Updated on 2008-03-26@17:34 I emailed a copy of this article to Patrick and he has responded. I have posted his response at the bottom of the article.
This is a response to Patrick Durusau's recent letter Who
loses if OpenXML loses? (PDF). Before I discuss the various points that you make in your letter there is one thing that
I would like to say; I find it shameful that you, Patrick, makes these kind of statements without a proper disclaimer that
this is your personal opinion and not the position of the ODF committee (for whom you edit the ODF specifications), the V1
or any other technical body that you represent. In fact you seem quite happy that the media is running with headlines like
“The ODF editor says…” else you would have done something about it after your
previous publications. To lead by example:
The opinions expressed in this letter are my own. They do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of LXer Linux News, nor
the viewpoint of my employer Tribal Internet Marketing. They do represent the viewpoint
of The Lone Wolves Foundation though.
Now, back to your letter.
The only one who loses if DIS 29500 fails is Microsoft, whose Office 2007 cashcow will run into trouble. Everyone else, including the OpenDocument Format, do not need an ISO stamp of approval on DIS 29500. The current Ecma 376 standard, flawed as it is, is more than enough to work with.
This letter is also posted on LXer Linux News. 