How to submit comments on OOXML ISO/IEC 29500

Following last week's forum on the Draft International Standard ISO/IEC 29500, "Information technology - Office Open XML file formats", Standards Australia have invited written comments by 21 August 2007:

Attached is the ISO template for comments for DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 29500, Information technology - Office Open XML file formats. Please insert your comments in this template.

Comments will be collated in a master template. The master comment template will be updated on a daily basis until COB 21 August 2007 which is the close off date for comments, after which collated comments will be provided to the Standards Australia Communications, IT & eCommerce (CITeC) sector board meeting.

Please note the structure of the ISO comments template. There are three types of comment: ge = general, te = technical, and ed = editorial. Comment type can be listed in column 4. Comments can also list a clause number(s), paragraph, figure, table or note number. Insert comments and list the proposed change in the next column.

Email the template back for addition to the master comment template. Please do not email other Standards Australia employees, or email lists, this as the comments just come back to me for compilation anyway: michael.langdon (a)standards.org.au ...

From: Michael Langdon, Project Manager, Commerce, Standards Australia, 14 Aug 2007

A copy of the draft ISO/DIS 29500 is available from the Standards Australia web site, at the Communications, IT and e-Commerce Sector Board. However, the draft is in the form of a 46 Mbyte Zip file. The text of the standard is 5220 pages of PDF.

Here is the text of the comment template, for information. If you want to submit a comment you should request a copy of the template from Standards Australia:

Template for comments and observations

Date: Due to Standards Australia by COB 21Aug 2007

Document:DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDISO/IEC 29500 Information technology - Office Open XML file formats

1	2	(3)	4	5	(6)	(7)
MB1	Clause No. / Subclause No. / Annex (e.g. 3.1)	Paragraph / Figure / Table / Note (e.g. Table 1)	Type of comment2	Comment (justification for change)	Proposed change	Observations on each comment submitted
AU

ps: I note that SA are distributing the template as a 34 kbyte RTF file. If converted to the international ODF format, it reduces to 11 kbytes.

The ODF standard (ISO/IEC 26300:2006) is 728 pages (14 Kbytes) of PDF from ISO and costs CHF 342.00 (about $US285). At this rate, the OOXML standard will cost $US2,000 a copy. ;-)