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From: "Louis Suarez-Potts" OpenOffice.org Community Manager
Subject: [ooo-announce] OpenDocument Format = ISO 26300
Date: Thu, May 4, 2006 00:01
To: announce@openoffice.org,discuss@openoffice.org,dev@openoffice.org
Cc: dev@marketing.openoffice.org

All,
1 May 2006: The International Standards Organisation has today approved the standard file format to be used worldwide for the storage of files produced by office software (word processor documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, etc.). For the first time in the history of computing, software users will be guaranteed that they will be able to use their data in any compliant software package, both now and in the future. The point of an open standard is that any compliant application can use it.

As Simon Phipps, the Chief Open Source Officer at Sun Microsystems, observed: "This is a landmark moment for the Free/Open Source Software movement. An innovation that started here [at OpenOffice.org] has been reviewed, adopted and now endorsed at the highest level as an international standard. We now have a standard for productivity documents that is recognised by governments, which often require ISO approval."

The OpenOffice.org productivity suite fully supports the new ISO/IEC 26300 standard (and since version 2.0 has has fully supported the OpenDocument format on which it is based). The Project has led the world in charting a new path.

Louis Suarez-Potts, the OpenOffice.org Community Manager writes: "The approval by the ISO helps level the playing field and helps clarify what is at stake: your intellectual property, your right to use innovative software. The open standard means not only that your property is not held hostage to the company making the application but also that new applications, new extensions, new ways of doing things can be created. The user wins."

The time is now, the tools are here, the freedom is yours.

-OpenOffice.org

About OpenOffice.org
The OpenOffice.org Community is an international team of volunteer and sponsored contributors who develop, support, and promote the leading open-source office productivity suite, OpenOffice.org®.

OpenOffice.org supports the Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) OASIS Standard (ISO/IEC 26300) as well as legacy industry file formats and is available on major computing platforms in over 65 languages. OpenOffice.org is provided under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence (LGPL).

The OpenOffice.org Community acknowledges generous sponsorship from a number of companies, including Sun Microsystems, the founding sponsor and primary contributor.

Links
The OpenOffice.org Community can be found at http://www.openoffice.org
The OpenOffice.org office productivity suite may be downloaded free of charge from http://download.openoffice.org
Further information about the suite may be found at http://www.openoffice.org/product/

Press Contacts
Jacqueline McNally (UTC +08h00)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Lead
jacqueline@openoffice.org
+61 (8) 9474-3021

Worldwide Marketing Contacts
http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html

Subject: [ooo-announce] A genuine open-standard format
From: "Louis Suarez-Potts" OpenOffice.org Community Manager
Date: Sun, November 27, 2005 20:42
To: announce@openoffice.org

Genuine Open-Standard Format for Office Documents Already Available

25 November 2005

OpenOffice.org believes that the demand for a genuine open-standard format for office documents is overwhelming. Users of office software are coming to realise that their real investment lies not in the software itself, but in the spreadsheets, databases, and wordprocessing documents which they have created: their own intellectual property. The only way to guarantee access to this investment long term is for the data to be stored in a vendor-neutral, open-standard format.

Microsoft's announcement on Monday, 21 Nov., that it recognises the market pressure for open-standard data formats is a welcome development. But why opt for a new standard? OpenDocument, which OpenOffice.org uses, is approved by OASIS - the standards body for XML data formats in business; OASIS is sponsored by all the leading names in IT, including Microsoft. In addition, OpenDocument was submitted to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) on 30 September 2005 for ratification.

OpenDocument is a genuine vendor-neutral, open-standard specification, free from intellectual property encumbrances, so that all developers are free to work with it, including open-source developers.

Vendors and developers do not need to continue with the current limiting industry standard, as the OpenDocument standard is available now. Utilising an open-standard, such as OpenDocument, driven and supported by many vendors, is of huge benefit to organisations and their customers. Interoperability between different applications and potential new ventures formed among vendors supporting OpenDocument will stimulate innovation.

Following an open process, the OASIS OpenDocument Technical Committee has a long term commitment to extend, improve, and maintain the standard as technology changes. Membership is open to anyone and users of OpenDocument may view the OpenDocument proceedings and participate in an increasing number of forums. See: http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=office"

OpenOffice.org and other open-source projects are well placed to lead and contribute to the innovation of new e-business applications utilising the OpenDocument file format specification.

About OpenOffice.org
The OpenOffice.org Project is an international community of volunteers and sponsors including founding sponsor and primary contributor, Sun Microsystems. OpenOffice.org develops, supports, and promotes the open-source office productivity suite, OpenOffice.org. The project can be found at http://www.openoffice.org/. OpenOffice.org supports the Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) OASIS Standard and is available on major computing platforms in over 60 languages. OpenOffice.org is provided
under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence (LGPL).

Press Contacts
Jacqueline McNally (UTC +08h00)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Lead
jacqueline@openoffice.org
+61 (8) 9474-3021

John McCreesh (UTC +00h00)
OpenOffice.org Marketing Project Co-Lead
jpmcc@openoffice.org
+44 (0)7 810 278 540

Louis Suarez-Potts (UTC -05h00)
OpenOffice.org Community Manager
louis@openoffice.org
+1 (416) 625-3843

Worldwide Marketing Contacts
http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html

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