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Microsoft Sends Paid Army to Fight OpenDocument Format in Europe

Steve Ballmer on ODFRemember Holland's decision to adopt OpenDocument Format (ODF)? Well, as long as you have many people on Microsoft's payroll (or blood supply, as in the case of Novell), no policy favourable to OpenDocument will be tolerated. Just ask people who lost their job over it.

Anyway, Holland is no exception. Have a look.

Proposed legislation that would mandate the use of the Open Document Format (ODF) across the entire Dutch government has infuriated Microsoft.

[...]

Microsoft Netherlands has engaged in fierce lobbying in an attempt to derail the plan. The company argues that the current definition is too narrow, specifically by mandating ODF rather than open standards in general


It isn't the first time that we mention cases where Microsoft money is being used to combat OpenDocument format. This is unacceptable. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Platform Strategy Manager in Germany talks about Office Developer Conference discounts as well.

Remember:

OpenDocument is all about fair competition.

OOXML is, as a Microsoft executive puts it, "a simple matter of [Microsoft’s] commercial interests!“

In other, more sidal news, Microsoft tries to disguise its many OOXML crimes by demonising IBM. We wrote about this yesterday. Microsoft believes that by trying to portray IBM as evil, its own sins will be forgotten. Sadly for Brian Jones et al, the Internet never forgets. When all of this is over (maybe even beforehand) Microsoft might be sued for the trail of corruptions it has left in its attempt to derail ODF, the ISO, and even the integrity of world governments.

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