April 1st, 2008
OOXML: Unofficially yes, formal announcement Wed.
PCWorld reports that the ISO has been telling member countries that OOXML will be approved, official announcement to be distributed Wednesday.
Of the 87 countries taking part, 61 approved the draft standard DIS29500, 10 disapproved and 16 abstained.
There’s more work for ISO ahead, as it has yet to decide who will control future development and improvement of the standard.
“It would have been better for the world, probably, if it had gone back to the drawing board and come back as an ISO standard in two years, with all the work done,” said Michiel Leenaars, the Dutch standards committee member who circulated the results.
Oliver Bell has a great post (though perhaps not for the reasons he espouses) about the irregularities in Germany and Norway, including a chilling response from Standard Norge about their process. MSFT-employed Bell thinks this is so much hysteria by “individuals who didn’t get the result that they wanted over the last few days, and the crowds of people willing to take their words as gospel.” But what happened in Norway is uncontroverted. The difference is just spin.
8. … The leader of the committee has an important role succeed in creating agreement, but the leader of the committee had already in 2007 flagged his position which meant that he could no longer meet the criteria for neutrality. He had therefore renounced his task to lead the committees consideration of OOXML and Standad Norges deputy managing director therefore led meetings for consideration of this matter in the committee.
9. Its is correct that a majority of members in the committee believed that comments were not given sufficient consideration However, and in line with what the meeting leader stressed, Standard Norges comments were not formulated as absolutes. The phrasing provided, according to Standard Norge, some leeway which was important to find acceptable solutions through at an international level. During the commentary rounds in the committee meetings there were many that made absolute demands to fulfillment of comments which confirmed that the rigid positions were well established. Standard Norge thus considered any further discussion as futile with regards to achieving agreement in the committee.
