Bonum Certa Men Certa

Has Microsoft Just 'Pulled a Hungary' on OOXML Voting in Poland? (Updated)

We haven't a full translation yet, but early evidence seems to suggest that a panel's decision in Poland is being overriden because it is not favourable to OOXML. Watch this space in case there are more updates to come.

There was no practical reason to do that and as you remember first [Polish] comitee rejected MSOOXML with 82% votes against it, but now second comittee approved MSOOXML without single vote against it!.


We mentioned Hungary yesterday, but here is some more text in English.

Hungarian Standards Institution to reconsider its vote!


Remember that a high-level politician got involved and wanted another vote to take place, this time with more Microsoft partners involved. This brings memories of Gates and Ballmer making phonecalls to politicians, thereby flipping the vote on OOXML in the United States.

Other new stories:

OOXML approval system open to abuse

Whether or not OOXML is a good candidate for an open standard is beside the point: there is prima facie evidence of voting in bad faith, without proper consideration of all the aspects of the proposal.


Microsoft admits Swedish employee promised incentives for Open XML support

Microsoft Corp. admitted Wednesday that an employee at its Swedish subsidiary offered monetary compensation to partners for voting in favor of the Office Open XML document format's approval as an ISO standard.


Microsoft's OOXML provokes standards turmoil in France

Microsoft, notably, disagreed with this consensus, and sought for the French vote to ISO to be an abstention.


Microsoft takes off gloves in open documents battle

Microsoft’s fight to get file formats for its Word, Access, Excel and Powerpoint products accepted by the ISO standards organisation is getting nasty.


Here is another headline: INCITS confirms: US to vote for Open XML in ISO

INCITS said "No", but then, Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates started making phonecalls to politicians. It is very important to remember this.

Update: More information on Poland here.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

GNU/Linux Rises to 6% in Mexico
Did the soccer (football) matches have some impact or just the "unknowns" being deciphered (or omitted) by statCounter?
The Slop Presumption Rule
Tainting oneself can take one day
 
IBM's August 2026 Promotions (Annual Ritual) Can Turn Into a "Bloodbath" (RAs, Layoffs)
IBM Common Stock is set to open in the red (minus) on Monday
Microsoft Culture Explained by People Who Work at Microsoft
"Be ready for politicking and working over time and weekends."
Codes of Conduct Attract Hoarders and Sociopaths, They Are Intolerant Towards Good People
Codes of Conduct (CoCs) are also promoted using violence
XBox is in Trouble, Sunday News Shows How Serious a Problem It Now Faces
it seems impossible to resuscitate at this point
statCounter Observes GNU/Linux at 10% in Libya
this month statCounter finally sees GNU/Linux approaching "double-figures" there
Thailand: GNU/Linux Approaching 15%, Windows in a Freefall
It makes perfect sense for Thailand to adopt GNU/Linux for technical reasons, not just political reasons
GNU/Linux in Bulgaria Back Up
part of a trend in Europe
Cuba Sees Leap in GNU/Linux Usage, as Reported by statCounter
For the ordinary Cuban it makes sense to reduce a dependence on GAFAM
Gemini Links 02/08/2026: Drift, Crawlers in Gopher Space, Purpose, and Python
Links for the day
Links 02/08/2026: Some Large Slop Investors "Crumbling", Russia Intensifies Bombing of Kiev
Links for the day
IBMers Discuss Who Killed IBM (It Impacts Red Hat)
Fedora is fast becoming like another CentOS
GNU/Linux Leaps to 8% in Asia
In Asia, is it a bit higher because of GAFAM distrust? Maybe some other factor/s?
Clownflare Web Usage Survey: About 10% in North America Use GNU/Linux, Worldwide 6.7%
surveyors that showed GNU/Linux growth
SLAPP Censorship - Part 137 Out of 200: Discovering That Spending a Million British Pounds (1,348,250.01 United States Dollars) on Lawyers Cannot Take Down One's Critics
just outright bullying and criminality
Steam Survey, analytics.usa.gov, and statCounter All Point to GNU/Linux Gains (Again)
This must be very annoying to Microsoft
GNU/Linux Exceeds 6% in Spain
In recent years the "market share" steadily grew from 3% to over 6%
Brazil: GNU/Linux Record High, 5%
On average, GNU/Linux has evidence of growth in many countries this summer
Amid 2026 Bing Layoffs Microsoft Share in Search Collapses
How much longer before Microsoft throws in the towel or rebrands again?
United Kingdom: GNU/Linux up to 7%, ChromeOS Another 5% (Total 12%)
further significant gains for GNU/Linux this month
Links 02/08/2026: Cheeto "Blurted Out Vile Plot to Censor ABC"; New York Times Fights 'Intimidation'
Links for the day
Why Techrights Will Still be Active a Decade From Now
Techrights will carry on for many years to come
We Are Witnessing the End of IBM
IBM cannot find growth by moving downwards, by lowering standards
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 01, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, August 01, 2026
Gemini Links 02/08/2026: Older Books, Esperanto Music History, and Slop Making Things Worse
Links for the day
Sharing and Empathy
Be more like Stallman, not Linus
August 2026 Microsoft Layoffs Are "Secret Layoffs" or "Silent Layoffs"
It's all about secrecy, isn't it?
Fedora 'Community' Became 100% IBM Staff, Drawing Up Policies Like CoC and CoI (Where the IBM is Excepted From Conflict of Interest Policies)
IBM has in effect killed Fedora
Gemini Links 01/08/2026: Planner Season is Upon Us, Slop "Apocalypse", and USENET
Links for the day
Cuts at IBM, Allegedly More Shutdowns to Come, CEO Visits Complicit Media to Promote Lies and Products That Will Never Exist (Misleading Shareholders)
IBM is collapsing
Links 01/08/2026: GAFAM Falling Deep Into Trillion in (Secret) Debt to Keep the Slop Bubble From Popping Already, Anger Over "FIFA’s World Cup Privatisation Plan"
Links for the day
Newer Not Better: Treadmill Updates Cause Problems
after 2 years the un-updated machines still fine
The Cyber Show on the Slop Bubble
new article about the implosion of the slop bubble
Links 01/08/2026: New York Times Trying to Inflate the Slop Pyramid Scheme (at Cost to Its Own Reputation) and "Iran Appears to Be Blasting Amazon Data Centers Off the Map"
Links for the day
Positive Political Momentum
Daniel Pocock is taken seriously by many people who contact us privately
Google "AI" is Plagiarism, the Case of Richard Stallman (RMS)
Why would anyone choose LLM slop over the originals, curated and fact-checked by domain experts?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 136 Out of 200: Lawyers That Get Paid to Mess About
They were already outnumbered and understaffed
Explaining That Software Patents Are Neither Legal Nor Desirable
Many of our readers work in the legal sector
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 31, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 31, 2026
Gemini Links 01/08/2026: Retirement, Bike Trips, Quake Stuff, Usenet Reborn
Links for the day
Links 31/07/2026: Microsoft Now Says Slop is Bad (LinkedIn Cracks Down on It), LinkedIn Narrows Down Size (No Expansion)
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: From Alicante to Munich: Another Smooth Ride
Campinos is intent on transforming what was originally envisaged as a temporary public office into his own permanent personal feather-bed
Daniel Pocock and the Important Observation About Threats of Cult-Like Behaviours (No Rationality, No Reason, Just "Mob Rule")
It's a threat to Europe's sovereignty
The "PIP Parade" of IBM's Lousy Management, Which Said "Blockchain" Was the Future
In a healthy company such a CEO would be punished for utterly wrong visions and predictions. Not at IBM...
SLAPP Censorship - Part 135 Out of 200: Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) That Does Not Disclose Financial Activities Before August
It certainly looks like they keep losing the remaining women that still exist in the firm
Links 31/07/2026: "Climate Cover-Up Continues" and Pesticides "Cook the Planet"
Links for the day
Datacentre 'Boom' Sceptics Aren't Luddites, They Recognise a Threat to Human Survival (Not Limited to Climate Change)
Archaeologists very well know that no species will survive forever
Microsoft's Claims Are Based on a Big Lie
the bubble is coming to its hard limits
Don't Lose Sight of the Impact of "End of 10" (Vista 10)
GNU/Linux has taken off fast
Microsoft's Debt Continues to Steadily Increase, Not Counting Hundreds of Billions in Secret/Hidden Debt
The mass layoffs will carry on, maybe labelled LITE
IBM is Circling Down the Drain, the 'Growth' Comes From Beancounting Tricks and Salary Cuts
IBM was down 2.17% yesterday
Microsoft's "Headcount" Distracts From How Big a Cull It Had This Month
It also speaks of numbers "[a]s of June 30" though the "buyouts" were effective July 1 and since then well over 10,000 workers have vanished
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 30, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, July 30, 2026
Gemini Links 31/07/2026: Music, Journaling, and Longing
Links for the day