Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Microsoft wants to "help" with SVG

So, Microsoft suddenly takes an interest in the SVG standard:

Slashdot Technology Story | Microsoft Wants To Participate In SVG Development

This feels horribly familiar.

Microsoft 'helped' the Oasis group with the ODF standard by submitting proposals (which mysteriously were never put forward by Microsoft to be actually voted upon) and delaying the completion of the ODF specification. Once it was obvious ODF would be an ISO standard Microsoft abandoned the Oasis ODF project and, surprise, out of the blue submitted their very own MOO-XML proposal on an express track to being a ISO standard which they pursued by corrupting the standards process itself. So we now have two ISO document format standards, the open ODF and the Microsoft MOO-XML and a discredited ISO. Brilliant.

Is this recent SVG move by Microsoft the first part of a similar campaign? Up until now Microsoft have ignored or tried to talk down SVG. Having failed to kill it with marketing muscle, are Microsoft moving into a more active SVG killing mode? I would not be at all surprised.

Of course, Microsoft could just start using and supporting valid SVG without trying to meddle with the specification. That would be a positive thing.