Barnaby's Canadian IT Pro WebLog : Linux / Open Source

Standardize on the Office Open XML document format

Barnaby_Jeans — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 02:39:00 GMT

Today we announced that we are putting forward the Office Open XML document format to Ecma with the intention of making the formats an ISO standard.

The official press release: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/nov05/11-21Ecma.mspx

Brian Jones, a program manager in the Office team has a great write-up on his blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/brian_jones/archive/2005/11/21/495466.aspx

I think one of the key comments is around what this means to open source developers: (from the press release)

Finally, Office Open XML is open because the license for Office Open XML is open to anyone. We are expanding the language of the current royalty-free license to specifically enable developers who work only with open source licensing to also be able to work with Office Open XML. This will enable any customer or technology provider to use the file formats in its own systems without financial consideration to Microsoft.

And this: (from Brian Jones)

I'm not a lawyer, but from what I can see, this "covenant not to sue" looks like it should clear the way for GPL development which was a concern for some folks.

As someone who talks to the open source community this should help clear the way for broader adoption.

Tags: [Microsoft]

Expand your knowledge tour

Barnaby_Jeans — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 13:15:00 GMT

Well, the first week of the tour is complete, and I'm just sitting at the airport waiting to fly out to Calgary. Bill Hilf and I have already completed 3 cities, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa. I'm heading out west to visit Calgary and Vancouver on this leg of the Tour.

If you attended the sessions and are looking for some follow-up information, feel free to check out http://www.microsoft.com/technet/canada/platformbriefing/postevent/ or more importantly, leave me a comment or feedback here.

If you are on the west coast and are interested in attending, you may still be able to register:

Calgary (April 26th) http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032271371&Culture=en-CA
Vancouver (April 27th) http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032271372&Culture=en-CA

Event description:

Recommended Audience: Developer, IT Professional and Technology Decision Maker.

Barnaby Jeans, Microsoft Canada National IT Pro Advisor, will be in town to talk to Microsoft and Linux audiences about the evolution of operating systems and the comparative strengths and weaknesses of Windows, UNIX and Linux. Gain insights into how Linux and OSS have developed how they are tested and distributed. Get the answers to the questions on everybody’s mind: Are Linux and OSS driving technology innovation?

I look forward to seeing everyone, and if you have any questions after the event, please post them here.

Is Linux ready for prime time enterprise?

Barnaby_Jeans — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 16:36:00 GMT

According to industry analyst firm Gartner, the technology industry has entered a period of high commercialization of Linux. Many acknowledge that Linux may have a place in their organizations, but many questions remain – questions about the business and technical merits of Linux, what risks will need to be managed, and its future direction and roadmap.

It was with that in mind that Microsoft Canada engaged Compugen to review Windows Server 2003 and enterprise-level distributions of Linux from Red Hat and SuSE to help understand the practical implications of using one operating system versus another. The objective was simple - to produce a reference document to help IT managers and professionals consider their options. The test compared the usability characteristics of the three operating systems when it comes to performing a set of typical IT tasks from setting up user profiles to installing to managing desktop security.

Key findings from this test and demonstrations of how each platform fared in solving these IT tasks were given to the press last week. Liam Lahey from eChannelLine Canada was one of the journalists in attendance last week and has already published his article on the event. http://www.integratedmar.com/ECL.cfm?item=DLY041005-5

The comment I think is most relevant is “Windows Server 2003 provided better functionality and usability than SuSE Enterprise 9 and Red Hat ES 3.4 primarily due to the immaturity of the Linux system management tools and a lack of supporting documentation.”

I think what companies need to remember as they look at open source software, is the level of support and accountability that they can expect to receive, and who they expect to receive it from.

Read the full report on the Compugen site.

What are your thoughts?

UPDATE: (May 6, 2005)

The Web cast is up and running from this event. Head over to http://www.insinc.com/hrc/20050508

Services for UNIX session at KW Linux User Group

Barnaby_Jeans — Tue, 05 Apr 2005 14:25:00 GMT

Thanks to the Kitchener-Waterloo Linux User Group (KWLUG) for allowing me to come out and present on Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX (SFU) at your monthly meeting.

For those people that want to learn more about SFU there are a couple of websites that you may want to take a look at.

The main Microsoft.com page for SFU: http://www.microsoft.com/sfu

Presentation materials and windows media files of the demos: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tnt1-118

I also mentioned an external website that has some tools for Services for UNIX, you may want to check out http://www.interopsystems.com/tools/default.htm

If you have any questions about last night's session, of any other questions, please feel free to post them here.

TechVibes Follow-up

Barnaby_Jeans — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 02:21:00 GMT

Thanks to all that came out to see my presentation (Windows in an Open Source World) at the TechVibes Massive 2005 event. It was great to have a full room and lots of great questions and discussion.

For more information on what Microsoft is doing in the Shared Source space check out http://www.microsoft.com/sharedsource. If you are interested in reading more of the reports that were referenced in the presentation, head over to http://www.getthefacts.com/.

As always, if you have any questions that you didn't get a chance to ask at the session, please feel free to post them here.

Heading to Vancouver

Barnaby_Jeans — Sun, 27 Mar 2005 17:24:00 GMT

I will be heading to Vancouver this week to give a presentation at the TechVibes Massive event on Wednesday March 30th. If you happen to be in Vancouver and attending Massive, drop by and say hi.

For more information on the the event check out: http://www.techvibes.com/massive/ or for the agenda: http://www.techvibes.com/massive/agenda.asp (although they can't seem to get my name spelled correctly)

Update: Thanks to both Lindsay and Rosanna on the TechVibes team for getting the website issues sorted out. I had a great time at the event. If you were at the event and have questions, head over to http://blogs.technet.com/barnaby_jeans/archive/2005/03/30/403122.aspx.