Once More unto the Breach

For all you Brits out there, something to ponder and then expatiate upon (nicely, mind):

OpenXML is an ECMA standard which has been submitted to ISO for endorsement as an international standard using the "fast-track" procedure.

...

The relevant BSI Technical Committee has set up a special panel to consider the UK position on the document and to submit technical comments. If you wish to submit comments, download your FREE copy please use the link below.

Download Draft International Standard ISO/IEC 29500 DPC here.

Please return the comments form electronically by 30 June 2007 to:

csc@bsi-global.com

So you know what to do. (Via Bob Sutor's Open Blog.)

The (Firefox) Fur Begins to Fly

As Firefox teeters on the brink of the first 2.0 beta, things are starting to get serious. No longer are we talking about a flash in the pan: Firefox is now a real, established rival to Internet Explorer, as these numbers from OneStat.com indicate.

Of course, there's a lot of variation in the degree to which Firefox has been adopted, from highs like Germany, with a stunning 39% using Firefox against 56% sticking with IE, to the snivelling Brits, of whom barely 11.5% use the Fox, while 86% cling to Uncle Bill.

The arrival of IE 7 will have an impact, but there's no doubt that Microsoft has left it far too late to roll back these kind of gains (even in the UK).