Like it has done with its Open XML specification, Microsoft is pushing its XML Paper Specification (XPS) alternative to PDF through the standards bodies. And just like the case with Open XML, Microsoft’s competitors are lining up to diss Redmond’s standards moves.
Even Microsoft’s critics admit they don’t like the “heavy-handed” way that Adobe turned PDF into a standard. But they are equally unenamored of Microsoft’s plans to try to get “open standards” status for XPS. The most-often-stated objection to Microsoft’s XPS push: A standard shouldn’t be created, administered and maintained by a single vendor. Otherwise, it’s not really “a standard” in the pure sense of the term.
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