard in opposition to the Open Document Format (ODF) which has been championed by OpenOffice.org and its variants. Microsoft has thus far failed in its attempts. But when certain sections of the FOSS community are willing to lend support to Microsoft's efforts to create a standard which will ultimately give it control, why should the people at Redmond give up? In late October, news emerged that the GNOME Foundation was participating in meetings to discuss adoption of the OOXML format. Foundation media spokesman Jeff Waugh tried to play down the firestorm that this bit of news generated, but failed. A few days later, on November 2, key members of the team that develops KOffice, the word processor that is an integral part of KDE, issued a Q and A which made it plain that they would be adopting and sticking to ODF as their default file format. The whole Q and A is here for those who are curious; in a world of weasel words, it is refreshing to see that a group can enunciate a principled stand so clearly and with no ambiguity at all. Let me quote just a little bit: "The standardisation process of OfficeOpenXML has turned sour, not in the least because Microsoft couldn't resist the temptation to cheat. Right now we're seeing evidence of a concerted campaign at discrediting OpenDocument vis-a-vis OfficeOpen XML. That's unfortunate, to say the least. If OfficeOpen XML becomes an ISO standard, we will, in all likely hood, (sic) still not spend time on supporting it. The standard is enormous, very complex and to a large extent so badly specified that a full implementation is probably even harder than implementing the old Microsoft binary file formats. Add to that patent encumbrances and problems with copyrighted elements -- and our conclusion is that we prefer to concentrate on making KOffice a great set of applications that are satisfying to use and satisfying to develop." Reacting to this, Richard Stallman, the head of the Free Software Foundation, asked GNOME to come up with something which was on the same lines. Referring to the KDE statement (from which I have quoted above), Stallman wrote in a post to the GNOME Foundation mailing list: "It would be a good thing for GNOME to make (an) announcement equally unhelpful to Microsoft's promotion of OOxXML (sic). GNOME and KDE should stand side-by-side in this." This was on November 9. Three days later, Stallman wrote again, asking why the statement was being delayed. On November 23, Linux.com (a news site which makes time travel possible) reported that the GNOME Foundation had issued a statement - there is no date on the statement hence one has to assume that it was released after November 12 and on or before November 23. The statement was one of those "on the one hand" and "on the other hand" statements that politicians cherish. |
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