OOXML: Why all the haters?

Posted by Joel.Lanciaux

Apparently Microsoft's OOXML formats have recently received ISO certification. Good for them. Does this impact my life?  Nah.

What I honestly don't understand how so many OSS groups/peoples are whining so incredibly loud over a file format. It's nothing more than a specification for documents. That's it. I don't see it kicking their dogs, nuking the whales or anything that makes any difference in their life. Take NoOOXML.com, for instance. Someone is paying for domain space against a file format

 I'll readily admit I'm pretty dorky, being a programmer and gamer. I even used to use Linux for awhile and I use many OSS applications daily. But if a file format ruins your day, that kind-of takes 'nerd' to a whole new level.

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Posted on: 4/2/2008 at 8:04 AM
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John us

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 5:19 PM

John

There are several reasons why people are so unhappy about OOXML:

It ignores existing standards and "reinvents the wheel" in many many areas.

It still requires undisclosed copyrighted material from Office.

It does not provide binary to xml mapping, so most OOXML documents can only be used in Office.

It violates many prerequisites places on most standards.

The above give Microsoft a clear advantage when working with OOXML documents, violating the key principal of forming a standard.

The spec is filled with many many errors.

Vahid us

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 7:25 PM

Vahid

blog.milkingthegnu.org/.../microsoft-ooxml.html

Truthteller se

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 9:58 PM

Truthteller

It's not so much the standard itself that I resent, but the rather shady way MS went about making it a standard. This is not a good way for MS to make amends for their numerous standard-related atrocities in the past.

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