Bonum Certa Men Certa

ODF News and Microsoft's Acts Against It

AbiWord as ODF



Summary: Bits and pieces about the road to document interoperability and those standing in its way

THIS post offers an assorted roundup, which starts with the Dutch government actively supporting ODF, as it has for quite some time. There is a workshop coming:

The workshop is meant for people who write and architect the code to handle the actual ODF in applications - desktop editors and viewers, online apps, mobile, etc.

The event is organised by the Dutch government programme Netherlands in Open Connection and OpenDoc Society under auspices of the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations.


As it turns out, Dutch people also sponsor this project called officereader, which promotes ODF.

For the first time ever, it is now possible to read your OpenDocument files from OpenOffice.org, KOffice, AbiWord and Lotus Symphony on your Symbian Smartphone using Open Source software


We have been writing quite extensively about how Microsoft was harming ODF with MSODF [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. In relation to the news about Fraunhofer promoting Microsoft lock-in, Pamela Jones writes in Groklaw: "I think this may explain why Microsoft deliberately followed the ODF version it did. My weather report: lots of FUD ahead. And Apache is helping them. You likely recall the role the Fraunhofer Fokus group played in the OOXML vote."

A week ago we also wrote about MSCOSCONF (Malaysia), which is a Microsoft-oriented event going under the "open source" banner. They even use Office 2007 to produce material. Pamela Jones writes about MSCOSCONF in Groklaw: "May I ask why anyone would help Microsoft do this? Why is it "great" that Microsoft is spreading money around FOSS, with such a goal as this as transparent as it is? Think. Road kill. What comes after Embrace, Extend?"

Also in Malaysia we find this new article where Microsoft pretends to be collaborating.

“We are committed to being open when it comes to interoperability,” said Dzahar Mansor, national technology officer at Microsoft Malaysia.

“This includes ensuring open connections, enhancing support for industry standards and fostering a more open engagement with customers and the industry, including open-source communities.”

Microsoft, he said, is taking this path because it will enable its customers to have more choice in software and be able to easily integrate mixed-source infrastructure


This is marketing buzz. If Microsoft is "committed to being open when it comes to interoperability," then why are its developers breaking format compatibility in ODF? Notice the talk about "mixed-source infrastructure." Microsoft would love to abolish discussion about software freedom.

The next statement from Microsoft goes like this:

“Data will move seamlessly between applications and systems regardless of platform or vendor,” he added.


Which platform might that be? The one which Microsoft is suing (Linux) using software patents, which are invalid where the defendant is based anyway?

Microsoft continues making void allegations to suppress the use of platforms other than Windows. Bill Gates was scheming to use software patents against OpenOffice.org, which is a viable rival to an increasingly-confusing and bloated Microsoft Office. What can Microsoft offer which OpenOffice.org does not deliver to 80% of the people out there (who only use like 20% of the features)?

Answer: A highly cluttered -- and thus baffling -- office suite, where change is made for the sake of change (illusion that a sale of the newer version will be worth the price). See what some people mean by "clutter".

I just need to share this one. Playing around with MS Word 2008 on my Macbook, I made a wonderful discovery. In case you’re familiar with the Ribbon UI of MS Office 2007 and in case you’ve always been wondering how the Mac version of Office 2007 turned out to be a bit, well weird, then here are some news for you.


Had Microsoft had no lock-in, which an interoperable ODF is rightly intended to put an end to, how many people would actually buy this "premium" offer which is Microsoft Office? Lock-in like OOXML yields enormous leverage. Microsoft is not capable of selling software; It is a lot better at forcing people to 'buy' its software, e.g. get Windows whenever you buy a computer or be forced to get Office to access personal files and read files from peers/colleagues.

Recent Techrights' Posts

After Microsoft's Bankruptcy in Russia Android (Linux) Will Dominate Asia Completely
Windows probably peaked in "XP" or "2000"
India: Windows Falls to 50% in Desktops/Laptops and 8% Overall
laptops/desktops fell to 16% of the whole
statCounter: GNU/Linux Up to 4.7% "Market Share" This Month
30,000 Microsoft jobs may be eliminated by year's end
Microsoft is in Trouble and Microsofters Know It
"I've been happy on Win 3.11 for years."
Links 02/06/2025: Political Leftovers, DRM, and Patents
Links for the day
 
Last Article From Australia's Sam Varghese Was a Year Ago and It Covered the Release of Julian Assange, Who Will Apparently Come Back as 'Politician'
It'll soon be exactly 12 months
Hungary Seems Hungry for Linux
Windows down by a lot
Like in Europe, Bad News for Microsoft in US and Canada
If it loses those "regions", then what's left?
About 8 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in 2025 (in Less Than 5 Months), Now Vista 11 "Market Share" Decreases
Really bad news for shareholders of Microsoft
statCounter Sees Bing "Share" Falling Over 0.5% in One Month, Now Lower Than Before the ChatGPT/Bing Chat Hype
Bing has been part of the mass layoffs for quite some time
Microsoft's Demise is a Global Phenomenon
mass layoffs justified using mindless buzzwords
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux in EU and the UK, All-Time Lows for Microsoft
Combining ChromeOS and GNU/Linux, it adds up to and almost reaches 6%
[Video] New Introduction to Richard Stallman's Contributions Including GNU Emacs, GNU/Linux, and Software Freedom
from the channel previously bullied for supporting RMS
Links 02/06/2025: South Korea to Vote, Russia Blitzed From Within
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Microsoft Spins Layoffs as "Slop", Frontier Settles Lawsuit
Links for the day
When You Publicly Boast About Wanting to Violently Attack People (Even Colleagues) Finding a Job Will Prove Difficult
there's a lesson to be learned here
The Web We Lost, the Information Lost Due to Microsoft's Attacks on Companies Like Yahoo! (Before the LLM Slop Frenzy)
When it comes to news sites, what can we say?
Covering Corruption in Poland, Including a War on Science (Due to Bad Politicians)
What we're about to show is that skilled and experienced scientists in Poland are besieged by bureaucrats
Gemini Links 02/06/2025: "Star Wars Day" and "Security Day"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 01, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 01, 2025
The Openwashing Shills Initiative (OSI) - Part II: Lying to the IRS is a Big Issue
The OSI of today pretends to be something that it is not
Bloodlust and Love of Blades (Fascination With Murder) Nothing New Among Microsofters
Violence is not a joke and no group is magically entitled to make such "jokes"
Links 01/06/2025: Bird Flu, Food Price Inflation, and Growing US-China Hostilities
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2025: "Vibe Coding" Turns Out to be a Fraud and Amazon Merits Boycott, Argue Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2025: "Stardust" and Ideal PC Setup
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2025: Windows TCO, Openwashing, "It's FOSS" Still Promoting Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2025: Simplification and Networks Everywhere
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 31, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, May 31, 2025
Google Bribes EFF. EFF Promotes LLM Slop as 'Fair Use'. To GAFAM It's a Low-Cost Lobby Hedge.
So the bribes pay off ("slush fund") and the word spreads
Slopwatch: Fake Text and Images, Financial Bubbles, and Scams in "Intelligent" Clothing
Sometimes what they mean by "AI" is just cheap labour somewhere else, as we discussed in IRC a few hours ago
Why Microsoft is Collapsing (Similar to What's Happening at IBM), As Insiders See It
IBM seems like one heck of a mess
Reliable Computing Means Free (Libre) Computing
Sites that want to promote security ought to deal with the biggest issues
Links 31/05/2025: US Court Orders Sides With RFE/RL, War Updates From Ukraine
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/05/2025: ARM Server and power_supply Subsystem
Links for the day
Links 31/05/2025: Slop Stigmatised as Disinformation, Catalyst/Driver of "Death of Communication"
Links for the day
Common Sense 101: Do Not Write Blog Posts Saying You Want to Murder Colleagues (or Yourself)
Only crazy people would think stabbings are a joke
Microsoft Bankruptcy
"Microsoft unit in Russia to file for bankruptcy, database shows"
Techrights Does Not Compete With LLM Slop, It Exposes the Bastards, Plagiarists and Scammers Who Do That
People like Scam Altman, still facing a lawsuit from his own sister for sexual abuse against her
Links 31/05/2025: Microsoft-Connected Builder.ai is a Fraud and US is Purging Students Based on Race/Nationality
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/05/2025: Limmat, Doomscrollers, and Arguments Parsing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 30, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, May 30, 2025