Microsoft could be fragmenting the XML effort with Office 11.

[lowtech1]

How open is the new Office?

"Basically, Microsoft using XML for Office is a PR trick--it lets them spin a story that they're using an open format, without actually taking the risks of being truly open," said John Stracke, a software engineer in Bedford, Mass. "If Microsoft believes customers are getting worried about format lock-in, then using XML is a way to assuage their fears without losing their lock-in," Stracke said.

There is nothing new with the MS behemoth way of doing business. I wonder how many more law sues that it will take before MS shareholder realises that it is investing in an anti competitive company hurts innovation.

 

[Nemesis77]

I am shocked! Shocked I tells ya!

*cough*not*cough*

 

[XZeroII]

Does anyone know anything about computers around here? Office 11 is still in beta testing and they haven't released the details yet. These are just stupid people who want to spread any FUD they can about microsoft. Of course they will use a propriatary Schema, they have to. That's how XML is done.

 

[Descartes]

This article is absurd. Your blind support of it shows how little you know of XML.

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Does anyone know anything about computers around here? Office 11 is still in beta testing and they haven't released the details yet. These are just stupid people who want to spread any FUD they can about microsoft. Of course they will use a propriatary Schema, they have to. That's how XML is done.

Proprietary schema? Huh? You can infer the schema from (almost) any well-formed XML document using any number of tools (xsd.exe, VS.NET, and even a few online sources).

Most companies design a new XML vocabulary, as they will (in most cases) need a way to represent their data. There are many standard vocabularies available for many facets of business, but not everything.

 

[worth]

Pure FUD. Even if Microsoft does not disclose their XML Schema, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out.

 

[lowtech1]

Of course they will use a propriatary Schema, they have to. That's how XML is done

Don't you think agreeing on a schema that the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) would make thing a lot easyer.

It is like agreeing to have all home water piping as 3/4" standard, but you decided to create your own imperial treads for it instead of using the metric tread standard as part of the whole deal.

 

[gopunk]

does anybody that doesn't hate MS already really give a sh!t?

what descartes said is completely true.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: lowtech

Of course they will use a propriatary Schema, they have to. That's how XML is done

Don't you think agreeing on a schema that the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) would make thing a lot easyer.

It is like agreeing to have all home water piping as 3/4" standard, but you decided to create your own imperial treads for it instead of using the metric tread standard as part of the whole deal.

no it is more like everybody agrees that home water piping should contain certain elements and follow a certain structure, but leaves the specifics up to individuals. that's how XML is done.

 

[DaveSimmons]

This is an example of where the monopoly monitoring people should make MS publish and document their schema.

But as gopunk and Descartes said it is not an evil plot or in any way unreasonable for MS to want the flexibility of creating their own schema instead of being locked into someone else's that might limit the features that they can offer.