Five days ago Ars Technica issued its view of the Burton Group ODF/OOXML report and made it clear that they disagreed with its findings, going with the headline, "Analyst group slams ODF, downplays Microsoft ISO abuses."

On September 2, the comment and voting period will close on ISO/IEC DIS 29500, the draft specification based upon Microsoft's Office Open XML formats (OOXML). The Linux Foundation (LF) has received questions from outside its membership regarding its position on adoption of OOXML in its current form as a global standard, and on the adoption process itself.

Several months ago BECTA complained about OOXML, Windows Vista, and Microsoft Office 2007. It was not an issue of cost. This came after BECTA’s long and rather disturbing love affair with Microsoft. An accomplice claiming innocence?

Analysis of the latest mystifying announcement from Microsoft (about ODF)

ODF is reaching new places while OOXML just continues to be criticised.

Alex Brown recently tweeted to Microsoft's Doug Mahugh the following about OOXML:OOXML=tought [sic] fights; revealed JTC 1 procedures were rubbish. The OOXML approval was marred by procedures that were rubbish, eh? How about the result, then? Wasn't that exactly what the four appeals against adoption of OOXML stated as one basis, that the process was essentially rubbish? Were they right?

Another sign of Microsoft's arrogance is its official reply to well-founded accusations of misconduct

More success stories for OpenDocument Format (ODF); Microsoft is still pushing hard for proprietary OOXML

ODF, an international standard, is an open standard for any vendor to implement without restrictions. Massachusetts recently recognizing both ODF and OOXML as document formats, and Denmark running multi-format document trials. the European Commission has endorsed Open Document while various authorities in Austria, Brazil, France and the United Kingdom have adopted applications that support ODF.