4 OOXML links: "Deprecated before use", BRM access, patents, pic

[David Gerard]

On 18/02/2008, Ciaran O'Riordan <ciaran at fsfe.org> wrote:

> DIS-29500: Deprecated before use? by Georg Greve
> http://fsfeurope.org/documents/msooxml-idiosyncrasies.en.html
> About OOXML's original purpose of preserving compatibility with an
> idiosyncratic format, how the changes to the format now exclude that
> compatibility, and how complexity and lack of a re-useable source code
> reference implementation makes implementation impractical or impossible.


The reference to ECMA-234 is most apposite. I was surprised to find no
Wikipedia article on ECMA-234. Does anyone think they have sufficient
third-party references to hand to write one up? Particularly
contemporary coverage of the bit where Microsoft promptly ignored
ECMA-234 in Windows 95. If you don't want to do the writing, please
send 'em my way.

(My previous personal favourite article about Microsoft:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Display How to write real-life
comedy in encyclopedic format.)


- d.