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Short updates
After a very difficult and inconclusive meeting in ABNT (Brazilian Technical Standards Organization) office last tuesday, the standards process director had to analyze the audio recording of all the meeting, review some facts, review again all 63+2 comments produced by the technical group about the ECMA specification, and conclude that a NO for OOXML is the correct position for Brazil in ISO Fast Track process.
Brazil will fill the ISO form with a NO and will attach the 63+2 technical comments to it.
I was a member of the technical group that have studied OOXML specification extensively. I learned that it is unbelievable how ECMA (same guys that put together the JavaScript standard!) can think that a wannabe spec like OOXML is ready for submission. It is incomplete (does not provide mappings with legacy standards, since compatibility is OOXML goal), too long (6000+ pages), fully tied to a single product, uses deprecated substandards, promotes bad practices (embedded binary objects), has clear proprietary hooks (like “formatAsWord95″ XML tags), reinvents the wheel all around (date and color formats etc), and most of all does not have a standards-grade look and feel required for a universal and (virtually) eternal document format (doesn’t have to be perfect, but can’t be that imperfect).
Shame on you, ECMA. Your position as a trusted standards organization was severely damaged.
In my opinion, the YES-voting countries are not reading the OOXML specification, are making a pure political decision or simply don’t have a standardization process. This is not to mention that they completely ignored the fact that a similar standard — ODF — already exists. Neither is the case of Brazil and our ABNT.
Countries that will absent their vote probably had a tough time in the decision process with a lot of conflicts between political ramblings and technical facts. This was almost the case for Brazil and our ABNT, but we got the courage to do the right thing.
In parallel, ABNT is turning the OpenDocument Format into a national standard and will adopt and promote as it is: a truly open, universal and independent format for digital documents.
This is a happy day.
Media news that link here (a.k.a. egotrip):
- Linux Today: India and Brazil Vote No on OOXML
- ZDNet: Brazil says ‘no’ to Office Open XML
- ZDNet: Microsoft’s OOXML ‘choice’ argument squashed
- Network World: Brazil votes down Open Office XML
- Netscape: Brazil Says NO to OOXML [and India Says NO As Well]
- BR-Linux: ABNT diz NÃO: Brasil recomenda rejeição ao OOXML como padrão ISO
- Reactions on Technorati
- Digg
Links to other sources:
- Jomar “Homembit” Silva: Saiu o resultado: Não com comentários técnicos…
- Cezar Taurion: ABNT diz “NO” : uma decisão lógica
- ComputerWorld: Decisão do Brasil em relação ao OpenXML é lógica, diz IBM
- B2B Magazine: Brasil reprova Open XML
- TI Inside Online: Padrão Open XML da Microsoft é rejeitado pela ABNT
- Info Online: Brasil dirá não ao Open XML na ISO, diz ABNT
- Gazeta Mercantil: Brasil votará contra padrão da Microsoft
- Valor Econômico: Padrão da Microsoft sofre derrota no Brasil (com senha)
- IDG Now: Microsoft perde votação importante para padronização do padrão Open XML
- IDG Now: ODF x OpenXML: entenda a importância dos formatos de documentos
ABNT letter:
The result is very important and the notice to Microsoft is simple: We are thinks in future, not past. Congratulations!!!
Fazia tempo que eu não me orgulhava do Brasil!
[...] Brasil says no to the OOXML format. [...]
[...] bons exemplos são para ser congratulados… o OOXML não se insere no âmbito da Ordem e Progresso e por isso o Brasil está de [...]
[...] notícia completa pode ser lida no blog do Avi, aproveito para deixar meu abraço a ele e a todas as pessoas que colaboraram com essa importante [...]
I am very proud of Brazil today!
Microsoft, learn to work with the rest of the world and contribute to the already existent ODF standard — instead of trying to spread lies, to artificially split the market into using useless redundant standards and to shove down upon us your badly defective (and essentially proprietary) OOXML format.
[...] OOXML: Brazil Says NO (Avi Alkalay) [...]
parabens! obrigado avi
I would say that in the voting “yes” countries the ballot has been rigged by the votes Microsoft has bought by stuffing the voting committees with Microsoft partners. This has been observed and well reported.
And in another news, the US of A are going to vote with their colective feets and pass a YES with comments, most likely. Germans thit just that today also. Great Shame, Great Shame.
Congratulations, good to hear! News has traveled all over the world. Be proud.
Greetings from Uruguay, hoping our country to follow your lead on this.
Congratulations !
[...] India también. Como comenta Avi Alkalay (de IBM Brazil) en su blog, el voto de la ABNT (Asociación Brasileña de Normas Técnicas) para la [...]
SPM, the process in the National Bodies does not make use of votes. The objective is consensus, and not to vote. For subjects like this, 50 people in a room does not represent the will of an entire country.
In Brazil and in all other countries that followed a process, a NO is inevitable because of the quality of the OOXML specification, and the technical issues you can extract from it.
[...] información en el blog de Avi Alkalay (IBM Brasil) o en BR-Linux, entre [...]
Congrats to Brazil! I’m hoping my country (Canada) follows your country instead of the USA for a change
Ainda bem que alguem ainda tem a integridade e coragem para tomar a decisão correcta. Só gostava que o meu país pudesse dar tambem um bum exemplo, mas ao contrário do Brasil, que deu um bom exemplo, o meu deu um péssimo exemplo, com um painel técnico totalmente corrupto. Para ver a pouco vergonha a que a situação chegou, ver a cobertura q o groklaw.net deu á situação
Esqueci-me do url
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2007071812280798
Força Brasil
[...] enablement’ was lost in India (see previous coverage from India [1,2, 3]). This is confirmed to be the case in Brazil as well. After a very difficult and inconclusive meeting in ABNT [...]
Samba!
A clear and brief statement, gratulation from an ashamed german reader where only an own goal was scored.
[...] Brazil also Decided No to OOXML yesterday:-) This entry was posted on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 10:32 am and [...]
It is good to see Brazil do the sensible thing, unlike so many of the ‘Western’ countries!
[...] política, sim, mas que acabou funcionando, ainda que o consenso tenha sido alcançado de uma forma não muito tradicional. [...]
Gracias Brasil! Muy Bueno!
(That used up most of my Knowledge of Spanish.) It is good to see a country with a thinking modern attitude to software. Thanks from England (and I think we voted against as well).
Well done.
From ECMA International’s own website -
“Ecma is driven by industry to meet the needs of industry” (says it all!)
[...] love this report: Brazil has apparently had the guts to vote no, and not be lobbied or pressured by microsoft to approve of their defective “open” [...]
[...] the few days we have German voting yes, India (second story) and Brazil voting no. I was expecting German to vote No. After all, they (DIN) were the one proposing a working [...]
[...] The FOSS kommunity is partying in the streets. Brazil has decided NO to OpenXML as an ISO-approved standard. [...]
[...] heavily on undocumented tricks to work, which puts full control back in their hands. This week both Brazil and India have decided to vote “no” at the upcoming ISO meeting where OOXML’s [...]
SPANISH? BRAZILIANS SPEAKS PORTUGUESE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Greetings From Singapore
I hope my countries standards board follows the same suit. Congratulations to Brazil for standing up to Microsoft
The fact of the matter is OOXML is Microsoft’s attempt at “future locking” the future of all of humanity’s digitals assets in a propietary format. How unfortunate when 50 years from now quadrillions of bytes of data will essentailly be undecipherable or lost to future generations because Microsoft and friends had their collective heads so far up their collectives asses that they love the smell of their own BS.
[...] read more | digg story [...]
[...] si pu
Congratulations! Hope this will be considerated from other nations.
[...] OOXML: Brazil Says NO [...]
La India y Brazil le dicen NO al formato OOXML de Microsoft…
Como muchos saben, después que OpenOffice apoyó el estándar de documentos de archivos de Office totalmente libre y abierto (el Open Document Format, o ODF), Microsoft respondió tratando de hacer que su formato OOXML se convirtiera en otro formato …
First to Standardize? Who even uses ODF outside of Open Office. Is it not a shame commercial companies like Apple are being political by adopting it. Value my friend.
[...] Brazil Says NO to OOXML [and India Says NO As Well] …the standards process director had to analyze the audio recording of all the meeting, review some facts, review again all 63+2 comments produced by the technical group about the ECMA specification, and conclude that a NO for OOXML is the correct positi (tags: digg Linux/Unix Technology) [...]
Hi,
It’s nice to know that ABNT evaluates innovations based on their technical features and that it works on its own, instead of giving in to lobbying pressures. This is rather rare in this country. Please keep going !
[...] Há quem diga que os países que votaram “Sim” não estão lendo as especificações da OOXML, estão fazendo decisões políticas ou simplesmente não possuem um processo maduro de normalização e padronização. Esse parece não ser o caso do Brasil e da China. [...]
[...] Brazil’s decision to reject OOXML? Policy is one thing, but practice is another. Some sources suggest that Microsoft has just [...]
[...] OOXML: Brazil Says NO [...]
[...] single comment (J1N8726-02.doc) shows a situation almost lived in Brazil too: “There is no possible to get the necessary consensus in the mirrow comitte to support either [...]
I do not see so badly the standard either that they want to implant with because he is so bad? , he is that I do not understand much of this but people speak very badly of which Microsoft tries.I have entered http://www.ooxml.es and it has seemed to me well…
Thanks
[...] read more | digg story [...]
[...] o Brasil votou NÃO ao OOXML em agosto, anexou também sessenta e tantos comentários justificando o porquê dessa rejeição. [...]
[...] é uma coisa. Sei lá, tal cidadão deve ter razões políticas ou financeiras para querer ver uma especificação com sérios problemas conceituais [OOXML] virar um padrão [...]
[...] tech:ok It was formalized today without big surprises. Our first vote in august was NO too, because of the same [...]
[...] first vote, in august, was also NO, due to the same reasons: OOXML is an awful [...]
[...] This NO was a result of a very difficult meeting. Consensus was not reached and a lot of confusion happened. Exactly as in the first brazilian NO. [...]
Olá,
Eu gostei do seu site e gostaria de fazer parceria com vc, posso colocar seu link em meu site e gostaria que vc tbm colocasse o meu link no seu site.
Esse é o meu código do button:
Abraços!
[...] Friday August 24th • IT Business, Technology The FOSS kommunity is partying in the streets. Brazil has decided NO to OpenXML as an ISO-approved standard. [...]
[...] que além de o Brasil ter votado NÃO em todo o processo de normalização do ISO/IEC DIS 29500 (mais conhecido como padronização do [...]
congrats!
Hi!,
Hello!,