Updegrove criticized Microsoft's OpenXML submission in a blog posting Dec. 6 on the ConsortiumInfo.org Web site, a resource for industry standard groups (http://www.consortiuminfo.org/newsblog/blog.php?ID=1795).
In an e-mail interview late Wednesday, he reiterated his view that Microsoft's submission of OpenXML formats does not fit the general definition of "openness" in terms of technology formats. He said most agreed-upon definitions of "openness" include these points: anyone can participate in a technology's standardization process; anyone can implement the result of that process; the process of adopting the standard is open and transparent; and no single company or group of companies can control the standard.
Updegrove said that Microsoft's plan to standardize OpenXML, as evidenced in the Terms of Reference submitted to Ecma, supports all but the last definition criterion. "It is unclear how much control, as a practical matter, Microsoft might exercise in the long run," he said in an e-mail. "For example, it hasn't committed to support the resulting standard itself in the long term. One might assume, 'of course it will,' which would be true, if the goal is to introduce the standard to the marketplace."
However, Updegrove said that the answer to that question might be "no" if Microsoft's intention in submitting OpenXML formats to Ecma is, as many believe, merely to break the momentum of ODF in the marketplace.
Microsoft's public relations firm Waggener Edstrom Inc. didn't immediately return requests for comment.
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