Summary: Portuguese Web site accuses Microsoft which is denying GNU/Linux users access to sites; Microsoft takes VBA support away from Mac users

DESPITE awareness that GNU/Linux is used extensively around the world, Microsoft has a habit of making its Web sites GNU/Linux hostile. In addition, Microsoft and Portugal have grown closer recently, with notable milestones such as the construction of headquarters there (more details in the links at the bottom).

One person in Portugal now claims that "Microsoft blocks Linux" (English translation), but he is not certain. Microsoft has the habit of using proprietary extensions such as ActiveX and Silver Lie to make Web sites exclusionary (Korea is a leading example).

Likewise, in documents, Microsoft introduced VBA, which makes it next to impossible to achieve real interoperability; it's a good hook for virus writers though. Some time ago we wrote about Office 2004 being phased out and also the implications for VBA dependants. Only after an outcry has Microsoft decided to make VBA available to Mac users for a while longer.

Microsoft admitted that many diehard Mac fans simply stuck with Office 2004 in order to continue to get their VBA support.

This does not actually resolve the issue. Sooner or later Microsoft Office for Mac OS X will be even less compatible with the Windows version than it already is. The lesson to be learned is that Microsoft uses its formats and software to exclude competitors; the same goes for Silver Lie, as Microsoft's CEO himself recently admitted. It should therefore be natural to reject them in favour of OpenDocument and the likes it, including Web standards and Ogg. ⬆

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• Microsoft's Magalhães Laptops Scam and OOXML Scandals in Portugal Associated with Fraud?
• Microsoft CEO Might Try to Shoot Down Portugal's Open Standards Bill
• The Games Microsoft Plays in Portugal to Fight Free Software
• Eye on Microsoft: Portugal Visit, Regrets, and Vista Lies
• Portugal Stands Up Against Microsoft Corruption
• Government of Portugal Ignores Procurement Rules and Gives Taxpayers' Money to Microsoft
• Russia Continues Migration to GNU/Linux in Government, Microsoft Creates New Prevention Measures