documents

There are so many features listed on Apple's Leopard landing page that it might be easy to overlook this one (which Glyn Moody pointed out): OpenDocument Format, or ODF, support in the new operating system. It's baked right into OS X, and TextEdit will also support both Microsoft Word 2007 and OpenDocument formats.

At some point, Microsoft may also come around to ODF. In the meantime, there's Apple. Innovative as usual.

[UPDATED: As someone pointed out to me in an email, I made a mistake on "OpenDocument" in TextEdit. That appears to be a reference … Read more

Why were US airlines able to stop checking IDs at the gate less than a year after 9/11, while European and Asian airlines still to this day check identity documents. Has this resulted in a lower level of flight security in the US? Do US airlines know something the Europeans don't, or do they just have more lobbying power with their government. This blog post analyzes the economic reasons behind the US airlines decision to stop checking IDs, and exposes the fact that US Passenger Name Record (PNR) data is for the most part, unreliable and worthless.

This … Read more

Docstoc is a document browsing and searching tool for "professional documents." Unlike Scribd, which has been casually called a "YouTube for documents," Docstoc is going for a more business-oriented crowd. At least that's their pitch. The features are very similar, with a communal sense of document sharing and live-viewer for MS Office documents, PDF files, and other popular file types.

One thing that does set it apart is its user profiles and document request system. Each user gets their own profile, complete with as much personal information as their willing to share, along with a link to their LinkedIn profile (if they have one). Underneath that is a full listing of their documents, which can be searched along with everyone else's shared content.

The document request system is a little more interesting. It lets you request a document you're looking for by setting tags or keywords. This basically sets up an alert that will keep an eye on other Docstoc user submissions. When someone uploads a document that matches your criteria, you'll receive an alert. Whether or not it really matches what you were looking for is anyone's guess, but the idea is that there's hope instead of dead ends when it comes to tracking down files.

The service demoed at today's TechCrunch40 conference, although is still in private beta. To get access, you can sign up on their front page. There's also a 6-month old pre-beta walkthrough on YouTube, which I've embedded after the break.… Read more

Ian Howells, Alfresco's Chief Marketing Officer, just shared with me some intriguing data that I thought would be useful for more than just Alfresco. I've long suspected that documentation was a key driver of purchases in open source, and here's some data that confirms this view:… Read more

Microsoft has failed in its initial effort to standardize its Office document file format.

The company was attempting to standardize its Office Open XML document formats through a "fast track" process at the International Organization for Standardization.

The draft standard "has not achieved the required number of votes" according to a statement issued by the ISO on Tuesday. The voting process ended on Sunday.

A tally indicates that Open XML did not get the two-thirds majority needed from "participating" ISO members.

The closely … Read more

Scribd, the document sharing and hosting service, has rebranded and tweaked its Facebook application this morning. Its new name is Share Homework, and the goal, according to Scribd, is to use it as a go-between for students and teachers to share documents with each other, and to help students do something about the documents that have been sitting unused for years on their hard drives.

There's no real changes, besides a tweaked user interface and a new name (from the previous moniker of "Facebook Apps"). The tool is still a super-simple way to share documents and little … Read more

This Sunday is the deadline for an important standards vote on Microsoft's Open XML file formats, with early reports pointing to an inconclusive result--and a hefty dose of disillusionment with the standards process.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is due to receive votes by Sunday on whether Open XML will be certified as an ISO standard through its fast-track process.

The completion of the vote is a milestone in a process Microsoft began nearly two years ago to make Open XML--the native file formats in Office 2007--international standards. ISO standardization is particularly important with government customers with long-term … Read more

You read things like this and it makes you wonder why IT departments continue to throw away money on proprietary licenses why you bother paying taxes at all [See note below]. In this case, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) spent $3 million on a document management system from Documentum, and it has been a complete waste of money.

The PCAOB tries to blame itself for the waste, but the reality is that it's a combination of overpriced and overly complex software wrapped in a proprietary license, and an effort to force-feed square-peg technology onto round-peg people.

Open source could have dramatically reduced the PCAOB's risk:… Read more

There are two upcoming votes on the fate of Microsoft's Office Open XML, a document format that has brought about bare-knuckle business tactics and fierce philosophical disputes.

Microsoft is in the process of trying to gain standard status at the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, a European standards body which holds significant weight, particularly with government customers.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) established a special committee to form the position of the United States in that upcoming ISO vote.

On Monday, the executive board of the ANSI committee, called the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS), … Read more