754R Sponsor Ballot call for consumers

FYI,
I just sent this to IBM-MAIN - but thought others might be interested.  (If 
I
did it correctly, the "reply-to" field has been marked invalid to avoid
cross-posting)

--
Bill Klein
wmklein <at> ix.netcom.com
"Bill Klein" <wmklein@ibm-main.lst> wrote in message
news:000e01c6d846$1db55050$2e7c3947@WMK...
> To IBM-MAIN and (old) LNGC distribution lists
>
> IEEE has been working on a new (draft) floating-point specification that
> includes DECIMAL floating-point.  IBM has been involved in this and I woul
d
> expect either software and/or hardware support in the OS (and eventually
> some compilers) sooner than later.  XML is also involved in some of this.
> Check out (for example and as a good IBM starting place)
>
> http://www2.hursley.ibm.com/decimal/decimal.html
>
> PLEASE note the following information and take appropriate action (if this
> is a topic that you might be interested in).
>
> NOTE particularly that they WANT "consumer" as well as implementor input.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> : Thursday, September 14, 2006 10:30 AM
> To: stds-754@IEEE.ORG; stds-754@ucbtest.org
>
> I have just verified that web-based enrollment in the 754R sponsor ballot
> group is working.     I was able to join the IEEE-SA (standards associatio
n)
> one day and the sponsor ballot group the next following the instructions a
t
> http://754r.ucbtest.org/balloting.txt
>
> As a reminder:
>
> The IEEE 754R working group is expected to recommend a draft standard to t
he
> IEEE Microprocessor Standards Committee on September 21, 2006.
> It is proposed to
> replace the withdrawn standards ANSI/IEEE 754-1985 and 854-1987.
>
> MSC will then refer that draft to a Sponsor Ballot group, consisting
> of individual experts representing various standards constituencies.
> Part of the
> MSC chair's responsibilities include obtaining a DIVERSE sponsor ballot
> group.    The 754R working group has been dominated by standards
> "producers", above all chip implementers, who have of course the most
> immediate economic interest in the outcome.
> What is especially needed is more standards "consumers," who in this case
> are those who will write software within the programming environments
> conforming to the draft standard, and those who will use such software.
>
> I vigorously encourage participation
> by such consumers.
> Details of participation are explained at
> http://754r.ucbtest.org/balloting.txt
>
> Note that participation in an IEEE Sponsor Ballot is a significant
> commitment,
> not to be undertaken lightly:
>
> * Membership in IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA)
> or a participation fee must be paid.
> For IEEE members, IEEE-SA membership is an additional $35/year.
>
> * Sponsor Ballot group members <b>must</b> return ballots.
> The ballot fails if significant numbers
> of ballot group members fail to act.
>
> * NO ballots <b>must</b> be accompanied by lists of changes that would
> convert a NO ballot to a YES.
>
> * It is anticipated that there may be several cycles of balloting,
> response, revision, and resubmittal.
>
> * The deadline for joining this Sponsor Ballot is Sep 28.    Based on
> my experience this w, I would suggest joining IEEE-SA or paying the
> participation fee by Sep 22 to allow a couple of days for the database
> to be updated before joining the Sponsor Ballot.
>
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