Following the decision to deny OOXML the fast-track option to becoming a standard, ECMA have the daunting task of replying to the 3522 "Comments" made by the voting countries.

As at 16 Nov, they had responded to 662 leaving a pile of work to do before the 14 Jan 2008 deadline. Presumably they have responded to a few more in the last few weeks, but they have not updated the website with those responses yet.

To date, ECMA have not responded to any of the 54 comments made by NZ, but we look forward to seeing them soon!

In the States, Wal-Mart (have begun selling a $200 Linux machine - which sold out in most stores within minutes! And by all accounts, the product is meeting and exceeding all expectations (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/allReviews.do?product_id=7754614).

Chuck in the One Laptop Per Child initiative, which is of course also a Linux based system, and the new Leopard offering from Apple, and there is got to be some worried people up there in Richmond.

I get a lot of calls from small businesses who want a small website done.

Fine, great, I'd love to do it for you - what do you want??

Most often the answer is "uuuummmmm, not sure!"

So I explain a few options, give them some indicative price guidelines and usually after speaking to them for a short time, my recommendation.

More and more, that recommendation is to include a Content Management System (CMS).

WHY??

Well, it has been one month since the "anti-spam law" - aka the Unsolicited Electronic Message Act 2007 - and we have heard of no prosecutions! Actually there have been several hundred complaints, but so far no noise about likely prosecutions - we're assuming that the public are complaining about off-shore based spammers, which the NZ Govt is powerless to prosecute.