The farce that is OOXML standards-making
You simply must go read Matthew Aslett's passionate, forlorn description of the farce that is the OOXML standardization process. Petty, shallow, and mean.
Unfortunately, I think the ugliness probably goes both ways, as the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. It's no wonder, then, that some (like Sweden) are throwing up their hands in disgust.
To quote Matthew:
The approvals process has been one of the most petty, underhand, deceitful, and childish events I have had the misfortune to witness during ten years in the technology industry. Whatever the outcome there is little to be proud of....
Microsoft's Jason Matusow recently wrote "at the heart of this remains the idea that making document formats more open is a good thing". On the contrary, I would argue that the issue of making document formats more open was forgotten long ago.
Sad, but true.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
