Microsoft has suffered a setback in its endeavour for Office Open XML (OOXML) to become an alternative to OpenDocument Format (ODF) as a standard of the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS).
As Microsoft's bid to have its Office Open XML specification made an ISO standard approaches the final deadline of midnight on Saturday, more details have emerged of last month's controversial meeting in Geneva which attempted to resolve technical issues.
The developer of XML and a former ISO committee chair have both claimed that Microsoft was interested in having Office Open XML accredited as an international standard in order to forward the company's wider interests.
Contrary to claims by the US Department of Defense that Office Open XML might lead to increased security concerns, vendor lock-in and backwards compatibility issues, Microsoft claims that OOXML resolves exactly these issues.
Microsoft claims that Australia will benefit from "greater choice" if local standards bodies vote this week to accept the Office Open XML format as an ISO standard.
Visa CIO touts new transaction technologies
Michael Dreyer, CIO of Visa, expresses what innovation means to him in different areas, such as their PayWave … Watch it now
Australian Govt funds IT start-ups
Google should come clean on datacentres
US shows what OPEL could have been
Broadband speedtest
How fast is your Internet connection?
Calculate the speed here.
Superguide: Printers -- all you need to know
Looking to buy a printer? Our superguide rates the latest printers and shines a light into the industry.
Click here for more.
Storage and server superguide
Over the last decade the art of maintaining the datacentre of a large organisation has evolved into an art form.
Click here for more.