06.19.08
Reader’s Take on OpenDocument Foundation and Microsoft (Updatedx3)
We checked, but we remain unsure
The following has been discussed in the IRC channel for a couple of hours, but it’s still inconclusive. We share with you information that an anonymous reader claims to have found. We can’t confirm any of this to be verifiable, but this need to be considered in light of the fact that the defunct OpenDocument Foundation (not alliance) seemed close to Microsoft. It was odd at the time.
I have been observing the oiic list and the lawyer guy called marbux He is using the signature Universal Interoperability Council <http:www.universal-interop-council.org> Just did a whois on that domain name http://www.betterwhois.com guess what turns up Domain ID:D150461463-LROR Domain Name:UNIVERSAL-INTEROP-COUNCIL.ORG Created On:23-Dec-2007 09:29:57 UTC Last Updated On:22-Feb-2008 03:50:28 UTC Expiration Date:23-Dec-2008 09:29:57 UTC Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com, Inc. (R91-LROR) Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED Registrant ID:GODA-041357168 Registrant Name:Olivia Edwards Registrant Organization:TransNet.com Registrant Street1:232 F Street Registrant Street2: Registrant Street3: Registrant City:Redwood City Registrant State/Province:California Registrant Postal Code:94063 Registrant Country:US Registrant Phone:+1.6503650899 Registrant Phone Ext.: Registrant FAX:+1.6503645903 Registrant FAX Ext.: Registrant Email:garyedwards@yahoo.com Now check this Registrant Organization:TransNet.com Created On:23-Dec-2007 09:29:57 UTC Go to therr website TransNet.com ..guess what...Nice logo of.. Microsoft gold certified partner [...] Check this out..more about the spooky guy called marbux http://www.transnet.com/aboutTransNet.asp .asp so this guys are all Microsoft hum...more stuff... Our clients include Fortune 100 organizations, primarily in the pharmaceutical, oil and gas, finance and communications industries, **** as well as educational and local and state governmental institutions****. TransNet common stock is traded in the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol "TRNT." [...] some more http://www.transnet.com/train07.asp microsoft, microsoft, microsoft all over the place
At the moment, Marbux seems active in a new ODF mailing list, but he is hostile towards IBM. The key questions we are unable to answer though:
- Is Olivia Edwards the wife of Gary Edwards? We know that his wife helped him set up an office in a garage?
- Is “Registrant Organization” associated with the person registering the domain or the host?
Our source was keen to be heard, but we suspect that there’s a lot of work to be done if it was ever to become credible enough. It’s actually Patrick Durusau that we are more curious about [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
There’s a lot more information in the IRC log that will be posted tomorrow. █
“Every single negative letter on ODF received by the Malaysian standards organization was written either by Microsoft, or a Microsoft business partner or a Microsoft affiliated organization (Initiative for Software Choice and IASA).“
Update: More information keeps coming. We quote:
registrar is at godaddy. i have not put this email public. but why would anyone put hosting company name in here...he seems to be a pretty smart guy to do such a thing. normally a person will use his own conmpany name there. plus i check that this company transnet.com does not provide hosting or web designing. hum...very close indeed. Registrant Organization:TransNet.com very tricky thing indeed.. [...] plus transnet.com has a lot of interest in government contracts, etc... lot of things are just not right. they way he is just bullshitting in the list and trying to just throw it off the track. does anyone without any interest has time to write such long and baseless emails.. and he just dogs when asked for proof. they way he is throwing aquisitions at ibm, sun, groklaw, etc. ...just dosent seem to fit will. why would anyone do such a thing unless they have some sort of personal gains or interest. i am just keeping mum unless things become more clear. [...] http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_g0w5wj SIC #Code:8748 Est. Annual Sales:$73,000 Est. Employees:1 Est. Employees at Location:1 Contact Name:Olivia Edwards Contact Title:Owner So this person (Olivia Edwards) runs a company called Transnet.com All the records of ownership of the domain www.universal-interop-council.org are with Transnet.com !!!!! This guy called Marbux claims that he runs that website or writes there. BTW he has left the registration/ownsership of website with Transnet.com - I dont know how many people will do such a thing - that also a real smart techie/lawyer. Panelist: Buck "Marbux" Martin. Marbux is a retired Oregon lawyer who volunteers his time with the OpenDocument Foundation as its director of legal affairs and is also a freelance investigative writer with an intense interest in software interoperability issues and closely-related subjects such as software patents. Marbux is also a member of the OpenDocument Technical Committee. He received his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. "Buck 'Marbux' Martin" is a pseudonym used to maximize his privacy in retirement. http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:qzc0Cy62 So that is not his real name but some sort of pseudonym. this is really funny....
We have also just received almost a confirmation that Olivia is the wife of Gary, but let’s wait until some better proof is available.
Updated #2: We also hear that Gary and Olivia may have been directors of a company that owned a converter they never finished, and that they hoped to make a profit on. Further to this, from our anonymous reader, here is something for those lacking background:
Gary Edwards is president of the OpenDocument Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Edwards oversees the software standards and development work of the Foundation. The OpenDocument Foundation provides financial and technical support to permit individuals to participate within software standards consortia like OASIS in an open-source manner. Edwards also leads the development work of the ODF Plugin (to MS Office) for the Foundation and its affiliate, OpenDocument, Inc. Edwards was a founding member of the OASIS OpenDocument (Open Document Format for Office Applications) Technical Committee and plays a key role on the ODF subcommittees, including the ODF Formula and the ODF Metadata TCs. Additionally, his influence was instrumental to the early adoption of the OpenOffice.org software around the world. During and prior to his commitment to software standards work, Edwards has led significant consulting projects focused on business process re-engineering in the media, real estate and financial fields. hum....really strange things are going on here..... [...] more stuff.. http://www.betanews.com/article/OpenDocument_Foundation_Dissolves_L So what it has all to do with Olivia Edwards and Transnet.com and Microsoft Gold Partner and government contracts. Gary Edwards is president of the OpenDocument Foundation, Inc. Olivia Edwards - Transnet.com - Microsoft Gold Partner - government contracts. - Est. Annual Sales:$73,000 Something is really fishy.
Update #3: More input of interest arrives.
Am I missing something ? Why would they sponser such a person/domain ? Who is this Marbux/Paul and why is he spamming the list with such nonsense ?? Is he paid to do that or something and what it has to do with ODF/Microsoft ? As I can see that email for registering that domain is of Gary Edwards. Registrant FAX Ext.: Registrant Email:garyedwards@yahoo.com for detailed information. Domain Name: TRANSNET.COM Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC. Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com Name Server: NS13.WORLDNIC.COM Name Server: NS14.WORLDNIC.COM Status: clientTransferProhibited Updated Date: 03-nov-2006 Creation Date: 03-feb-1992 http://www.transnet.com/sec.asp?mu=in They have been public since 2001. I am not into stock market/accoutant but this company is active since long back...someone needs to dig through the reports. See if they got some extra money out of nowhere since formation/disruption of OpenDocument Foundation, Inc. or whatever is going on... download one of them and go through them regarding anything strange...check the last page. No mention of Edwards in the board... http://www.transnet.com/annualReport.asp?mu=in [...] http://blogs.eweek.com/brooks/content/office/_the_op... check this comment... Michael Shigorin : Wow, how nice this false thing spreads. Do you at eWeek get lazy at checking the facts that often? I understand that this was a keen trick but you bought into it: "OpenDocument Foundation" just doesn't have any positive connection to the OpenDocument Format in the first place. http://whois.americaregistry.com/displayWhois.php?z... => Registrant Organization: TransNet.com Now TransNet is Microsoft partner, and at least one of the three people in this "Foundation" was a marketing lead at openoffice.org -- who left his position not without scandal. So, please do consider that we have at least company which is eager to deceive in this area, and who are deceiving. Posted by Michael Shigorin | November 5, 2007 10:18 AM
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Needs Sunlight said,
June 19, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Can there be a place for Gold Partners in society? Clearly its a label that identifies them as having, in face of many choices, consistently elected to cause conflict, harm and mischief.