Story: OOXML expert: ODF standard is broken

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My main objections to OOXML are not technical

The reason OOXML is undesirable is not to me a technical issue so getting bogged down in technically detailed arguments that most people don't understand is simple obfuscation. This seems to be the MS strategy. The fact is that single standards are better than multiple standards. Take power sockets. Within a country there is generally a standard but with international travel, adapters are now necessary for many people. There is little argument that having a single standard would be more convenient and less expensive for consumers. The argument about value in competition between standards in mature technologies is simple tosh. odf was established first and MS could easily have supported it. MS has more resources to do this than anyone else and there has been plenty of time. Obfuscation suits them because it buys them time maintaining their monopolistic hold on desktop office users for a bit longer. Unfortunately for them, the world is changing and their desktop dependent business model is looking shakier by the minute as more things migrate to the web. But that is their problem not a problem for the rest of us so no need to bail them out.

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