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A renewed wish for open document standards
February 25, 2008
Posted by Zaheda Bhorat, Open Source Programs Manager
The subject of open document standards grows in importance not only for the technically- minded, but for anyone who uses a computer to work on editable documents. Across the board, standards are crucial. They ensure that the devices and technology you use today will continue to work tomorrow, that your DVDs will play in your player, that your calls will go through to any network, and that your documents will be accessible from whichever system you choose today and in the future.
Google supports open document standards and the
Open Document Format - ODF
, the recognized international standard (
ISO 26300
). ODF is
supported
and
implemented
across the globe, and its communal
creation and iteration
has helped ensure the transparency, consistency and interoperability necessary in a workable standard.
Currently, the technology industry is evaluating a proposed
ISO
standard for document formats. Given the importance of a workable standard, Microsoft's submission of Office Open XML (
OOXML
) as an additional international standard has caught the attention of many. In September 2007, the original request to ISO was
defeated
. After further technical analysis of the specification along with all the additional data available on OOXML, Google believes OOXML would be an insufficient and unnecessary standard, designed purely around the needs of Microsoft Office.
We join the
ODF Alliance
and
many
other
experts
in our belief that OOXML doesn't meet the criteria required for a globally-accepted standard. (An
overview of our findings
and
sample technical issues unresolved
are posted
here
.)
As
ISO Member bodies
around the world work on possible revisions of their vote
previously submitted
, the deadline of March 30th approaches fast. I invite you to pay close attention, and heed the call of many for
unification
of OOXML into ODF. A document standards decision may not matter to you today, but as someone who relies on constant access to editable documents, spreadsheets and presentations, it may matter immensely in the near future.
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