RE: [office] Microsoft ODF workshop

[Doug Mahugh <Doug.Mahugh@microsoft.com>]

Hi Charles,

The short answer to why this event is in Redmond is "that's where our ODF developers are."  We've received many questions recently about details of our planned ODF support, and we decided it would be good to have an event where we could explain our plans, show some pre-release code, and give people a chance to talk to the dev team about how we're approaching ODF support.  The only realistic way to do that is in Redmond, since that's where the dev/PM people are located.  It would be difficult to find a time when they could all be in another location (probably impossible until the next version of Office is close to shipping), so this Redmond event is the only way we can give everyone direct access to the people actually doing our ODF implementation work.

Regarding the invitation to the ODF TC, that was my idea.  I thought some might find it odd if we had an ODF-related event and didn't start by inviting the TC, and I wanted to make sure that everyone here knows they're welcome to attend if they're interested in learning more about our implementation.  We certainly weren't trying to gather the OASIS TC specifically -- I and others at Microsoft will be reaching out to others who have expressed an interest as well, but we started here.

Regarding Bruce's question on allowing virtual participation, I'm looking into some options for that and will share info when I have it.

Regards,
Doug


-----Original Message-----
From: Charles-H. Schulz [mailto:charles-h.schulz@arsaperta.com]
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 5:44 AM
To: Doug Mahugh; office@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: Re: [office] Microsoft ODF workshop

Dear Doug,

Le 23 juin 08 à 03:45, Doug Mahugh a écrit :

> Hi everyone,
>
> As you know, Microsoft has recently announced support for ODF in the
> next service pack for Office (SP2 for Office 2007, expected to be
> released in the first half of 2009).  In conjunction with that
> announcement, we would like to invite all members of the OASIS
> OpenDocument Format TC and subcommittees to a 1-day DII workshop on
> how Office will support ODF.  The workshop will take place on
> Wednesday, July 30, 2008 in Redmond, Washington.
>
> This event will be an opportunity for you to see an early
> demonstration of our ODF support, meet members of the Office PM/dev
> teams responsible for ODF support, and hear how we're looking at
> document format interoperability in general.  We're looking forward
> to the opportunity to get to know each of you and to learn about
> your view of these issues, and the day will include plenty of
> unstructured discussion time for those purposes.
>
> The Forum will be an all-day event on the Microsoft campus in
> Redmond, followed by a hosted dinner event at a nearby location.
> We're still working out the details of the day, but it will include
> three general types of activities:
>
> - Presentations from members of the Office product team, to explain
> our approach to ODF support and demonstrate some of the specific
> functionality we're planning.
> - Hands-on lab time, to give you an opportunity to try out a pre-
> release version of our ODF  support.
> - Discussion time, so that we can hear your feedback on topics of
> interest to document format implementers.
>
> If you are interested in attending, please let me know by June 30th
> by sending email to dmahugh@microsoft.com.  We will have limited
> space, so I wanted to extend this invitation to the ODF TC members
> first so that we can accommodate as many of you as would like to
> attend.  We will provide additional information regarding logistics,
> local hotels, etc to confirmed attendees.
>
> This event will provide a unique opportunity to see firsthand how
> Microsoft is planning to implement ODF support in Office, and we
> hope that you will be able to join us.  If you have any questions or
> need additional information, please let me know.
>

Thank you for this invitation. I have to say I have some trouble
understanding why you would like to gather the OASIS TC in Redmond. It
seems to me a bit cumbersome, and a bit bizarre to invite everyone
here in Redmond as if nothing had ever happened before. Perhaps, as
some would put it, "it's a bit too early for that". Besides, I'm sure
we can have that event anywhere else . As you may know, the OASIS ODF
TC (together with its subcommittees and the OASIS ODF Adoption TC)
runs several panels and conferences worldwide. The next one, if I am
not mistaken, will take place in Beijing during the ODF Track at the
OpenOffice.org Conference. It is scheduled to take place around
October-November 2008.

This ODF track is independent from the OpenOffice.org Conference as
several different and competing vendors attend this conference track.
We would really appreciate to have you and the Microsoft Office team
there.

I hope you understand my reaction to your invitation but please rest
assured that I really appreciate it. That being said, I only express
myself on the behalf of my company, Ars Aperta, (mostly four French
guys in a garage) and my views may not represent the ones of the whole
OASIS ODF TC.

Best Regards,

Charles-H. Schulz
Associé / Founding Partner,
Ars Aperta