Yesterday, Microsoft made the following statement: "We have no plans to directly support the OpenDocument format at this time." Is that really news, or do we just want it to be?
For a week I've been hearing rumors that Microsoft was working behind the scenes to scotch Massachusetts' plans to standardize on OpenFormat. Those rumors have now been confirmed.
Only a short time ago Corel and Microsoft each said "no way" to supporting OpenDocument. Now they're both saying something different -- and they're both hoping that you're not paying too close attention.
A reporter asks me what I know about a challenge to the adoption of OpenDocument in Massachusetts.
Microsoft says that they're not yet willing to support OpenDocument, but will do so if their customers demand it. It looks like they won't have to bother, because someone else is going to do the job for them.
What do you do when the chance of a lifetime comes along to break out of the basement? If you're Corel, you stick your head in the sand.
What don't you need when you have two rival groups, each pushing their own standard within the IEEE 801.11n working group? A third, formed outside the IEEE, that says "take our proposal instead, or we'll go it alone."
David Berlind has done a great job of doing some deep digging on what the players knew, and when they knew it, as Massachusetts made its OpenDocument decision. I interviewed all of the same players (and more)while the decision was being made, and fill in some of the gaps.
Has Microsoft said "Never!" on OpenDocument? No - the prospects for future OpenDocument support are a matter of "evaluating the flow of customer requirements."
In an action which the White House will probably call an another example of "Old Europe" in action, the EU has broken ranks with the US over Internet governance.