Swedish OpenXML Vote Declared Invalid
The Swedish Institute for Standards (SiS) has just released a press statement declaring its vote for Microsoft's OpenXML format invalid.
In its statement SiS revoked its controversial vote from earlier this week, and announced that Sweden will not be taking an official stand on OpenXML. The official reason stated by the institute was that one of the voting parties had cast two votes, although each enterprise is allowed one vote only under SiS rules.
The Swedish Association for Free Information Structure (Förening för en fri informationsinfrastruktur) FFII had accused Microsoft of manipulating the vote via its partner companies. In a blog entry, Jason Matusow, who is responsible for intellectual property and interoperability at Microsoft, has since admitted that Microsoft had contacted business partners in Sweden and asked them to support OpenXML, and there are media reports that Microsoft promised incentives. According to Microsoft manager Tom Robertson the incentives were immediately withdrawn after they became known as "inconsistent with corporate policy".
At present, ISO is collecting votes from national committees on recognizing Microsoft's XML format as an ISO standard. Standardization institutes can cast their votes until September 2. As Sweden will probably be unable to keep the deadline in the wake of the irregularities, SiS has decided to abstain.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.