Comments on: Microsoft’s Secret Anti-ODF Deals

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:43:58 +0000

Microsoft can be very sophisticated in such situations. Microsoft does not directly penalise for supporting ODF (it's too risky, transparent). Instead, it offers incentives if the developer or packager does not encourage the use of ODF (or contrariwise, if the developer promotes OOXML rather than demotes ODF). Negatives and positives are the game played here. Punishment versus reward. For precedence, I recommend that you read the antitrust exhibits cited here (among others). In some of them you will find out how Microsoft virtually pressured if not forced OEMs not to create an icon for (let alone preinstall) Netscape Navigator. Defense from involved party is matter of securing the special relationship. Again it's worth stressing that it's rather speculative. Only ThinkFree knows its arrangements with Microsoft.

By: Victor Soliz

Victor Soliz — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:29:52 +0000

They could be, but they could also be telling the truth.

I guess you choose to assume they’re lying.

And you seem to assume they are not lying.

I got an easy way to find out if they are lying. If there really is an MS anti ODF deal involved, then they will not support ODF. If there isn’t an anti ODF clause, they will.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:24:43 +0000

I assume nothing. but I present the inconsistencies or contradictions. They are likely to mean nothing, but the opposite should not be ruled out entirely.

By: Jimbo Jones

Jimbo Jones — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:13:08 +0000

They could be, but they could also be telling the truth.

I guess you choose to assume they’re lying.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:31:13 +0000

They could be covering their backs. There are other incidents and I’ve just been sent this:

http://www.universal-interop-council.org/node/29 (not read it yet)

By: Jimbo Jones

Jimbo Jones — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:28:30 +0000

In reading the above mentioned blog, it seems the author says he misspoke, and that it was his personal opinion. Another member of the company said explicitly that they would not accept any such deal, and that the problems with ODF were strictly in terms of them not knowing much about it yet, and having certain compatibility conerns they need to figure out solutions for.