News (64)

Microsoft's OOXML bid: No knowledge, no regrets

Microsoft admits it had no knowledge of software standards until deep into its bid to get Office Open XML approved by the International Organization for Standardization -- but there are no regrets over its tactics during the process. Read more »

UNIX group wants money to take on OOXML

A group of UK open-source advocates is seeking donations so it can continue its fight against the approval of Microsoft's Office Open XML document format. Read more »

Venezuela and India appeal OOXML ratification

Venezuela and India have appealed against the official ratification of Microsoft's Office Open XML document format, bringing the total number of protesting countries to four. Read more »

Brazil joins OOXML appeal conga line

Brazil is to appeal the International Organisation for Standardisation decision to ratify Microsoft Office Open XML, now known as ISO/IEC DIS 29500. Read more »

OOXML ratification may be delayed after objection

The official standardisation of Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) document format could be delayed after a formal objection letter was lodged. The letter claimed that OOXML's approval process " harmed the reputations of both ISO and IEC. Read more »

ODF finally defeats OOXML in document format war?

Microsoft will add native support to Office 2007 for the OpenDocument Format (ODF) instead of OOXML because of compatibility issues — but Microsoft refuses to admit that ODF has won the document format war. Read more »

Open Source tool creates OOXML docs for the blind

Microsoft has helped develop an open source tool that translates Word files into a "talking" digital book format, which makes documents easily accessible by the 160 million people worldwide with impaired vision. Read more »

Is ODF more defective than OOXML?

The ISO's OpenDocument Format (ODF) is broken and needs to be mended, according to an expert who claims to have carried out tests on the standard. Read more »

UK open-sourcers beg to differ on OOXML result

The British Standards Institution has been taken to court by a group of Unix users in an attempt to get the standards body to recant its approval of Microsoft's Office Open XML document format. Read more »

Microsoft Office 2007 is incompatible with OOXML

Word documents generated by the latest version of Microsoft Office 2007 do not conform to Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) standard, according to tests run by a document standards specialist. Read more »

Features (2)

Microsoft not yet open for business

The most impressive aspect of Microsoft's statement on Thursday in favour of caring and sharing wasn't in anything the company said. It was the speed at which the world, or that part of it not in a commercial relationship with Microsoft, digested the information and replied: Heard it before. Not good enough. Read more »

Microsoft plays open but patent jaws still have teeth

Despite Microsoft's claim it will not sue developers that build free open source software on Microsoft platforms, a caveat leaves a yawning space for its legal teeth to gnash those that commercialise the software. Read more »

Video (3)

Microsoft rocks -- Club Builder

Microsoft's internal video about Vista and SP1, OOXML as a Microsoft's marketing tool and more. Read more »

Microsoft denies OOXML has 'proprietary hooks'

As Australia and various other nations prepare to vote on whether Microsoft's Open Office XML becomes an ISO standard, the Redmond giant is attempting to downplay fears that OOXML adopters will be hooked into the company's technology. Read more »

Microsoft Office executive claims OOXML provides greater security than alternative document formats

Redmond-based group project manager of Microsoft Office, Gray Knowlton, told ZDNet Australia that OOXML provides higher levels of security. "One of the benefits we have with the OpenOffice XML formats is that we know when we read and write and document because we have an XML based representation of what's in that content -- we know what should and should not be there," he said. Read more »

Blog (5)

Bracing for Applefest

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- It's that time of year again, Steve Jobs' reality distortion field is about to extend throughout the internet and consume your favourite tech news sites for days. To Apple fanboys it is more than Christmas -- to others it is WWDC and you cannot escape it . Read more »

How useful is OpenSocial?

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- This week's coverage was all over the local MySpace developer launch, we took a look at Google's AppEngine, had more videos than we knew what to do with and can someone put us out of our misery buy Yahoo already! Read more »

Resuming regular service

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- It wasn't all April fools this week. There were some important developments in the software world -- seriously. Read more »

A mixed bag of Microsoft announcements

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- While the rest of the world was anticipating, observing and then critiquing the latest iPod releases, Microsoft made some big announcements this week. The news for Microsoft fans is mixed at best. Read more »

All this matter and make up and déjá vu

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- There are some weeks when you could be mistaken for thinking that the record had skipped and the players involved were simply going through the motions -- this week was one of them. Read more »

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  • Staff Shadow chasing in browsers

    The punching and counterpunching continued in the ongoing web browser development bout. Each time one browser closes a feature gap, a new feature appears in one of the others -- how we ever put up with the years of browser stagnation, I'll never know. Read more »

    -- posted by Staff

  • Chris Duckett Safari gets Gears

    Since its release in May last year, Gears has supported only Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. With the addition of Safari into the Gears fold, it closes the loop of major browsers to support Gears Read more »

    -- posted by Chris Duckett

  • Renai LeMay MyPerfect.com.au has potential

    Victorian Web start-up My Perfect has a strong story and rationale for why it will succeed. But it has to overcome some challenges and design flaws first. Read more »

    -- posted by Renai LeMay

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