hi
read this article (Microsoft calls on UK public to raise the Office standard)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/04/microsoft_office_standards_petition/

There is a perfectly good _OPEN_ document standard, why should I want a Microsoft inspired bit of patent encumbered vendor lock in instead?

In any case, seeing as Microsoft are hosting the petition, why should we believe what ever numbers they come up with?

If you want a point by point breakdown of what's wrong with it, try http://www.grokdoc.net/index.php/EOOXML_objections

links collected For counter petition

There's been a counter-petition for a long time

Asking the UK government to adopt the genuinely Open Document Format instead. It's at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/OpenDocument/

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/OpenDocument/

You might as well vote for

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/opendoc/

as well. No I don't know why there are two.

By Andrew Abbass

Here's the real counterpetition.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/music_holocaust/

Forget document formats, they're trying to patent music distribution itself.