[odf-discuss] Response from a GNOME Foundation board director

[M. Fioretti]

On Fri, Nov 02, 2007 05:39:24 AM -0400, Jody Goldberg (jody at gnome.org)
wrote:

> the addition of the wonderful new Formula spec in ODF
> 1.2 actually drives the final nail into the interoperability coffin.
> It is a beautiful piece of work but it is intentionally different
> enough from XL that MS could never store content without loss

Please elaborate on this. Does this apply also to the creation of NEW
spreadsheets? Or is it a problem ONLY with migration of existing ones?
If it applies to new files too, can MS technically patch their product
to not create such problems? If not, why not?

> Pushing ODF as the one true standard format is a powerful political
> ploy, but technically it is nonsense.

See my other reply on how SW developers see the world versus the way
the world actually works. Of course pushing ODF is a political ploy,
have you realized this only now?

The point is that, even if of course it is not the one true standard
today, it remains (in the only sense that really counts, that is
politically, not technically, no matter if this discovery hurts you)
the only viable alternative to change the current mess before it's too
late.

> The ODF TC was fraught with politics, and produced significantly
> fewer benefits.

If so, this is a serious issue that should be addresses (in the proper
seats, not sure this is the one). But I still feel that giving up ODF
now only makes OOXML win.

	Marco
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