Open Standards

Standards are about 1. interoperability and 2. functionality. Sometimes these are in conflict, and have at times been manipulated by technology vendors for the purpose of generating lock-in. If one vendor wishes to implement functionality that has not yet been included in a standard, they do so at the expense of interoperability.  A recent example is Apple’s ibook format. It is “mostly EPUB 3“, an open standard. But the “mostly” is a major issue – it creates new functionality, while completely preventing interoperability.  Whether this is desirable, acceptable or intolerable depends on your stance on open standards.  When companies do this with the intent of subverting open standards through market dominance on the “extended” standard, it is referred to as the Embrace, Extend, Extinguish tactic (named for Microsoft’s internal use of the phrase, as revealed in the US v Microsoft antitrust lawsuit)

The lesson addresses these topics:

• Understanding open standards
• Benefits of open standards
• Current issues in open standards

Advanced Organizer

During the lesson, look for answers to the following questions

1. What are open standards?
2. What are the benefits and trade-offs of open standards?
3. Why do F/OSS projects care about open standards?
4. How do proprietary standards create and support vendor lock-in?
5. How are open standards related to flexibility and change?
6. How are open standards related to sustainable cost?
7. Which proprietary standards have open alternatives?

Walk-through

1. Read An Introduction to Open Standards (ODT) pp 1-2

While there is no categorical definition of “open standard”, the concept is generally understood to mean public specifications combined with unrestricted use. 5 benefits of open standards are briefly discussed (lower cost, lower risk, interoperability, flexibility, fast development and implementation).

2. Read the Open Source Initiative’s  Open Standards Requirements for Software (HTML)

The Open Standards Requirement is simple: An “open standard” must not prohibit conforming implementations in open source software.

Start with OSI’s Rationale for the requirements, then the Open Standards Requirement itself along with the 5 criteria. The OSI states that “If interoperability is a grand goal as it relates to software, then standards are the critical tools for achieving this goal”.  Their intent with providing the Open Standards Requirement and Compliance statements, are to ensure that a poor understanding of open standards does not discriminate against open source software. Closed/proprietary “standards” can otherwise “militate against specific types of license, specific implementations, or specific implementors”.

3. Read Open Standards Principles (PDF) pp 1-23

“Government bodies in the UK now have to embrace open standards, after the Cabinet Office formally adopted a new set of principles… The Open Standards Principles are intended to drive down the cost of government IT spending, allow greater interoperability of IT systems across government and make sure that citizens have greater access to data and services. The implications are vast: government web services cannot be tied to any particular browser; software procurement has to skew towards open standards unless there is a good reason for it not to; and the UK public sector will have to move towards a small set of core standards ensuring interoperability.” (ZDnet, 11/2/12)

This 2012 publication of the British government represents a very current take and a strong public statement on the benefits of open standards.  The British government herein commits to 7 open standards principles, provides a detailed rationale, and an operational plan to adhere to them.  As of 11/1/12, UK “government bodies must adhere to the Open Standards Principles – for software interoperability, data and document formats in government IT specifications”

4. Read FOSS Open Standards (HTML)

This “wikibook” is part of a series produced by the International Open Source Network (IOSN). IOSN provides policy and technical advice on FOSS to governments, civil society and the private sector. It produces FOSS awareness and training materials and distributes them under open content licenses.

 A. Preface

Like F/OSS, open standards can minimize the possibility of vendor lock-in. They can also play an important role in promoting the interoperability of FOSS and proprietary software, resulting in a level playing field. Consideration of patent-encumbered standards as “open” is controversial, even when available under reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) license terms.

B. Importance and Benefits of Open Standards

This section makes several arguments for governmental use of open standards. It mentions Open Document Format, which we will learn more about soon.  In addition to avoidance of lock-in, it notes that over-reliance on foreign technologies or products can be a national security issue. As discussed in the UK’s Open Standards Principles, it states that competition for government service contracts is also enabled – as local companies that lack the resources of multi-nationals are able to compete for work when open standards are required. Further discussion of “Embrace, Extend and Extinguish” is offered here, showing how an open standard might be hijacked and made proprietary.

C. Standard Setting

This section discusses the various standard-setting organizations and their purposes. It delineates the differences between De jure, De facto, and Industry-driven Standards, providing examples. Finally, it describes the work of more active standards organizations that are generally perceived to be open, including IETF, IEEE, OASIS, W3C and the Free Standards Group.

D. Some Important Open Standards

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME), and Extensible Markup Language (XML) are all important Internet open standards. Their evolution and purposes are explained. There is universal adoption of these standards, making possible the Internet we know today.

The reading doesn’t mention Portable Document Format (PDF), another common open standard which was formerly proprietary.  Previously controlled by Adobe, it was released in 2008 and published as an open standard by the ISO.  This standard is also ubiquitous, and is built into many applications, both F/OSS and proprietary.

Portable Network Graphics (PNG), X Window System, and Ogg Vorbis are important graphics and multimedia open standards.  OpenDocument formats (ODF) are royalty-free, open and vendor-independent XML-based document formats for text files, spreadsheets, presentations and more. Adoption of these standards varies, and consequently creates costs, confusion, and limitations for users.

5. In Portable Network Graphics (HTML), read the following sections:

• Introduction
• History and Development
• Comparison to other file formats
  • Comparison to Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)
  • Comparison to JPEG

PNG is a raster graphics file format that supports lossless data compression. It was created as an improved, non-patented replacement for the formerly popular Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) that included a patented compression algorithm. PNG is now the most used lossless image compression format on the World Wide Web.  PNG is also known to be a recursive acronym for “PNG is Not GIF”.

6. Read Why Audio Format Matters (HTML)

In FOSS Open Standards, you heard of the Ogg Vorbis compressed audio format, perhaps for the first time.  Did you know that the ubiquitous MP3 file format is patent-encumbered? Read about why this adds cost and liability for all users, and what the alternative is.

Activity

Choose an MP3 file and convert it to OGG format. You can do this with many tools, choose one that suits you:

Option 1: Use an online tool such as OnlineConvert.com. This is quick and easy.

Option 2: Download Audacity, a powerful cross-platform F/OSS audio editor. You’ll need to learn your way around this one on your own – this tool could command an entire lesson.

1. Play both the MP3 and the OGG versions and compare the sound… can you tell any differences?
2. Compare the file sizes, are they different and by how much?
3. Will the OGG file play in the device you use most often for music (ie, your phone, ipod, computer, etc)?

Assignments

Discussion

In the Laulima Forums tool, respond and discuss –

1. Why do you think Ogg Vorbis has not subsumed MP3 in the same manner that PNG replaced the formerly popular GIF format?
2. How do you think a governmental initiative, like the UK Open Standards Principles, would work out in the US?

• The questions you pose and the responses you make to peers should evidence comprehension of our class materials, and thoughtful consideration of the issue in real-world contexts.
• Be thoughtful, but concise. Use correct grammar, punctuation, and formatting that assists readers to grasp your ideas.
• Reference course materials or other citations to generate informed opinions.

Final Project (due 12/9/13)

Download the final project from Laulima Assignments tool. You have several months to complete it – begin working on it now to avoid end-of-semester crunch-time blues.  You can ask for help or advice in our class “Help!” forum if desired.

Additional Material

1. Defining Open Standards (PDF) by Lawrence Rosen
2. Open Standards: Principles and Practice (HTML) by Bruce Perens
3. The Principles of Open Standards (PDF) by Ken Krechmer
4. Open Standards (Wikipedia)
5. Business Case for Open Standards (HTML)
6. iBooks & ePub (HTML)
7. Amazon’s Kindle Swindle (HTML)
8. Kindle Remorse (HTML)
9. EU is Supporting Open Source, Open Formats (Youtube, 3:36)