Danish government makes both ODF and Open XML document formats mandatory

[apptly named Matusow’s blog], Jason Matusow writes that “[i]n one of the most thorough and intensive periods of scrutiny for any type of standard, the Danish government has decided to make both ODF and Open XML document formats mandatory as of Jan. 1, 2008.  While I still believe that mandated standards are not an optimal solution for interoperability, […] Denmark has been one of the most sophisticated and dedicated government voices in this discussion and I view this as a very positive step forward.”

According to the Washington Post, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House majority whip, “is concluding a series of ‘listening sessions’ this week with all 233 members of his caucus. The goal is to build a consensus among House Democrats on a comprehensive package of immigration changes before the issue hits the floor, which could happen next month.”

The Register reports that “HP and Microsoft have agreed to continue cooperating on plans to take supercomputing to the mass enterprise and mid-sized markets.  The multimillion dollar deal means Microsoft’s Compute Cluster Server (CCS) 2003 will be available on HP servers both direct and through the channel as part of its Unified Cluster Portfolio, supported on ProLiant, BladeSystem and Cluster platforms.”

The Financial Times writes that “[m]obile phone operators have lost a legal battle to reclaim more than £3bn of the £22.5bn they paid to the British government in 2000 for third-generation licences.  The final decision by the European Court of Justice confirmed a preliminary opinion issued last September. It rejected arguments by companies such as Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and Hutchison that value added tax was charged in the price paid for licences.”

According to CNetNews.com, “[w]hen Estonian President Toomas Ilves dropped by the Oval Office for a visit with the president on Monday, a recent wave of cyberattacks with suspected Russian origins was high on the European leader’s mind.  […]  In a photo opportunity with the president, Ilves said he believes warfare of the digital kind is ‘the wave of the future’ and called on highly wired nations like his and the United States to work together to fight that scourge.  Bush, for his part, deemed the attacks ‘an interesting subject, and one that I can learn a lot about.’”