It is final! ISO confirms the voting on Open XML. No open standard yet for Microsoft.
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Anybody up to writing good directory software?
Tue, 2007-02-20 11:17 — David JonathanSince the very beginning, directories (of any kind) have had a very central role in the internet. (I have recently grown fond of Free Web Directory. Even Slashdot can be considered a directory: a collection of great news and invaluable user-generated comments. As far as software is concerned, doing a quick search on Google about software directories will return the free (as in freedom) software directories like Savannah, SourceForge, Freshmeat and so on, followed by shareware and freeware sites such as FileBuzz, PCWin Download Center and All Freeware (great if you're looking for shareware and freeware, but definitely less comprehensive than their free-as-in-freedom counterparts).
Is better education the key to finding better software?
Sat, 2007-03-03 03:25 — Edward RusselI read David Jonathon's article Anybody Up To Writing Good Directory Software? the other day, which got me thinking about software directories in general. As David mentioned, many of the software directories one finds when doing a quick google search are free as in beer, not as in freedom. But what interests me is the software directories that already exist, providing a combination of both free as in beer software, and open source software. Sites such as Freeware Downloads and Shareware Download don't advertise themselves as providing free as in liberty software, but each of them have a good selection of open source software available... if you know where to look.
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Best karma users
From the staff of FSDaily: Comedians in Perth, Magicians in Perth, Bands in Perth
tryggvib
4 years 37 weeks 6 days 21 hours ago
Congratulations to computer users
Congratulations to computer users everywhere!
drakedalfa
4 years 37 weeks 6 days 7 hours ago
indeed
indeed
akf
4 years 37 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago
The war is not over yet, just one
The war is not over yet, just one battle is won.
silverlokk
4 years 37 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago
It's a major battle though, it
It's a major battle though, it means that OOXML will be subjected to a thorough examination which it's not likely to pass. Anyone have access to the comments? I doubt if Microsoft can address them by February 2008.
davemc
4 years 37 weeks 21 hours 9 min ago
The war is not over. Yes a major
The war is not over. Yes a major battle has been won, but it doesn't (yet) mean a comprehensive review. Countries can change their votes up to the BRM (Ballot Resolution Meeting) and all Microsoft needs is to flip 5 votes in the Committee and one country (to get the 2/3rds in committee and 75% in all voters.
So don't hold your breath while Microsoft ramps down its lobbying... expect to to pick up.
davemc
sepreece
4 years 36 weeks 5 days 23 hours ago
I don't know that the rejoicing
I don't know that the rejoicing is justified. The vote was close and it's pretty normal for some balloters to change their votes as comments are resolved and deadlines approach.
On the other hand, this one has been so overtly politicized that the votes may be less likely to change...
boottux
4 years 36 weeks 19 hours 49 min ago
Given how close the vote was, it
Given how close the vote was, it only serves to remind me how out of touch these bodies seem to be about what best serves the interest of the IT community as a whole. The story isn't out yet but I bet there are some back room meetings that have the transparency we have come to associate with other such august bodies such as the International Olympic Committee. The only difference between the IOC and international bodies which give their imprimatur to standards is that no one in the everyday world pays attention to a bunch of geeks setting IT standards. I expect Microsoft to throw as much of its weight and money around as it possibly can. I just don't believe that all the people who are involved in the standards setting process have the integrity to be immune to such a tsunami of influence. To quote David Byrne of Talking Heads fame, "Same as it ever was."