On the list of folks who got the notice one sees the top creditors we noted on SCO's list, like Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, as well as a Joe McMann, United States Trustee. So he must be the newly assigned trustee. Nobody notified Novell or IBM or Red Hat. However, I'm guessing Novell needs no invitation to follow along.

Update: SCO has filed a Notice of Late Filing with the SEC about the 10Q they haven't filed. "The Company was unable to complete the preparation of the Form 10-Q Quarterly Report on a timely basis due to additional and unusual administrative work loads as a result of the bankruptcy filing." Not to mention the unfortunate firing/quitting of approximately half of the finance department, one assumes.

The news has widely reported that the fast-track vote for the acceptance of OOXML as an ISO standard has failed. So what is the next step? According to the complex ISO rules, there is going to be a comment resolution meeting in February, 2008 where all the standards bodies with skin in the game will meet and painfully go through all the technical comments and attempt to move the process forward in good faith.

Question: How is it possible to address all the technical comments in a document format that has already been implemented in Microsoft Office 2007 and is shipping or being pre-installed in millions of computers?

Even a casual observer would have to say that OOXML is not likely to change due to the outcome of the comment resolution meeting in February. Because the OOXML format is firmly entrenched in shipping Microsoft Office products, the most popular comment resolution statement is likely to be “it is a de-facto standard in shipping products”. Or…there will be promises made to make changes to a document format is already shipping in volume by the only market leader that could deliver products based on OOXML. If you think that OOXML will change in any significant way, I have some ocean view property in South Dakota that might be of interest to you.

Document management software vendors have made it clear that they do not want to support multiple open document formats. Document tool developers would like avoid the replicated work that comes with the support of multiple standards and they certainly do not want to suffer the pain and expense of document format incompatibilities and conversions.

Jeremy Allison, of SAMBA fame, recalled his experiences with CIFS and the standardization process in a blog entry called “The Definition of Insanity“. He warns that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” While we don’t know if this quote originated from Ben Franklin, Al Eistein, or Mark Twain, the message is clear. We can’t afford to casually go down the path of comment resolution with OOXML. The results will not be satisfying and innovation will suffer if a second open document format is standardized. In the end, users will suffer as they continually have to choose which document format to use and then find the tools that will reasonably convert the format they chose to the format they want to exchange.

The acceptance and adoption of a single open document format will lead to a golden age of document processing.

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes stated: "The Court has upheld a landmark Commission decision to give consumers more choice in software markets. That decision set an important precedent in terms of the obligations of dominant companies to allow competition, in particular in high tech industries. The Court ruling shows that the Commission was right to take its decision. Microsoft must now comply fully with its legal obligations to desist from engaging in anti-competitive conduct. The Commission will do its utmost to ensure that Microsoft complies swiftly."

A joint statement from FSF Europe and Samba here. "A triumph for freedom of choice and competition".

Thomas Vinje, Legal Counsel for ECIS, the European Committee for Interoperable Systems, gave this reaction: "This is a great day for European businesses and consumers. At long last, this decision opens the prospect for dynamic competition in the software industry. No more user lock-in, no more monopoly pricing."

Our own Sean Daly was there for the announcement and he got an exclusive statement [Ogg; MP3] from Mr. Vinje, who says he does expect Microsoft will likely appeal, as well as first reactions [Ogg; MP3] outside the courthouse from Volker Lendecke (Samba), Georg Greve (FSFE), and Jeremy Allison (Samba), who are clearly ecstatic. Greve calls it a screaming victory.

Sean reports:

The courtroom was subdued before the reading of the judgment summary, with lawyers, photographers, and press milling about; hardly an empty seat. Each lawyer wore the traditional garb of his country. Although everyone seemed relaxed, they were clearly expectant, watching the clock over the doors to the judges' chambers. At 9:29 AM, the room fell silent, flashbulbs stopped flashing, and everyone sat down. A couple of lawyers looked at their watches, as if to check the clock. A loud tone sounded, and the chamber doors were thrown open with a shout. All rose. Judge Bo Vesterdorf, on his last day at the Court, preceded his 12 colleagues who entered the courtroom in measured procession and took their seats. Judge Vesterdorf began speaking in a low, level voice, reciting the names of the parties in the litigation and enumerating the summary points of the ruling. No one said a word as they listened intently. Six minutes later it was over: the European Commission's positions were upheld save for the organization of the Monitoring Trustee, with Microsoft and its allies to bear nearly all legal costs and with the EC fines maintained. At the exit, a press release and hardcopy of the full judgement (248 pages!) were handed out. There were smiles and laughter from the FSFE and Samba people. Thomas Vinje, the lead lawyer for ECIS, made a statement before the cameras. The Microsoft representatives disappeared without comment.

You can find the Judgment here. You need Javascript turned on. The fines were upheld too. And Microsoft was ordered to pay the costs of SIIA, FSFE, Audiobanner.com and ECIS, including those relating to the interim proceedings. So Microsoft pays FSF Europe. Did you ever think you'd see *that* day? Microsoft has two months to appeal, but the appeal is limited to points of law only. There will be a Microsoft press conference, webcast live, at 2:30 PM CET, with...