I’ve shifted from using MS to ODF years ago, hoping that finally I do not have to worry to much about backward compatability.

Old files can always be opened.

But now, without more information, I have to start worrying again about all my archived files.

Sad day .

It seems like there is some confusion stemming from the name of Hiser’s organization which has falsely inflated the significance of this. The “ODF Foundation” isn’t really much of an organization at all. It’s three guys who stand to benefit financially from the drama they are causing.

On the other hand, the ODF ALLIANCE, of which Hiser used to be a part, has over 460 member organizations in 53 countries and, as the story indicates, is stronger than ever with increasing international support.

Clever PR from Hiser and, no doubt, the Microsoft PR department, but that is all.

This is an admirably balanced take. We’ve not taken this path lightly: our view is that it is better to move now than in 7 to 9 months when ODF v 1.2 has similar difficulty at ISO to OOXML.

It is unfortunate from certain angles that ODF’s momentum is accelerating; but you’ll note that, given how difficult ODF is to implement through software change in the enterprise, this momentum is essentially emotional, political & policy based and not reflective of success in installing software and adjusting business processes. Those who have been trying — Mass ITD, Denmark, Belgium & others — are reverting back to ODF + OOXML policies out of practical necessity because it is so hard to get away from the Microsoft formats.

Our position is borne of living in the real world. And we are the first to take the blame for promoting ODF and helping to create unrealistic expectations. Accordingly, all our work now is dedicated to correcting that and delivering software that will make a single Universal Document Format feasible as well as possible.

We have no relationship with Microsoft. Yes, we are small (does size count?…it may make us nimbler). We are businessmen: that means financial objectives are important to us just as they are to all businesspeople (do IBM or Sun have no financial involvement? …the point as you see is ridiculous).

Sam, thank you for posting.

The point - “It’s not personal, it’s business” - is generally a valid one, though it doesn’t seem to fit here.

IBM, Sun, Microsoft, et al, have been open about their business interests (as they would necessarily have to be), while your motivations have been less clear. There is talk on the blogs that you tried to sell a software plug-in to pro-ODF people, but were rebuffed.

You can understand how that would make your recent about-face on ODF look suspicious and cast doubt on what your true motivations might be.

Talk is cheap, Dani.

There was never a lack of clarity about the OpenDocument Foundation’s objectives. If there is now, it’s merely due to your innuendo.

It is consistent with the Foundation’s objectives — to assist the development and penetration of ODF — to charge for the completion of work if some is found necessary. Though it was a surprise to us that we found ourselves providing the winning proof-of-concept that would have saved ODF among company you’d think would have been able to deliver better solutions.

The work necessary to complete the Plug-in we estimated in Massachusetts at 14 months of approx. 5 men coding. The budget for assembling that team — taking real men out of their current employment, paying their salaries and health benefits (FOR A TIME-LIMITED PROJECT) was over a million dollars (US). In retrospect, we find we underestimated the dollar figure. nevertheless, that is a risky, nearly minimum-wage enterprise with no guarantee of success. The pecuniary aspect of the criticism is, as I said, ridiculous as well as hypocritical and inflammatory.

Keep in mind we agreed to meet the demand to open source the work.

Talk IS cheap, Dani. But few in this discussion are interested in the truth. This has been a smear-project. I don’t understand why you would wish to continue making assertions that question our motivations when you have so little valid information.

We try to integrate our personal values and our business dealings. This is one area in which we are a success. Perhaps more so than in navigating the Cylla & Charybdis of software standards and religious software communities.

Handy Tools from the Microsoft Office Package…

Microsoft has become famous for their operating systems but they also provide a great set of tools in the form of Microsoft Office. Many people take Microsoft Office for granted and don’t realize how hard life would be without it….

[...] Microsoft’s Office file formats. I wrote last year that the departure of some ODF backers was unfortunate, but also might prompt ODF’s remaining proponents to work on making the format fully [...]

[...] mine and others’ calls for continuation of the open format’s interoperability advantage [...]