tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post4920236247869614910..comments2023-11-02T07:53:24.179-07:00Comments on Open Source India: ISO/IEC and OOXML: The judge, the jury and the hangmanAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03702249722460925793noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-79360118046340007642008-08-02T13:54:00.000-07:002008-08-02T13:54:00.000-07:00For interest, in the UK, all the schools teach the...For interest, in the UK, all the schools teach their pupils how to use Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office (to the exclusion of, for example, Linux and OpenOffice.org ) .<BR/><BR/>The reason for this is that schools are held to a policy of purchasing software from a vendor; i.e. they cannot acquire software by downloading it from a university web site such as <A HREF="http://mirrorservice.org/" REL="nofollow">UK Mirror Service</A> , or asking billionaire Mark Shuttleworth <A HREF="https://shipit.ubuntu.com/" REL="nofollow">Ubuntu SHIPIT service</A> to drop a CD in the mail. And Microsoft give educational discounts generous enough to bring the year's cost of Windows+Office below that of RedHat Enterprise Linux or SuSE Linux Enterprise Server. RedHat and Novell are on the 'Approved Supplier List', but their prices are always undercut by the local Microsoft distribution partner.<BR/><BR/>So the schools are forced to buy cheap software, rather than taking free-libre-open-source-software from the trees it grows on. Budgetary constraints, and commercial legal instructions, make it so.<BR/><BR/>This isn't actually very useful for my children. If they are to grow up and compete with you Indians in the decades to come, they need to build on top of FLOSS.<BR/><BR/>Open Standards. And if there's an open source implementation, stand on the shoulders of giants and look further. That's the way forward.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-29658263460969165702008-07-22T23:42:00.000-07:002008-07-22T23:42:00.000-07:00Thanks for all the comments. We (the free and open...Thanks for all the comments. We (the free and open source software community, Red Hat) will work with policy makers to raise awareness of open standards. We have got some great responses from senior policy makers who are keeping a close eye on what is happening at ISO. This will not be treated lightly...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03702249722460925793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-5711073107698584492008-07-22T20:52:00.000-07:002008-07-22T20:52:00.000-07:00Well argued. I know that this suggestion has been ...Well argued. I know that this suggestion has been made in several places including on Groklaw.net. Go there and make a post in the Off-Topic thread asking about it, as there is at least one group trying to put something together, and it may be in India's interest to be involved.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18354974465136846413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-42993469000843672612008-07-22T14:25:00.000-07:002008-07-22T14:25:00.000-07:00While it may be hard, maybe a new standards body i...While it may be hard, maybe a new standards body is just what is needed. Most everything else is being replaced or morphing radically enough to stay alive, why not the standards body?<BR/><BR/>But I agree with anthony's comment:<BR/>"I'm not so certain the world needs a standards organization for emerging countries as much as the world needs a standards organization that is accountable for it's actions."<BR/><BR/>All the trouble that we have seen brewing the last two years is only the beginning of the avalanche that is now descending on the abusive companies, organizations and government entities. They have stared at it in disbelief, seen it start to crack and fall, and have been running around making all sorts of noise, trying to avoid the inevitable as they see it gaining speed, about to crush and bury them in the tumbling snow.<BR/><BR/>,ValentineSAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-84778355272326905942008-07-22T12:00:00.000-07:002008-07-22T12:00:00.000-07:00Hi Venkatesh,Good blog post! (=I'm not so certain ...Hi Venkatesh,<BR/><BR/>Good blog post! (=<BR/><BR/>I'm not so certain the world needs a standards organization for emerging countries as much as the world needs a standards organization that is accountable for it's actions.<BR/><BR/>After all, it's not just emerging economies that have a problem with ISO's incompetence with the OOXML fiasco. I just wish my country (Canada) had stepped forward and appealed the vote too.Anthony Fejeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06637120783340508940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-37498039525993409442008-07-22T11:42:00.000-07:002008-07-22T11:42:00.000-07:00We can all join OpenISO.org and Digital Standards ...We can all join <A HREF="http://www.openiso.org/" REL="nofollow">OpenISO.org</A> and <A HREF="http://www.digistan.org/" REL="nofollow">Digital Standards Organization</A>. An organisation as corrupt as ISO has no worth.<BR/>/$Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-67335559298365208042008-07-22T10:46:00.000-07:002008-07-22T10:46:00.000-07:00ISO no longer has any credibility as an independen...ISO no longer has any credibility as an independent, impartial entity. Without independence and impartiality a standards body cannot do it's job. ISO must be replaced or multinational corporations will use standards to entrench their own interests. ISO has signed it's own death warrant, it's time for nations with integrity to execute it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-41755913122345030532008-07-21T22:14:00.000-07:002008-07-21T22:14:00.000-07:00@the open sourcerer: Maybe, instead of creating a ...@the open sourcerer: Maybe, instead of creating a separate standards body for emerging economies, we should just be more selective and align with genuine standards bodies like IETF and W3C. Some of my friends in IETF seem to have nothing but contempt for ISO. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03702249722460925793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22704397.post-33443391924623433902008-07-21T12:07:00.000-07:002008-07-21T12:07:00.000-07:00Hi Venkatesh, that sounds like a fine goal to me.S...Hi Venkatesh, that sounds like a fine goal to me.<BR/><BR/>Specifically regarding IT standards, I suspect that ISO have lost their status because of the appalling fiasco that OOXML has been. The IETF and W3C have shown that truly open standards can be produced and implemented on a global scale... <BR/><BR/>Imagine if an international networking protocol like TCP/IP had gone through ISO? Oh yes. It did. Remember the ISO 7 Layer Model? Too complex, over engineered and never seriously implemented. <BR/><BR/>Or it would have been owned by some monolith like M$ or IBM and we'd all have to pay. That would have meant that the Internet would never have occurred.The Open Sourcererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16281360741657825989noreply@blogger.com