TechJournal

News from the AFP. 

"US software giant Microsoft has lost its bid to have its Office software package format registered as an international standard, the body charged with regulating such matters said on Tuesday.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) said in a statement that a vote of its national member bodies failed to reach the required threshold to approve Microsoft's bid. Twenty-six percent of the national bodies voted against standardising Office, while ISO rules stipulate that no more than 25$ can oppose any successful bid.

The ISO said it will hold a meeting at its Geneva headquarters next February to discuss the vot and possibility of changes to the bid by the US giant and an industry association.

'The objective of the meeting will be to review and seek consensus on possible modifications to the (Microsoft) document in light of the comments received along with the votes,' it said. Microsoft is already engaged in a mommoth legal wrangle with the European Commission over alleged abuse of its dominant market position through its Windows operating system.

In 2004, the European commission fined the US company a record 497 million euros (685 million dollars), but Microsoft appealed this ruling in the European Court of First Instance in April 2006, and the case is still ongoing. (c) 2007 AFP"

Well, that's that for now. In my opinion I don't think MS Office shouldbe made in to a standard. I believe that if there is going to be a standard, the source code of that standard must be free so as to be fair to all players in the office niche.

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