RE: The feeding frenzy on ebXML continues...

[Steven Livingstone <s.livingstone@btinternet.com>]

From a pretty much neutral point of view (i admit i have done more work on
MS Commerce and BizTalk), i am interested in what considerations have been
made with respect to interopatability with other standards such as BizTalk
and whether this has been considered.

I guess we all know that they will have to work together and so i am
guessing that some people here have views and opinions, boht business and
technical on what implications for other "standards" will be with ebXML
added to the market.

thanks,
steven

-----Original Message-----
From: William J. Kammerer [mailto:wkammerer@foresightcorp.com]
Sent: 16 December 2000 14:58
To: ebXML Transport (E-mail); ebXML Awareness
Subject: The feeding frenzy on ebXML continues...


Dick Brooks just a few minutes ago eloquently responded on behalf of
ebXML to Meta Group vice president Will Zachmann, who was quoted to have
said "Microsoft's story on this (XML) front is much more coherent than
any other companies have to offer. ...The only real alternative to
BizTalk is, ebXML and it's lame. It's just Sun and a bunch of
bureaucrats backing it."  See "Microsoft, Sun in new clash:
Arch rivals square off, this time on the standards front. Call it the
XML Holy Wars redux," by Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet News, December 12, 2000,
at http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2663888,00.html.
Dick's e-mail is copied in the Transport mailing list archive at
http://lists.ebxml.org/archives/ebxml-transport/200012/msg00195.html.

Unfortunately, the quote has emboldened other critics, and the feeding
frenzy on ebXML continues:  see "XML factions develop along familiar
lines," by Margret Johnston in InfoWorld, Friday, Dec. 15, 2000, at
http://www.infoworld.com/news/thisweek.html, where Dave Wascha,
Microsoft's product manager for BizTalk Server 2000 "accused Palo Alto,
Calif.-based Sun of hyping ebXML before it is final and said that
Microsoft doesn't have a position on ebXML because 'the spec isn't even
done.' He added that he and his colleagues at Microsoft refer to ebXML
as 'slideware,' meaning they believe it exists only on presentation
slides."

I resent Wascha's purported (I hardly ever believe the press, so I'm
willing to give Wascha the benefit of the doubt - perhaps Infoworld put
words in his mouth) slur on ebXML.  I think its a hurtful slam of my
good and dear friend, David RR Webber.  And besides, "slideware" is a
trademark owned by Columbus' own beloved White Castle hamburger chain,
"home of the SlydersŪ," at http://www.whitecastle.com/home.asp.

William J. Kammerer
FORESIGHT Corp.
4950 Blazer Memorial Pkwy.
Dublin, OH USA 43017-3305
+1 614 791-1600

Visit FORESIGHT Corp. at http://www.foresightcorp.com/
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