Issues in this session will include different models of standard setting organizations, de jure vs. de facto standardization, the tension between the interest of industry members in a commonly held set of interoperable interface specifications and their individual interest in using their own technology to maintain a proprietary lock on the market, and the tension between collective action for creating standards and antitrust law. The speakers will address the possible meaning and significance of "open" or "free" standards -- in the sense of access to specifications and referrence implementations, and in the sense of price for studying and implementing a standard. IETF‘s free standards, free to learn and to use, were after all the key to the success story of the Internet. Are open document formats more important than free software?
Mod: Wolfgang Coy Professor für Informatik, Humboldt-Universität Berlin
Tineke Egyedi Senior Researcher Standardisation, ICT Department, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft
Standards to Revolutionise OS Systems
One of the challenges of software programmers is how to keep IT systems responsive to new demands without having to start anew. While system evolution is usually possible, sometimes more radical, revolutionary changes are necessary. --> more
Klaus Birkenbihl Director, World Wide Web Consortium Office in Germany and Austria, Sankt Augustin, Germany
Frank Steimke Co-ordination Office, Online Services Computer Interface (OSCI), Ministry of Finance of Bremen
OSCI: A common communications standard for eGovernment
OSCI is an set of protocol standards designed especially for eGovernment. The presentation will give a short introduction of both layers of OSCI. It will show the processes of development and maintenance. In the conclusion, we will try to answer whether OSCI is an “free standard” in the sense of this panel.