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Microsoft Takes Bold Steps Toward Open APIs and Publishing Tech Specs
2/21/2008
- Standards: In addition to supporting standards, Microsoft will document extensions it makes to any standards.
- Industry Engagements: Expanding on the Interoperability Executive Council launched three years ago, Microsoft is launching its Open Source Interoperability Initiative. "This will provide a set of technical content and other information that promotes more interoperability between Microsoft software and open source software," Ballmer said. "We will also create an ongoing dialog with customers and developers, as well as open source community, through an online interoperability forum available that will be much more broadly available than our Interoperability Executive Council."
Ballmer concluded his remarks saying that indeed Microsoft's "long-term success" depends on its ability to deliver software and services platform that is open flexible and provides customers and developers with choice.
Early reaction from some industry analysts and pundits suggests that Microsoft's timing of this announcement has a lot to do with the ISO holding meetings next week to decide whether or not Redmond's Open Office XML document format should be granted status as a certified ISO standard.
Ballmer downplayed a reporter's question as to what role that played in today's announcement. "It's certainly consistent with the notion of standards and standards support and a number of the things articulated in the principals," he said. "We will, from time to time, in conjunction with industry participants, look to lead the standardization process and sometimes we will look to be on the receiving end of implementing important standards."
Jeffrey Schwartz is executive editor, features, for Redmond Developer News. You can contact him at jschwartz@reddevnews.com.
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