Editors • About the Site • Comes vs. Microsoft • Using This Web Site • Site Archives • Credibility Index • OOXML • OpenDocument • Patents • Novell • News Digest • Site News • RSS

03.27.08

What Makes Novell the Black Sheep of the Free Software Universe

Posted in Google, ISO, Mono, Novell, Office Suites, Open XML, OpenDocument, OpenOffice, Red Hat, SUN at 9:51 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

The World Enjoys Freedom

As noted earlier, OpenOffice.Org 2.4 is released today. Sun was quick to announce its availability this morning, only a day after Document Freedom Day.

The OpenOffice.org Community announces the release of OpenOffice.org 2.4, a new and enhanced version of the leading open-source office suite. The free software package provides a viable alternative to Microsoft’s Office 2007 product – and an easier upgrade path for users of legacy MicrosoftOffice products.

Many countries joined the celebrations of Document Freedom Day. For a quick overview you can read this concise post.

The inaugural DFD is purported to span some 60 countries around the world, including Argentina, France, Germany, India, United States, and Australia.

Google too joined the party.

Today, the world is celebrating the first-ever Document Freedom Day.

Red Hat? Yes, of course. No exceptions.

In 60 countries around the world, 200 teams have organized activities for today, the first Document Freedom Day. It’s a day of grassroots effort (based on the model of Software Freedom Day) to promote and build awareness for the relevance of free document formats and open standards.

It is nice to see companies like Google and Red Hat welcoming this event quite so openly.

Different Agenda at Novell

What about Novell? Well, it’s complicated. Novell was paid a lot of money by Microsoft in order to help derail ODF. One person from Novell who was fond of ODF (bless him!) is Bruce Lowry, but he left the company last month. Who have we left to speak for Novell? How about this Vice President, who opines that OOXML is "superb"? Here is what he said on Document Freedom Day (timing may have been a coincidence):

I have been reading the OOXML storm in a teacup for more than a year now. Am looking forward to the approval of OOXML as an ISO standard…

And then he carries on blogging about Mono and .NET. That’s where he appears to be pushing GTK (GTK#, that is). Maybe they should add his blog to ‘Planet MSDN’ for aggregation purposes. █

A bad penguin -- Novell

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Reddit
  • co.mments
  • DZone
  • email
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • NewsVine
  • Print
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • Facebook

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

Pages that cross-reference this one

What Else is New

  1. Links - MSNokia Passes Blame, Bill Gates pushes GMOs, Open Access news



  2. Links 7/2/2012: Firefox 11 Enters Beta, Canonical Disappoints KDE

    Links for the day

  3. IRC Proceedings: February 6th, 2012

    IRC logs for February 6th, 2012

  4. IRC Proceedings: February 5th, 2012

    IRC logs for February 5th, 2012

  5. Links 6/2/2012: PCLinuxOS 2012.02 and Mint KDE Reviews

    Links for the day

  6. Bill Gates Indoctrinates Youth in the United States and India, Critics Speak Out

    Backlash against the Gates Crusade to brainwash the young minds all around the world

  7. Bill Gates Uses Symbolic 'Donation' to Force Taxpayers to Pay Microsoft (of Which He Holds Shares)

    The Gates Foundation goes lobbying for Microsoft again, this time in Vietnam

  8. Monopoly as Innovation?

    Challenging the old misconception that patents are beneficial to anything but few multinationals and their patent lawyers

  9. Links 5/2/2012: Lenovo in India, Netrunner 4.1 is Out

    Links for the day

  10. IRC Proceedings: February 4th, 2012

    IRC logs for February 4th, 2012

  11. OpenStack, Microsoft, Junk Patents, Microsoft Copyrights, and Oracle Copyrights

    Another look at the OpenStack situation, why Microsoft should not be allowed to enter, and more about patent and copyright complications

  12. Apple, Which Started Patent Wars, Gets What It Deserves

    Apple products get banned (for the time being) after Apple decided to attack Linux-supporting competitors and then received some blowback

  13. Unitary Patent and the Emergence of More Junk Patents

    The rise of the junk patents and what we are taught about them by the news, including some news about the unitary patent in Europe

  14. Backlash Against Bill Gates' Lobbying for Patented Life

    GMO, a robbery of the right of reproduction (and a potential health hazard), is promoted by Bill Gates for profit, whereupon critics strike back

  15. IRC Proceedings: February 3rd, 2012

    IRC logs for February 3rd, 2012

  16. Links 4/2/2012: Ubuntu 12.04 Alpha 2 Preview, ACTA Backlash in Europe

    Links for the day

  17. A Glimpse at Executives Who Left the Sinking Novell Ship

    A roundup of news about former Novell staff and where that staff is moving these days

  18. Novell Makes New Software for Microsoft Windows and Office

    PR spin from Novell and money-grabbing moves that promote proprietary software rather than Free/Open Source software

  19. Links 3/2/2012: BT Vision Goes for Linux, Linux 3.3 With Android

    Links for the day

  20. Debt in Attachmate

    The company that bought Novell has a poor outlook, financial issues, and little signs of expansion/renaissance

  21. Longtime SUSE Executive Holger Dyroff Moves on, SUSE in a Bad State

    Key people continue to leave SUSE and the distribution is left without a compelling sales pitch

  22. Groklaw Update on Android Patent Cases and Response to FUD From Microsoft Lobbyists

    A few updates of greater importance where the Linux situation is discussed in the context of Android and Novell

  23. IRC Proceedings: February 2nd, 2012

    IRC logs for February 2nd, 2012

  24. Links 2/2/2012: DEFT Linux 7, Mozilla Firefox 10

    Links for the day

  25. IRC Proceedings: February 1st, 2012

    IRC logs for February 1st, 2012

  26. IRC Proceedings: January 31st, 2012

    IRC logs for January 31st, 2012

  27. IRC Proceedings: January 30th, 2012

    IRC logs for January 30th, 2012

  28. Bill Gates is Hijacking Open Source While Attacking It Using Lobbyists, Patents, and Patent Trolls

    Response to reputation laundering from Wired Magazine, the latest nonsense from Microsoft's lobbyist Florian Müller, an update on Microsoft's trolling against Android, and a little more of Apple's

  29. The Gates Foundation is Still Hijacking the Voice of the Poor and Effectively Runs Paid Advertisements Inside 'News'

    Money still the vehicle by which opinions get heard, so Bill Gates exploits this for fame, power, and profit

  30. Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch Liaise to Take Over Minds of Children

    The latest dangerous hijack of education systems and the role played by creepy plutocrats with control over the press

RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts