What’s happening in the world of consortia, standards,
and open source software
The Standards Blog tracks and explains the way standards and open source software impact business, society, and the future. This site is hosted by Gesmer Updegrove LLP, a technology law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. GU is an internationally recognized leader in creating and representing the organizations that create and promote standards and open source software. The opinions expressed in The Standards Blog are those of the authors alone, and not necessarily those of GU. Please see the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for this site, which appear here. You can find a summary of our services here. To learn how GU can help you, contact: Andrew Updegrove
Microsoft says that they're not yet willing to support OpenDocument, but will do so if their customers demand it. It looks like they won't have to bother, because someone else is going to do the job for them.
What do you do when the chance of a lifetime comes along to break out of the basement? If you're Corel, you stick your head in the sand.
What don't you need when you have two rival groups, each pushing their own standard within the IEEE 801.11n working group? A third, formed outside the IEEE, that says "take our proposal instead, or we'll go it alone."
David Berlind has done a great job of doing some deep digging on what the players knew, and when they knew it, as Massachusetts made its OpenDocument decision. I interviewed all of the same players (and more)while the decision was being made, and fill in some of the gaps.
Has Microsoft said "Never!" on OpenDocument? No - the prospects for future OpenDocument support are a matter of "evaluating the flow of customer requirements."
In an action which the White House will probably call an another example of "Old Europe" in action, the EU has broken ranks with the US over Internet governance.
When you're the 900 pound gorilla and realize you have to begin playing on the other guy’s battleground instead of your own, that’s when you know you’ve jumped the shark.
If you visit Groklaw, you know about The Daemon, the Gnu and the Penguin, a new book by Peter Salus being serialized there, with a new chapter appearing each Thursday. Of course, if you don't visit Groklaw, you probably wouldn't want to admit it, since Groklaw has long been one of the "be there or be square" hangouts on the Web for those of the open source persuasion and their fellow travelers.
When John Winthrop thrust the colonists of Massachusetts in 1630 into the role of an example to the world, did he set the psychology in place for a decision by a Massachusetts CIO 375 years later?
Nothing lasts forever. Not you. Not me. And certainly not consortia.