When OOXML was first approved, it looked like Microsoft had succeeded in securing ISO approval for their new standard, despite reports of cheating. Soon, though, it became clear that Microsoft was not going to get ISO approval easily when several countries appealed the approval, saying that ISO rules had been broken.

Now Microsoft has lost a little more ground as the OOXML approval was put on hold. The question now, once again, is what will Microsoft do next?

Microsoft may yet manage to pull out of this situation and get OOXML approved. But today’s news makes it seem just a little more likely that OOXML will fall by the wayside and Microsoft actually will adopt ODF as I discussed in an earlier post.  That would be the better outcome.  Of course, the future is hard to predict and something completely different might ultimately come out of this. It looks like we will just have to wait and see.

Related posts:

1. Is Microsoft Worried About the OOXML Appeal? When I saw the headline “Brazil Appeals OOXML Too! Asks...
2. The Most Important Reason OOXML Should Be Defeated More than any technical or political reason, the biggest reason...
3. OOXML Controversy Yesterday, September 2, was the ending date for countries to...
4. OOXML: Not A Standard By Any Definition of the Word As I see it, there are two ways in which...
5. EU Puts Spotlight on Microsoft's Actions in First OOXML Vote Those who closely followed the first OOXML standardization vote (in...