Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's Latest Smear Campaign: 'Disobedient' Chairperson in India Targeted

Intimidating opposition again

Microsoft, perhaps finally realising that OOXML as an ISO standard is not a done deal yet, is still trying to get those who oppose OOXML in deep trouble, putting their whole careers in jeopardy in hope of driving them away.

Watch this latest update on the situation in India:

Industry experts said they were "unhappy" with the Microsoft which has almost accused the committee of being packed with "open document format (ODF) supporters".

"I am very upset and uncomfortable with such complaints. In fact, the chairperson of the committee (LITD 15) offered to step down over the allegation," D.B. Phatak, professor at IIT Mumbai, told DNA Money.

IIT Mumbai is a member of LITD 15, and Phatak was part of the deliberations that have been taking place within IIT on the issue.

Phatak said a Microsoft official was asked if it would withdraw the complaint, but the company refused as the "complaint was made by some higher officer in Microsoft".

Jaijit Bhattacharya, country director of government strategy for Sun Microsystems India, a company that has been at loggerheads with Microsoft for years, talks in a similar vein.

"I am surprised that such allegations are made against India's top academic and government institutions … such allegations lack credibility,' Bhattacharya said. Venkatesh Hariharan, co-founder Open Source Foundation of India said, "I am just amazed and shocked at the depths to which Microsoft is willing to descend."

He said Microsoft's complaint is a "great disservice to the committee, its chairperson and the BIS".


We have discovered many such stories recently. Just to repeat a few by citation, we shall break those into three groups containing some of the examples which we have.

Smears, intimidation, or bullying against opposition:



Overthrowing opposition:



Recent posts about OOXML in India:



We don't write much in this Web site about Microsoft's unsolicited bid and proxy war against Yahoo, but we wrote about it here and yesterday came another blow from Microsoft. Some more news of interest you will find in the next post, which hopefully puts this current disturbing post in better perspective. That is just how Microsoft does business. It's merciless. It's "ruthless", as Cringely says repeatedly in his more critical pieces.

“Microsoft hopes to escape its past by reshaping perceptions, essentially a denial of provable truths.”Be aware that the 'Talking Heads of Microsoft' deny all things and already try to rewrite history. Rob Enderle, for example, writes that "there is no evidence that it [Microsoft] has [cheated]." Really? Need one beg his pardon or just serve heaps of existing evidence with a large shovel?

Microsoft hopes to escape its past by reshaping perceptions, essentially a denial of provable truths. Microsoft may have the necessary means, so it's important to counter them. If it repeats something often enough, maybe a majority of people will start to believe it and be able to refute hard evidence using the Big Lie. One of those lies is that Microsoft is innocent and that it complied with the rules.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day