a) What is the history of XBRL? What professional accounting organization helped in the early stages in this concept?

b) What is the XBRL specification, and what is the latest version? When was it release by? By whom?

c) How could XBRL help a company engage in "continuous reporting?" Find a website or an e-journal article that discusses XBRL and continuous reporting. What the main points of the article?

d)Find at least two other companies (other than Microsoft) that are publishing their financial statements on the interning using XBRL. What business are they in (what industry)?