Microsoft has some tendencies for playing the bully in the world of technology, but they are currently feeling as if they had been dragged off the toilet The ISO has rejected their “open standard” document file format, and this is quite a setback for them.

Microsoft’s whole purpose for getting their “open” standard approved is to maintain their market share. They rely on all of their users feeling like they have everything they need as long as they stick with the MS Windows and MS office combination (and the licensing that goes along with it).

Standards seem like a moot point to the bystander, but when a new de facto standard arises, it can seriously affect how you work, and the success or failure of many products. Anyone remember when the standard was still up in the air for v.92 and v.94 modems? There was a war of sorts, with companies taking sides and starting to sell hardware that supporte one or the other. fortunately, most of them allowed for the logic to be flashed after the standard was decided.

Discussion at LinuxTracker

Here’s the original article that got me thinking on this: ISO Rejects Microsoft’s OOXML as Standard