After OOXML, XPS
When you thought that OOXML was enough trouble, XPS comes to be talked about. Many people just ask why Microsoft decided to create a "standard" (OOXML) to something that already had one (ODF). My answer is: "why should they use what everyone uses, when they can make anyone use what they're using?". Sucks, I know. But OOXML was just a start: now I start to understand why Marcos Santos (from Microsoft) kept saying "we should look into the future". Is the future "let's replace every standard with a Microsoft format"? Seems so, considering they're now trying to make XPS an ISO standard.
Here's a nice looking table where you can easily understand what am I talking about (shamelessly copied from this post):
| Feature | OOXML | XPS |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Editor | Microsoft via Rex Jaeschke | Microsoft via Rex Jaeschke |
| Standards Body | Microsoft via MS-ECMA | Microsoft via MS-ECMA |
| Patents | Microsoft promise OSP | Microsoft promise CP |
| Duplication | ODF ISO26300 | PDF ISO32000 |
| ISO Liaisons | ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34 | ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34 |
| ISO plans | in progress | will be submitted to ISO |
| Restricted technologies | WMA, WMV, MP3, OLE, Binary space, Macros | HD-Photo |
So, it seems that after forcing their own replacement for ODF, they're now trying to do the same for PDF. What will come next? HTML? Place your bets...
Well there's some inconsistencies with that comparison. Firstly, you cannot argue that ODF is what "everyone is using". Sorry but unfortunately that's not the case, at least in the enterprise (i've run into too many .docx files lately, since it's the default output format).
ReplyDeleteAnd then, in this following "war" the non-MS format (PDF) is already dominant. But it will be interesting to see what happens, especially when MS Office by default installs a XPS virtual printer and to output PDF we have to install a separate driver. I foresee Adobe doing the same with Acrobat Reader.
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteODF is not what "everyone is using", but neither is OOOXML. Remember that the files produced by Microsoft Office 2007 aren't "ISO OOXML". ODF is widely used already, in one nieche market: documents preservation. It would be bigger and bigger with the enforcement of some European directives.
The problem of double standards is exactly that programs will have to deal well with every standard, or ditch the non-Microsoft "standard" (since they have a monopolistic market share).
Adobe is not happy with Microsoft lately. Now, they'll be really pissed off. But the worst of this all is that standards is something that affects us all. See the huge amount of public money that is going to be spent in implementing doubled standards. XPS, like OOXML, obviously should't be even considered as a standard.