Terms of Microsoft’s Ecma Submission
I've received a copy of the charter for the proposed Ecma working group that would "standardize" the Microsoft XML Reference Schema. "Rubberstamp" is the better word, if Ecma's members vote to proceed.
Team ODF: Back on Offense (Did he Mention Massachusetts?)
Team ODF made a big play today, with Big Blue carrying the ball deep back into Microsoft territory.
Two Weeks Since Tunis: What Now with WSIS?
Two weeks ago, the U.S. pulled off an Internet governance coup in Tunisia. Today, ICANN's Board of Directors is meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. In between, among other things, ICANN was hit with three new law suits relating to how it does its job. If it's not one thing, it's another.
It's been just over two weeks since the World Summit for the Information Society folded up its tents (literally) in Tunis. I've been following the WSIS process for two years, and cumulating blog entries and news items for the last six months here. I also dedicated this November's issue of the Consortium Standards Bulletin to the "compromise" that left the root zone of the Internet to the management of the U.S., and created a new Internet Governance Forum to accommodate the desires of the rest of the world to participate in decision making regarding the future use and impact of the Internet.
Now that everyone is back home, how is it going? Here are a few notes and reports from all over that give a sense of what's been happening.
IPR Policies 101: That depends on what you mean by "the"
The important part of Microsoft's covenant not to sue is only one sentence long. Here are about 100 that try to explain what it means.
IBM Weighs in Behind ODF in MA
IBM's Bob Sutor writes to Romney's office to point out that IBM's 5,000 Massachusetts' jobs are squarely behindn ODF
The British Library, XML, and the Rest of the Story
The British Library was prominently featured in the November 22 announcement by Microsoft as a supporter of its plan to offer the Microsoft SML Reference Schema to Ecma and ISO. But what does that exactly mean?
ODF/XML Notes and Reports from All Over (installment IV)
Everybody had a lot to say about Microsoft's announcement last week. Here's a sampling.
IBM Position on Microsoft XML Schema
This week I've been analyzing the Microsoft XML Schema Ecma commitment and covenant not to sue. Here are IBM's questions on the same topic
City on a Hill or Tammany Hall?
In a recent op/ed piece on the Massachusetts legislature's attempt to strip Peter Quinn of his policy power I asked whether the State House would prove to live up to the Commonwealth's ideal of a City on a Hill, or down to Tammany Hall. An article in today's Globe suggests the wrong answer.
The Microsoft Covenant Reexamined
NOTE: The Microsoft covenant that is analyzed below has been amended several times by Microsoft. As a result, the promise at is appears at the Microsoft site is not identical to the one that I reviewed in writing this post. Further, there is no change history at the Microsoft site. As a result, the following analysis is no longer complete or current, and should therefore not be relied upon.
In a previous post, I compared the Microsoft XML Schema covenant not to sue with that offered by Sun in favor of ODF, and concluded it fell short. But how does Microsoft's covenant compare to its old XML Schema? From that perspective, its a real improvement.