Microsoft opens document formats...maybe

Microsoft made a splash the other day with their annoucement that they would make their document format an open standard. This news have been reported in the news everywhere but sadly most of todays news media are very uncritical and simply reports what companies write in their press releases like it's the one and only truth. Of course, sometimes that is okay, but a little fact checking seldom hurts.

That certainly counts for everything Microsoft makes a press release about since they are what I consider the unofficial world champions in lobbying and marketing - you can only admire the impressive stuff they are able to pull off. I don't admire their ethics and morale quite as much ;)

This time it's no different, just look at how Microsoft worked in the background to derail ODF in Massachusetts - it is quite impressive. It also makes you wonder how much the politicians actually care about the citizens?

Microsoft claims they will open up, which I sincerely hope is true. The only problem is that Microsofts definition of an open standard most likely isn't the same as many others (me included). A truly open standard should (as the name implies) be freely available without any restrictions whatsoever. That's the case with the new OpenDocument format (ODF), but can the same be said of Microsofts OpenXML format? It is no doubt too early to pass judgement on that, but I have my doubts, just look at the questions David Berlind asks in his blog and this comparison by Andy Updegrove.