I saw this headline today, OpenDocument Foundation closes up shop after slamming OpenDocument Format. No it's not from the Onion, it's real. I can honestly say I can't keep track of this crap.
I'm still strongly in favor of open formats. Documents contain my data and shouldn't be locked in formats owned by some company.
It seems ODF's problem was that it wasn't open enough. "The group voiced criticism of ODF last month, claiming that the format was encumbered by patents held by Sun and was designed in a manner that isn't conducive to interoperability with existing document formats"
"The OpenDocument Foundation has ceased operations in the wake of the controversy. The heated debate over open document formats continues to escalate, even as businesses in North America exhibit utter apathy about XML-based standards for documents. Despite the raging controversy, PDF remains the single most ubiquitous document format used in industry. As the controversy continues to unfold, it's likely that Microsoft's [OOXML] format will win by default, simply because it's tied to the most popular office software."
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This whole next-gen XML document format fiasco is a real pain in the ass at work... Trying to decide which format to support next: OpenOffice's ODF, Microsoft's Office "Open"XML, Microsoft's XML Paper Spec....
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