Italo Vignoli

Source: The Document Foundation It has become a commonplace to describe the Microsoft 365 ribbon as the finest office interface available — the most polished to look at and the most ergonomic to use. The claim is repeated so often that it tends to pass unexamined. It deserves examining, because hidden inside it is an assumption that quietly does most of the work: the idea that there exists a single best interface at all.

In the previous article, we explored the importance of standards: how the unspoken agreements governing electrical sockets, paper sizes and file formats form the foundations of a world in which choices remain open and power is not concentrated in the hands of a single player. We concluded with a question: if open standards are so beneficial, why aren’t they universally adopted? The answer, in the case of document formats, lies in a single page produced by Microsoft Office.

SOURCE: The Document Foundation (CC BY‑SA 3.0) In a previous article, we explored the importance of standards: how the unspoken agreements governing electrical sockets, paper sizes, and file formats form the foundations of a world in which choices remain open and power is not concentrated in the hands of a single player. We concluded with a question: if open standards are so beneficial, why aren’t they universally adopted?