<No> OOXML will be represented at the 24C3, the largets event for creative technologists in Europe. Our FFII Berlin office team will run a booth (close to the wikipedia and Foebud booth I am told). Yesterday I got to know by surprise that also award-winnig Miernik would be there.
Benjamin Henrion will speak for the project in Salle 3, the 30 December from 11:30 to 12:30. I hope his speech is drafted yet.
<NO>OOXML - A 12 euros campaign against Microsoft Office's broken standard
Microsoft is currently trying to buy an ISO stamp for their flawed Office OpenXML (OOXML) specification.
While there is already another ISO standard for the same purpose (ODF or ISO26300), Microsoft has decided to not implement it, and push for its own standard instead. Doug Mahugh, Microsoft's Open XML campaign leader, clearly explained Microsoft's motivations: "Office is a USD$10 billion revenue generator for the company." When ODF was made an ISO standard, Microsoft had to react quickly as certain governments have procurement policies which prefer ISO standards. Ecma and OASIS are "international standards", but ISO is the international "Gold Standard". Microsoft therefore had to rush this standard through. It's a simple matter of commercial interests!
Friends
- Data Retention and PNR - Erik (whom we lost to the EFF) and Cristof (Ak Vorrat) talk about data retention
- 5 Minute lightning Talk EU-EPLA and Community Patent: Software Patents reloaded - "The acrimonious debate over the proposed directive on computer-implemented inventions (software patents) might never have arisen if the patent litigation system in Europe had been unified, thereby eliminating the possibility of disparate national rulings on the same patent matter."