This new extension brings PDF import to OpenOffice.org 3.0. Also the extension introduces dual-format PDF-ODF files combining portable presentation and editing capabilities in a single file. Will hybrid PDFs be the next threat to OOXML?

Recently I accidentally went to a short promotional Microsoft presentation (non-US) about OOXML for work...I came away from that presentation with the impression that Microsoft as a company, and especially at the executive level, doesn't actually have a clear understanding of what an Open Standard is.

StarOffice is Sun Microsystems' proprietary suite of office applications, which is based on the Open Source OpenOffice. In 2006 Bristol took the further step of adopting the ISO-approved Open Document Format (ODF).

"At a time when the EU Commission investigates the anti-competitive behaviour of a market-dominant player, the European Parliament (EP) still imposes that same specific software choice on both the European Union's citizens and its own MEPs. OpenForum Europe, The European Software Market Association, and the Free Software Foundation Europe today launched a petition to call on the EP to use Open Standards so that all citizens can participate in the democratic process. [...] The signatories are encouraging citizens and other stakeholder groups to publicly support the objectives of the petition by signing up on www.openparliament.eu ..."

"There are a few things that I find ironic about most Free Software geeks. They’ll support the philosophy of GNU and Free Software until the cows come home, but they’ll continue to chat with their buddies over proprietary IM protocols, such as MSN, Yahoo!, AIM, ICQ, Gadu Gadu, Skype and more. Well, it’s time to ditch the legacy IM protocols in favor of Open Standards, such as IRC, XMPP/Jabber, SIP/SIMPLE and others..."

An article published last week quotes Microsoft officials who claim that IBM is solely responsible for ISO's recent decision to deny OOXML fast-track approval. IBM hasn't taken the accusations lightly.
Bob Sutor, vice president of standards and open source for IBM, has told Ars Technica "If 'business as usual' means trying to foist a rushed, technically inferior and product-specific piece of work like OOXML on the IT industry, we're proud to stand with the tens of countries and thousands of individuals who are willing to fight against such bad behavior."

We have seen the signs that changes are happening. Not just specifically in the Linux world, but in Open Source, Open Standards and in the proprietary world as well.

KOffice, the office suite built on KDE technology and in the KDE Communtiy has recently gotten a lot of press, but is still often underrepresented. In this interview, some key KOffice developers tell us about the recent progress of KDE's Office suite, about Open Standards and how KOffice plays an active role in bringing Freedom to users.