Wednesday 14 April 2010

Relevant link of today: Kroes champions interoperability in draft 'digital agenda'

In an article in Euractiv the draft digital agenda strategy document is discussed which is under preparation by Commissioner Kroes. Publication of the digital agenda has been announced for late April / early May.

The Euroactiv article also refers to the draft version of the digital agenda which leaked a couple of weeks ago and which contains some important and forward looking concepts (see also my blog post of late March):

"However, a draft version of the plan – revealed by specialist website PC INpact – places great emphasis on interoperability and the notion of open standards.
'The headline target for this action area is to reform the EU standardisation regime by 2015 to reflect the rise and growing importance of ICT standards developed by various fora and consortia, in particular as regards the Internet,' the Commission draft says.
"But while there is consensus that greater interoperability of ICT systems stimulates economic growth and makes digital solutions cheaper for small business, 'guidelines on open standards and interoperability have proved hard to define,' the Commission adds. [...] 
"Kroes wants to 'reform the governance system for ICT standards in Europe to recognise ICT fora and consortia standards'. She also recommends 'transparent disclosure rules for intellectual property rights (IPR) and licensing conditions in standard-setting' [...]"
Read the full article online on Euroactiv.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

Relevant link of today: Microsoft Fails the Standards Test

In his blog entry from last week Alex Brown reviews the status of ooxml two years after it was accpted as an ISO standard.
"The second anniversary of the approval of ISO/IEC 29500 (aka OOXML) is upon us. The initial version of OOXML (Ecma 376 1st Edition) was rejected by ISO and IEC members in September 2007, and it was only after extensive revisions and a bitter standards war in the following months that a revised format was finally approved on April 2, 2008.
[...] Microsoft seems set for failure. In its pre-release form Office™ 2010 supports not the approved Strict variant of OOXML, but the very format the global community rejected in September 2007".

Thursday 1 April 2010

Relevant link of today: Robert Madelin new Director-General for Digital Agenda

The news just came in, e.g. via EurActiv.com, that
"The most senior official in the European Commission's health directorate will take charge of the new 'Digital Agenda' portfolio as part of a shakeup of top-ranking Brussels bureaucrats. 

"The British-born official, who ranks among the most high-profile civil servants in Brussels, will answer to Neelie Kroes, the commissioner for the Digital Agenda."
Read, for instance, in EurActiv.com or in europeanvoice.com.