ISO: procedural shortcuts ok, Office OpenXML appeal denied

ISO announced today that a technical management board has finished reviewing complaints about the OOXML approval process and has rejected all four appeals from national standards bodies.

August 17, 2008 - 02:00PM CT - by Ryan Paul

ISO leadership encourages rejection of OOXML appeal

The leaders of the ISO standards body have recommended that a technical review board reject appeals that have been filed regarding fast-track approval for Microsoft's OOXML format.

July 10, 2008 - 09:20AM CT - by Ryan Paul

OOXML revolt brewing? Three countries appeal ISO approval

India, Brazil, and South Africa have challenged ISO's approval of Microsoft's OOXML document format. The national standards bodies of those countries have filed for an appeal, citing insufficient review time and procedural irregularities.

May 31, 2008 - 02:35PM CT - by Ryan Paul

Microsoft releases the Open XML Format SDK April CTP

Although the release of the Open XML Format SDK April CTP has been slightly delayed, version 1.0 is still expected next month.

April 17, 2008 - 09:40PM CT - by Emil Protalinski

Office Open XML out of Microsoft's hands—officially

With Office Open XML approved as an official ISO standard, the format for Microsoft Office is no longer under the software giant's exclusive control. It's going to be a test of Microsoft's newfound commitment to open standards and interoperability.

April 14, 2008 - 06:29AM CT - by Eric Bangeman

Microsoft's Office Open XML now an official ISO standard

Microsoft's Office Open XML format has achieved ISO approval after receiving support from 86 percent of the national bodies participating in the vote.

April 01, 2008 - 05:15PM CT - by Ryan Paul

XML spec editor: OOXML ISO process is "unadulterated BS"

Only a small portion of the technical concerns raised by ISO member bodies were addressed at the recent Ballot Resolution Meeting, leading many to question whether fast-track approval is really appropriate for the controversial document format.

March 02, 2008 - 05:11PM CT - by Ryan Paul

Adobe's PDF now an ISO standard

PDF has been approved by the ISO to become the ISO 32000 standard, pending the review of comments made during the balloting process. If ratified, the PDF specification will be under the ISO's control, rather than Adobe's.

December 05, 2007 - 02:06PM CT - by Joel Hruska

UPnP approved as ISO standard

The UPnP communication protocol has received official status as a standard from the JTC 1 board that forms part of the ISO. But will anyone use it?

September 16, 2007 - 08:19PM CT - by Joel Hruska

ISO reforms proposed in response to OOXML shenanigans

The CEO of Freecode is calling for reforms to the ISO process in response to evidence that Microsoft used financial incentives to manipulate the OOXML fast-track approval process in several countries.

September 07, 2007 - 12:59PM CT - by Ryan Paul

ISO votes against fast tracking Microsoft's Office Open XML

Microsoft lost in its bid to have its Office Open XML file format put on the fast track to standardization by the ISO. Instead, Microsoft's proposal will be revised to account for technical comments received ahead of the next vote in February or March 2008.

September 04, 2007 - 08:30AM CT - by Eric Bangeman

Linux Foundation: Just say "no" to OOXML

The Linux Foundation has issued a call to all nations asking them to just say "no" to Microsoft's bid to make OOXML a standard. The plea comes amid accusations that Microsoft isn't playing fair.

August 29, 2007 - 01:58PM CT - by Ryan Paul

OOXML gains ground even as US remains apathetic on new document formats

Microsoft's OOXML format is gaining ground in the ISO approval process, but a recent study shows that organizations in the United States aren't adopting XML-based document formats.

August 28, 2007 - 08:44AM CT - by Ryan Paul

Microsoft one vote short of fast-track OOXML ISO standardization

The executive board of INCITS came up one vote short of putting Microsoft's OOXML on the fast track to standardization. Examining the details, it nevertheless appears as though OOXML enjoys broad support and will likely be approved soon.

August 11, 2007 - 02:19PM CT - by Ryan Paul

Office Open XML ISO certification process grows even murkier for Microsoft

The tale of Office XML's quest for ISO certification gets trickier and trickier as the US tries to determine its position on the issue following a close vote to reject the standard by the V1 committee.

July 26, 2007 - 11:23AM CT - by Jeremy Reimer

Office Open XML hits a snag on the way to standardization

Microsoft's plan to have its Office Open XML document format approved as an official ISO standard hit a snag recently, as a committee that advises the United States on its ISO voting failed to give the format its stamp of approval.

July 17, 2007 - 11:14PM CT - by Jeremy Reimer

War and PDF: Microsoft submits XPS to standards body

Microsoft has chartered a new technical committee to submit their XML Paper Specification (XPS) format to the ECMA for approval as an international document standard.

July 01, 2007 - 09:03PM CT - by Jeremy Reimer

Open Document Format published as ISO standard

The Open Document Format has been published as an official standard by the International Organization for Standardization last week. What will this mean for the future of office apps?

December 04, 2006 - 12:43PM CT - by Jacqui Cheng