Bonum Certa Men Certa

ISO No Longer Matters...

...because it has been corrupted by Microsoft

First we had Ecma in sight and we gave up all hope (see references at the bottom). But we expected ISO to do better in the face of relentless lobbying and manipulation. How wrong were we. Aside from the fact that support for a proposed standard was bought (in the form of money and 'protection') from various companies including Novell, the actual voting process was corrupted too. Yesterday we mentioned Andy's latest writeup and we also tracked fraud and described the need for a reform that OpenISO strives to deliver. For the time being, there's nothing but a complete mockery of system.

A while back I blogged about how Microsoft helped ‘recruit’ about 20 new members for the ISO SC34 committee in order to help approve it’s OOXML document format. Now it looks like that didn’t only affect the voting process for the OOXML ballot but also the entire working of the SC34 committee!

The new members that joined the committee to help out Microsoft and OOXML have apparently been neglecting to vote on the three latest standards! This resulted in not enough votes and thus canceling the entire voting process for that standard.

Since the new P members joined the committee there isn’t a single issue that could be voted. Not only did Microsoft mess up the credibility of the ISO organization, it also messed up the voting process!


If Microsoft is permitted to go ahead with its OOXML plans, there's trouble ahead. OOXML is part of a stack of lock-ins that include SOA and Sharepoint, the remainder being: XPS, HD, and Silverlight, among more.

Forbes Magazine has just published a harsh item that criticises Microsoft for its malicious plan to lock competitors outs. This article is definitely something to be aware of.

A Bold Yet Bland Plan For Communications Domination

Note to Bill Gates: You're known for crushing competitors mercilessly. Your chief executive, Steve Ballmer, is a large, sweaty man who dances like a monkey. You are launching a frenzied raid into the multibillion-dollar office communications business. And you kick off this new initiative with, what, a stale gust of cheesy guitar rock by a no-name performer (and, reportedly, a "surprise" appearance by 62-year-old Eric "Layla" Clapton, which, rumors indicate, is slated for this evening)?

No, Bill, no. You need men adorned with giant swords and foam rubber armor. You need Gwar.

[...]

Microsoft is gunning for a flock of competitors, including AOL, Google, which offers business-class instant messaging, and Cisco Systems, which has its own so-called unified communications products. The big idea is to combine today's phone systems with sophisticated software and the Internet to link instant messaging, video conferencing, e-mail and telephone communications into a seamless whole.


Who could ever bring back standards and save the industry from such destructive paths? It's certainly not the ISO, whose workings can be subverted using money. Aware ness of this fiasco needs to be raised.

Related articles:

Recent Techrights' Posts

Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part IX: Minimum Wages For You (Experienced Scientist), Alicante/EU Paydays For Me (Unproductive, Corrupt Official)
Does UPRP maladministration extend to the false belief that qualified and experienced scientists can play the role of circus clowns?
"The Liberating Power of Simply Telling People the Truth."
'polite' bullying
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) Scrutinises the Man Who Illegally Grants (and Forces Others to Illegally Participate in Granting) Software Patents in Europe
EPO compels examiners to break the law in the name of obeying illegal "rules" or "orders"
The Latest Rumour Says The Next (as Correctly Predicted Before) Wave of Layoffs at Microsoft is 3 Weeks Away, "Larger Than the First Wave"
Step 2
TV Licensing Used to SPAM Your Postbox, Now It Does the Same to E-mail
First they ask for your E-mail address; then they start nagging you via E-mail
Our Priority is Still Tackling Software Patents and Corruption in Patent Offices
Meanwhile we got compliments on our recent articles, which means that they are effective
Slopwatch: Another Day, Another Slopfest, LLM Slop Scrapers Slow Down Our Site
We too have some slop issues; this past day this site and the sister site had to answer about 2.5 million requests (not counting Gemini Protocol) and it's slowing things down for everybody
 
Links 12/06/2025: Portland Homeless Deaths Quadruple, COVID Cases Surge in Asia
Links for the day
EPO's Gareth Lord Asked About "Quality and Productivity" or, Put Another Way, Why the EPO Keeps Granting So Many Invalid/Illegal Patents
letter to Lord
The Toxic Playbook
Either you support Prince Mohammed bin Salman or you're a nazi
It's Possible That BetaNews Got Cracked, But Nobody Talks About It, The Site Contains an Outdated Old Image, No Activity
It's possible that they will never explain what happened to the site and users' accounts
Links 12/06/2025: Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/06/2025: Video Game Diegesis and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Why the Militants Have Lost Every Battle Since 2022 (When Attacking My Wife and I in Various Ways, Even Attacking Our Employers)
This takes patience, sure, but at the end most evildoers face the consequences for their actions
Politics Will Impact Software Choices
Will those systems respect users' freedom?
EPO: Neglecting Children to Promote American Monopolies by Shielding Them From European Competition
Yesterday the Central Staff Committee at the EPO spoke about another "reform" at the Office
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Links 11/06/2025: More Vulnerabilities Found in 'Smart' Phones, China Extends Reach in the Pacific
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/06/2025: Grain and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Links 10/06/2025: Apple Hype and Physical Attacks on Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/06/2025: Loon Lake, Farming, and Forth
Links for the day
Links 10/06/2025: Jaws at 50 and US Democracy Crushed Very Rapidly (Martial Law Seems Imminent)
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VII: Washing Their Hands After Corruption and Abuse
"Tragedy or comedy?"
Culling Bad RSS Feeds of Bad Sites
Not throwing out the baby with the bathwater
If 'Microsoft v Techrights' is Dealt With by a 'Microsoft Court' (or a Court Outsourced to Microsoft)
More on that later
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 09, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 09, 2025
Gemini Protocol Turns Six in 10 Days From Now
If you haven't tried it yet, then give it a go today
Live as You Preach
technology is fast becoming dysphoric