Open Source ISO

The Open Document Format has been approved as an international standard by the International Standards Organization, a move that supporters say will serve as a springboard for the adoption and use of ODF around the world.

Open Source ISO

Open Source ISO

  1. Open Document Format Gets ISO Approval
    The Open Document Format has been approved as an international standard by the International Standards Organization, a move that supporters say will serve as a springboard for the adoption and use of ODF around the world. The ODF allows the retrieval of information and the exchange of documents without regard to the application or platform in which the document was created. The format is supported by Corel, IBM, Novell, Opera Software, Oracle, Red Hat and Sun Microsystems. Microsoft, which is pushing its OpenXML document format as an alternative to ODF, plans to seek ISO approval for OpenXML as well. Jason Matusow, director of standards affairs for Microsoft, in Redmond, Wash., reiterated Microsoft's commitment to supporting interoperability between OpenXML and ODF documents, saying the "richness of competitive choices in the market is good for our customers and for the industry as a whole.
       
  2. Open Office XML May Satisfy ISO
    A letter to Sun Microsystems' COO Jonathan Schwartz by the European Commission (EC) this week may set the stage for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to adopt the Open Office XML format (also known as OO.o XML) as an ISO standard. If it does, the stamp of approval would mark the largest ever validation of Sun's work on the desktop. The ISO has yet to chime in on the XML specification, which allows documents from different vendors to interoperate. An ISO representative was not immediately available for comment. Tim Bray, Sun director of Web Technologies and co-author of the XML standard, said in his Weblog that the EC entertained members of both the Open Office and Microsoft teams to illustrate how well their XML-based office document formats could work. 
       
  3. ISO backs Open Document Format
    The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has approved the open source Open Document Format (ODF) as an international data format standard. The ODF Alliance, a cross-section of industry associations, academic institutions and suppliers, had been lobbying for the decision. The ODF Alliance has more than 150 members worldwide and was created to resolve the potential problem of proprietary software limiting the ability of governments to access, retrieve and use records and documents in the future. The ODF is designed to make it easier for organisations to access and retrieve electronic government and business documents. It is seen as a possible way to prevent users from being locked into suppliers? proprietary file formats. Approval of the ODF by the ISO marks an important milestone in the effort to help governments solve the very real problem of finding a better way to preserve, access and control their documents now and in the future,? said Marino Marcich, executive director of the ODF Alliance. 

  4. ISO Ratifies Open Document Format
    This week, the International Standards Organization ratified the Open Document Format, an XML-based API to desktop office applications that has emerged to rival Microsoft Office?s proprietary file formats. The ODF format was also at the heart of a recent well-publicized controversy over whether the Commonwealth of Massachusetts should require ODF in future desktop software procurements. In the wake of his decision, then-CIO Peter Quinn, was criticized but ultimately cleared of unrelated accusations that his office misappropriated funds. Quinn subsequently resigned, but his ODF decision remained in force. Microsoft has responded to the emergence of ODF with OfficeXML, a published XML-based format available for free that it claims is in effect, open. Currently, ODF is supported by Sun's Star Office and its open source cousin, Open Office. Not surprisingly, that's where work on the ODF format started. It was subsequently submitted to Oasis, which ratified it as a standard in May 2005. This week was the ISO?s turn to follow up.
        
  5. ISO approves ODF as international standard
    The International Organization for Standards (ISO) this week gave formal approval to the Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF), paving the way for office suites based on ODF to be more broadly adopted, proponents said Wednesday. The move comes as Microsoft Corp.'s rival standard for its own Office productivity suite, OpenXML, awaits the same approval by the ISO. The ISO is an international consortium that works with the United Nations to maintain and approve international technology standards. ODF is a standard for office documents overseen by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) and supported by Microsoft rivals IBM Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc., among other companies. They want to see ODF adopted internationally as the standard for office documents and software that creates and manages these documents, such as Microsoft's popular Office suite and rivals such as Sun's Star Office.
        
  6.  ISO Approves Open-Source Document Standard
    The International Standards Organization (ISO) has approved the Open Document Format (ODF), giving a boost to firms and organizations opposing Microsoft's proprietary office software. Voting on the OASIS-supported format was closed earlier in the week. Given the ongoing unhappiness in Europe with Microsoft over what the EU regards as unacceptable bundling and other practices, this may be particularly significant, especially when taken with the desire of many European and other purchasers to use open source products whenever possible," said Andrew Updegrove, a partner in the Boston law firm of Gesmer Updegrove. Offerings such as OpenOffice and Koffice therefore should receive a boost in appeal and usage, as well as for-sale versions, such as Sun's StarOffice and IBM's Internet-based offering.Updegrove is a supporter of ODF. He made his comments on his blog. Also hailing the ISO vote was Marino Marcich, executive director of the ODF Alliance, who predicted the vote will serve as "a springboard" for adoption of ODF globally.
        
  7. OpenForum Europe Welcomes Announcement from ISO
    OpenForum Europe strongly welcomes the news that ISO has formally voted for Open Document format (ODF) to be recognized as an international standard. The decision confirms ODF as a key component for the future in the public and private sector. ODF is vitally important in ensuring that valuable data is not lost from organisations due to incompatibility with different systems. Nowhere is this more visible than the public sector and national government, which are responsible for maintaining the nation?s inheritance for future citizens. OFE calls upon every European National Government to act now to formally adopt ODF as the recognized open standard for data formats and to take practical action to implement this. OFE has in the past been critical of Europe in lagging behind the rest of the world in adoption of ODF, for example the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and will be seeking assurance from the European Commission on the steps it will now be taking to provide leadership to Member States.
      
  8. ISO approves open document format
    The major international standards body has endorsed the first nonproprietary technology for archiving government records. At the same time, one state government is hinting that it may soften its mandate to adopt such technologies. Yesterday, The International Organization for Standardization announced it has granted international standard status to the Open Document Format (ODF), an open, Extensible Markup Language-based suite of applications for text, presentations, spreadsheets and other office documents. Simultaneously, Massachusetts, the state government that had been leading the shift from proprietary software, such as Microsoft Office, to open-source formats, is apparently easing its mandate that all agencies replace Microsoft Office with open document formats by 2007. Massachusetts is exploring technologies, such as plug-ins, to ease the transition from Microsoft Office to open document formats. In addition, state officials have said that the forthcoming Microsoft Office Open XML product could be acceptable under the mandate.
       
  9. Open Source ODF approved as an ISO standard
    The Open Document Format for productivity applications was last night approved as an official ISO standard, reducing the potential for the format being undermined by 'open standards' FUD. Andy Updegrove has the scoop and notes that "software that implements the standard will now become more attractive to those European and other government purchasers for whom global adoption by ISO/IEC is either desirable, or required". The ISO standard approval is also unquestionable. While there was the potential for those with a vested interest in defeating ODF to suggest that its approval by Oasis did not fit the criteria (see "Why is Microsoft offering a new standard, rather than simply supporting the file format for the Open Office product?") for an 'open standard', ISO is a different kettle of fish.
         
  10. OpenDocument alliance 'optimistic' about ISO certification
    The recently formed OpenDocument Format Alliance has expressed its confidence that the file format will be approved by International Organisation for Standardization next month. The Alliance, to promote the use of the OpenDocument standard in governments, said on Tuesday that it has been lobbying various organisations to ensure that the standard achieves ISO certification. The ODF Alliance is now actively supporting adoption of the Open Document Format as a worldwide standard of the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electro technical Commission (IEC)," the group said in a statement. "The ODF Alliance and its members have contacted various national voting entities recommending approval and are optimistic of a positive outcome.
      
  11. Open Office XML Format Will Probably Become an ISO Standard
    Because of the way ongoing works I need fairly short headlines, which is a pity, because for this piece I wanted to use The European Commission Makes Extremely Smart Moves Concerning Open XML-Based Office Document Formats and Browbeats Vendors Deftly; As a Result the Open Office XML Format Will Probably Become an ISO Standard. This story started for me back in March when an OpenOffice team and a Microsoft team were invited to present to the European Commission on the relative merits of their XML-based office document formats. You can read about the arguments here and what the EC?s response was here and if you care about these things and haven?t already, you probably should.
      
  12. Thoughts on Open XML in ISO
    As we move forward with the standardization of the Office Open XML formats, it's interesting to look at the motivations that brought us to this point, but also to think about what is still to come. We've wanted to provide folks with easier ways to work with our formats for years now, mainly because it significantly increases the value of Office documents when they are fully documented. An open format can integrate with business processes; databases; and workflows in a much simpler and more powerful way (for more on why we made the move to open formats, read here and here). That's why we've worked so hard over the past 3 or 4 releases to invest in other formats like RTF, HTML, and XML. These new Open XML formats which will be the default format for Office 2007 (as well as work in Office 2000, XP and 2003) are the result of all that work. If you've read my blog at all you know that it's been a serious evolution and a lot of work, and I'm really excited about the potential.  

       
  13. ISO and IEC approve OpenDocument OASIS standard
    The OpenDocument Format OASIS standard that enables users of varying office suites to exchange documents freely with one another has just been approved for release as an ISO and IEC International Standard. OpenDocument, submitted by OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards), was balloted as an International Standard in ISO/IEC's Joint Technical Committee 1 on Information Technology. The standard has been given the designation, ISO/IEC 26300. Most of today?s electronic office documents have been created by a few commercial software programmes and more often than not each one has its own format. In order to process a document, users need the same programme (and corresponding versions) or a filter that allows the document to be opened and modified. OpenDocument Format does away with this need. 
      
  14. ISO welcomes Open Document Format
    The International Standards Organisation (ISO) has approved the Open Document Format (ODF) - a decision welcomed by those supporting open standards, including the EU. The ODF was approved as a standard by ballot, with no negative votes and a handful of abstentions and now merely faces a few formalities before it is officially christened ISO/IEC 26300. Microsoft, too, is rushing to have its formats accepted as an international standard, fast-tracking its Open XML specifications used with its Office 12 suite through the ECMA approval system, which will subsequently escalate to the ISO offices. The battle ground has been marked out by a new awareness in governments that settling for proprietary standards leaves them bound to those vendors, renders documents issued under such formats accessible only by using software licensed from a vendor and risks those same documents becoming unusable should the format become obsolete.
      
  15. ISO approves Open Document Format as standard
    The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) this week accepted the Open Document Format (ODF) as an international standard for saving and exchanging digital office documents, according to a group supporting ODF's use. Best-known for its ISO 9000 family of quality certifications, ISO's 6-month voting process on whether to grant special ISO 26300 status to ODF ended May 1 with "sweeping approval  from ISO members, according to Marino Marcich, executive director of the Washington, DC-based Open Document Format Alliance. This is a really powerful signal that ODF has arrived, and improves the prospect of it being incorporated into a range of products,  said Marcich, head of the three-month old group. The ODF Alliance, an offshoot of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), counts more than 150 companies and organisations as members.