03.20.08
Posted in Asia, Australia, Microsoft, Open XML, OpenDocument at 9:32 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
“We do NOT want to ship the ’standard’ with Windows because we want to make the native APIs more attractive. We want to evolve the standard APIs rapidly, and not have ISVs [independent software vendors] spending time on something that is cross-platform.”
–Bill Gates
In spite of the fiasco that we repeatedly mention, Microsoft was unable to simply buy enough votes in India.
Breaking News: India’s Final Vote On MS Office File Standard Is ‘NO’
[...]
Sources tell tech2.com that with 13 Against, 1 Abstain and 5 For, the technical committee entrusted with deciding whether Microsoft-backed OXML format will be accepted, has stuck by its earlier decision.
Thanks to our reader ‘CoolGuy’ for the headsup.
As for other encouraging news, Microsoft appears to be getting a good slap on the wrist for the smear campaign which was mentioned yesterday. Thus scandal now appears in the local technology press, as opposed to just one group’s Web page and Groklaw (both reaching a ‘niche’). Judge for yourself.
Standards New Zealand has asked a Microsoft employee to rectify statements made in an email to the Trinidad & Tobago Computing Society about New Zealand OOXML advisor Matthew Holloway.
The emails were sent as standards organisations around the world engage in sometimes heated debate over whether Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML) file format should be accepted as a standard alongside the Open Document Format.
Also from New Zealand, here is a report which exposes Microsoft’s fearful reaction to the situation in the country. Attempts to change votes have not been going as well as Microsoft had hoped.
According to ISO’s own website, it became apparent during its February meeting in Geneva that it was not possible for all comments raised by participating nations to be reviewed individually so a voting procedure to decide the proposed modifications was agreed to.
“A total of 43 resolutions, involving dispositions or groups of dispositions, were accepted, most of them unanimously, some by consensus and only four by simple majority; four were refused.”
InternetNZ executive director Keith Davidson continued, “ODF appears to be the suitable generic international standard. Endorsing another standard such as OOXML could threaten the open and interoperable tenets on which the Internet is built.
“We urge Standards New Zealand and other national standards bodies worldwide to vote against adoption of OOXML.”
Back in September 2007 Andy Updegrove predicted that Microsoft would get its way by stacking committees (basically cheating). He turned out to be overly pessimistic because Microsoft did not get its way, even though it pretended that it did.
Let us hope that the Fast Track process will be rubbished in a matter of days (just over a week left). There is plenty of momentum going for ODF at the moment.
Thank you, India, for a very sober vote.
Microsoft, meet ODF. You are going to have to familiarise yourself with that nice chap, no matter how you feel about product-independent and proper standards which take away your predatory lock-in. █
Permalink
Send this to a friend
Posted in America, Asia, Bill Gates, Deception, Microsoft, Open XML, Standard at 12:34 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
OMG. Think about the children!!!!!!11
Where have we seen it before? Using AIDS to sell Vista PCs? Lying in parliament as means of justifying more offshoring of jobs (supposedly “good for the economy”)? Whatever it is, this is happening again and several bloggers have addressed Bill Gates’ argument that OOXML is beneficial to families.
It seems to be nice to have politicians as Brian Baird ask you staged questions, so you can elaborate on your own business agenda and the public benefit of your commercial activities. Watch Mr. Gates speak on OOXML.
Trying to sell Vista, OOXML and to sell out American workers using blackmail is one thing, but another is the use of blackmail to change laws, thereby essentially ‘illegalising’ Free software, Microsoft’s number one competition.
Advocates of open source software and open standards and rightly (or leftly) pissed off. Behind closed doors, the Microsoft Manipulation Machine keeps very busy. Should this not be a transparent process?
I don’t know what took place in the meeting, because I wasn’t there, but it seems Microsoft certainly pushed hard to justify the case for OOXML and why Malaysia should change its vote from “Abstain” to “Agree”. I don’t think the ‘other side’ needed to do much; the evidence is right infront of everyone’s eyes. If PIKOM represents the industries view, and Microsoft is just a mere member in its roster, then the consensus is blatantly clear.
It remains to be seen what happens at the end of the month. If OOXML, especially in its present state, is made an ISO standard, this would be a first-class fiasco. To Microsoft, this is “war” [1, 2]. █
“It’s a Simple Matter of [Microsoft’s] Commercial Interests!”
–Microsoft’s Doug Mahugh about OOXML in the fast track
Permalink
Send this to a friend
03.19.08
Posted in Asia, Europe, Formats, Microsoft, Office Suites, Open XML, OpenDocument, OpenOffice, SUN at 10:45 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
FOSS will win by the standards, to be followed by installed base
If there are clear signs that lock-ins are being broken, then this latest report from Malaysia is one of them.
The Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) has announced that the agency will be migrating to OpenOffice.org office suite as well as adopt the OpenDocument Format (ODF). In addition, Microsoft Office is to be phased out by end of 2008.
There are many stories about migrations to GNU/Linux and FOSS in Malaysia. To give examples of stories from the past few months (several URLs have expired for unknown reasons):
The icing on the cake is this new translation from Erwin:
Germany upgrades ODF to ‘recommended
The new version 4.0 of the document “Standards and Architectures for eGovernment Applications” (SAGA) by the German Ministry of the Interior now recommends ODF for text documents.
There have been several migration stories from Germany in the past few months, including major ones to GNU/Linux or migrations only to OpenOffice.org.
Microsoft will meanwhile try to sell the illusion that ODF is used almost nowhere, but it’s a lie. It’s self promotion and it’s akin to propaganda.
OpenOffice.org 3.0 is on its way and it’s looking very good.
OpenOffice.org 3.0 is 167 days away, but who’s counting? Maybe the software developers are counting because they have a whopping 2,278 issues targeted for this release. Even though OpenOffice.org 2.4 is not yet out the door, let’s see how far they’ve come with OpenOffice.org 3.0.
Be sure to see this nice demo as well. And of course, many other products support ODF. It’s a standard, not a product, unlike Microsoft Office and its OOXML, which it will never implement properly. █
Permalink
Send this to a friend
03.17.08
Posted in Asia, Bill Gates, Deception, Fraud, Microsoft, Open XML, Steve Ballmer at 1:25 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Learning who’s running the country
A couple of weeks ago we mentioned Steve Ballmer's and Bill Gates' successful attempt to pressure diplomats on the OOXML question. This was done secretly and totally off the record. Thereby they flipped a “No” vote on OOXML, promptly making it a “Yes”. A lot was said back then (including in cited links which provide further details), so the story is not be repeated here. More recently, Pieter summarised such issues as well (pressuring or bribing politicians until people vote “properly”).
Well, guess what? It appears to be happening again, albeit in a more open fashion. Moments ago the following article was published:
Gates goes to Washington as US OOXML decision nears
[...]
Gates answered that Microsoft wants to see OOXML become an ISO standard, in part, “so that families and researchers and archivists will be able to access information from the past and use it to interact in the future…”
It’s all the usual fluff.
Don’t let affluent people buy an undeserved standard in your country. Gates’ systematic deception on immigration aside (articles on this are appended below [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]), recall recent evidence of what seems like bribery (via charities) in India, for OOXML [10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15].
___
[1] Programmers Guild rebuts Bill Gates call for more H-1b visas
The Programmers Guild disputes that more H-1b visas would benefit “U.S. global competitiveness,” and they would represent undue competition for Americans seeking jobs in this recessionary job market.
1) One way to “allow more highly-skilled workers to remain in the U.S.” is to grant H-1b visas on the basis of skill rather than by a lottery. But just as last year the Programmers Guild expects USCIS to conduct a lottery, granting H-1b to $16/hour hotel clerks while denying visas to PhD genetic researchers. The best proxy for “skill” is “wage.” This simple reform in H-1b would allow Microsoft to have as many “highly skilled H-1b” as then need under the current cap – AS LONG AS THEY PAID THEM WHAT THEY ARE WORTH.
2) Our competitive advantage is eroding, and Bill Gates has used the H-1b program to facilitate that erosion…
[2] Microsoft India centre working on Windows 7
Designers and engineers at Microsoft R&D centre in India have a new mandate for development of Windows 7, the next generation operating system from Microsoft Corporation, slated for release in 2009-10.
[3] Study: There Is No Shortage of U.S. Engineers
…a new study from Duke University calls this argument bunk, stating that there is no shortage of engineers in the United States, and that offshoring is all about cost savings.
[4] Is There a Shortage of U.S. Tech Workers?
Speaking before a Senate committee earlier this month, Gates said that America is facing a critical shortage of tech workers. He recommended boosting the number of H-1B visas to allow more foreign tech workers into the U.S.
[...]
“I think that has created an environment where the population of advanced skill workers has shrunk a lot in the U.S., because we just haven’t created a fair system,” he says. “Where if you go to other countries, you’ll find national policy around broadband deployment, which creates a much more even playing field for people of all income levels to learn by and work by.”
“We did it to ourselves,” he says.
[5] Microsoft Sending All XP and Vista Tech Support Calls To India?
Microsoft is sending ALL of its XP and Vista tech support calls to India starting March 29th, according to a call center insider
[6] “Dear Microsoft”: An open letter to Microsoft regarding the outsourcing of jobs.
Don’t get it twisted: I don’t have a problem with you outsourcing jobs to people that will work for next-to-nothing. It’s just getting a bit out of hand, don’t you think? I mean, there’s no point trying to fool me.
[7] Gates to speak to Congress [March 2008]
Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., is expected to address the U.S. House Science and Technology Committee in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
[8] Guess Who’s Getting the Most Work Visas
Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC) are the only two traditional U.S. tech companies among the top 10. Microsoft received 959 visa petition approvals, or one fifth as many as Infosys, while Intel got 369.
[9] Microsoft India centre working on Windows 7
Designers and engineers at Microsoft R&D centre in India have a new mandate for development of Windows 7, the next generation operating system from Microsoft Corporation, slated for release in 2009-10.
[10] Microsoft influencing partner NGOs to support OOXML in India
Microsoft is encouraging its business partners to promote its Office Open XML specification (OOXML) to the Indian Bureau of Standards (BIS) and Ministry of IT. This move has incensed supporters of the rival OpenDocument Format (ODF) who fear that the “soft” Indian state may not be able to stand up to Microsoft pressure tactics.
[11] Microsoft India using NGOs to fake support for OOXML
Microsoft has “persuaded” several non-profit organizations to bombard the Indian IT Secretary and the Additional Director General of the Bureau of Indian Standards with letters supporting its OOXML proposal. A copy of the form letter they have been circulating to NGOs is given below.
[12] Becoming a better company: Microsoft helps NGOs in India
Of course, there has to be some trade-offs, because there should never be free lunch, even for the ones who starve: Microsoft, according to this article, has conditioned its help to Indian NGOs to their support of OOXML. What the NGOs had to do was to send letters of support on OOXML to the federal government of India.
[13] Microsoft “persuades” NGOs to support OOXML
Our friends at Linux Delhi have put up a copy of the form letters that Microsoft has been sending NGOs on the OOXML issue. Apparently, these NGOs have been sending copies of these letters to the Ministry of IT and Bureau of Indian standards.
[14] Developers around the world, unite!
Monopoly and proprietary software have an advantage in influencing state and governmental institutions because of their large market base and ready capital. Unscrupulous ways of influencing state governments have persisted in India, for example, where executives of proprietary software cajole government heads to promote their brands in lieu of some form of charity given. FLOSS activists must overcome this huge challenge in order to get their philosophy accepted and model implemented for the good of people who are still on the barren side of the digital divide.
[15] Using NGOs to Push Agendas
The extent to which Microsoft can go in its efforts to get OOXML is interesting. Microsoft has “persuaded” several non-profit organizations to bombard the Indian IT Secretary and the Additional Director General of the Bureau of Indian Standards with letters supporting its OOXML proposal. A copy of the form letter they have been circulating to NGOs is given below. Somebody should interview these NGOs to see how much they really know about OOXML and open standards.
The sequence of events leading up to the spamming of GoI? is:
Letter from an NGO thanking Microsoft (name changed to protect their identity)
Also see our evidence of Microsoft issuing money to tens of thousands to Indian charities just days before the vote. █
Permalink
Send this to a friend
03.06.08
Posted in Asia, Deception, ECMA, Europe, IBM, ISO, Microsoft, Office Suites, Open XML, OpenDocument, OpenOffice, Standard at 11:34 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
“There won’t be anything we won’t say to people to try and convince them that our way is the way to go.”
–Bill Gates (Microsoft’s CEO at the time)
Brown has unleashed some BRM documents which are being studied at the moment. Here are some early reactions.
One of the documents Brown has provided is an edited version of the notes from the meeting [PDF]. Obviously, that isn’t sufficient, since one has no way to know all that was edited out. The other is a list of the resolutions. Apart from wanting to see unexpurgated notes, and to listen to the audio reportedly made of the meeting, what is the most interesting from the documents, as Groklaw member PolR emailed me, is that even the edited notes confirm some details we’ve been reading. I think they also raise some procedural questions.
And speaking of “procedural questions”, ask someone who was there.
To resort to “counting votes” on the vast majority of the technical issues of DIS 29500, without discussion or opportunity for objection, this is a failure of the JTC1 process. But if we are to have a vote at all, it must be done in accordance with the rules.
Jan van den Beld, who is partly responsible for this fiasco, had the following said about him.
BTW, Ecma held a cocktail event on Thursday evening (28th) and I had an opportunity to chat with Mr Jan van den Beld. He was the head of Ecma and instrumental in seeing OOXML through the process. He re-justified the case for OOXML to us delegates, and yes, he did reiterate his favourite phrase, and Ecma’s unofficial motto “Better a good standard today than a perfect one tomorrow”… I guess different people have different definitions of “good”!
He did, with good humour, apologize for being the one responsible for bringing all of us here. That was nice of him 
Maybe I’m too much of an idealist, and he being in the standards business for so long, and having seen so much rubbish (^H^H^H^H vendor specifications) pushed through over the years, has lower expectations for international standards. I dunno. Hey, maybe I AM cynical, too!
This actually comes from Malaysia, which has been very frank (consider the harsh press release) whilst other nations kept a low profile and maintained more secrecy. Remember the Microsoft lobbyists in Geneva? Well, The Financial Times gave that some coverage thanks to this Malaysian blogger.
Anyway, what is interesting about this, is that a substantial amount of information is based on my “Geneva, Day x” series, and the funny one on “Geneva, Day Zero” blog entry. Yeah, FT even featured the walkin’ talkin’ stalkin’ Microsoft Malaysia Rep! Maija followed up on it, and it seems Microsoft’s official reason for his attendance was “to provide technical assistance”. Heh.
IBM’s Sutor is already trying to convince those ‘puppet nations’ (never mind puppet committees), which blindly voted on OOXML, to change their decision. It’s not too late and the sheer failure of the BRM [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13] ought to have them publicly embarrassed for failing to do so.
Jonathan assured me that national bodies can, indeed, change their votes to NO from YES or ABSTAIN.
More details here.
For those who thought that ODF adoption had slown down, consider the fact that a county in Germany has just begun adopting OpenOffice.org, which is one among the many programs that use ODF, the international standard.
According to this German article, the German county “Friesland” is adoption open source including OpenOffice.org. OpenOffice.org will be installed on the majority of the client systems.
To conclude, it’s looking very bad for those who continue to defend OOXML and looking good for the existing international standard. █
Permalink
Send this to a friend
03.05.08
Posted in Antitrust, Asia, Europe, GNU/Linux, IBM, Interoperability, ISO, Microsoft, Open XML, OpenDocument at 1:21 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Uncomfortable Reality
The reaction — or clarification rather — in Tim Bray’s blog last night was interesting. He was not thrilled by what he called “cherry-picking” of words (e.g. "unadulterated bullsh*t"), so he prepended a copyrights-oriented disclaimer to his latest post which is fairly well-balanced.
“Harsh reality put bluntly can make the viewer (or listener, or reader) wish to look away; it doesn’t make any less real.”In his previous popular post he seems to have complained about me specifically and Sam Hiser made some similar accusations. Since when is it inappropriate to quote a person with link to the context? And since when is the highlighting of proven misconduct an iffy business that hurts one’s credibility?
Harsh reality put bluntly can make the viewer (or listener, or reader) wish to look away; it doesn’t make any less real. Some people continue to stare embarrassed at corruption, but one should truly be bold enough to face it because only this way it can be addressed. And no, we don’t live in a perfect world, but the least one can do is help improve it by identifying causes for harm and demanding change. The BRM was just as bad [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] as was anticipated [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
In any event, shortly after the good announcement about Linux (not Ballnux, e.g. Novell) PCs arriving at Europe with ODF 'built in', IBMers proceed to discussing the technical deficiencies of OOXML, as opposed to the OOXML BRM and much of the OOXML-related misconduct.
OOXML Still Broken
Rob Weir posted a couple of good items that are worth keeping in mind. The first one makes another indirect approach toward the issue of legacy formats. As mentioned yesterday, binary Office format specifications render OOXML pretty much unnecessary, rationalising more than ever the need for Microsoft to embrace ODF and migrate its legacy in that unified direction. The company claims to have just done the same with IE8 and Web standards (promises, promises), so why not document formats?
Faithful representation of Microsoft Office 97-2008. I’ve learned it is rarely polite to ask a man what he means by “faithful”, but let me make an exception here. We have now the binary Office format specifications, not part of the standard, but posted by Microsoft. And we have OOXML specification. In what way does the OOXML “represent faithfully” the “existing corpus” of legacy documents?
Does OOXML tell you how to translate a binary document into OOXML? No. Does it tell you how to map the features of legacy documents in OOXML? No. Does it give an implementor any guidance whatsoever on how to “represent faithfully” legacy documents? No. So it is both odd and unsatisfactory that primary goal of the OOXML standard is so tenuously supported by its text.
Now, certainly, someone using the binary formats specifications, and using the OOXML specification, could string them together and attempt a translation, but the results will not be consistent or satisfactory. It is the Carolino Effect. Knowing the two endpoints is not the same as knowing how to correctly map between them. A faithful mapping requires knowledge not only of the two vocabularies, but also the interactions.
The second item from Weir alludes to the BRM, but only in the sense that it mentions a concern raised there (and unsurprisingly disregarded due to lack of time). It’s about macros, which Microsoft never liked talking about all that much. Microsoft hopes that nobody will spot and scrutinise for the weaknesses which only Microsoft has in mind, hoping to divert attention away from the parts most sensitive to unrebuttable criticism.
Finally, note that this lack of information on how to locate macros within a document makes it impossible for anyone to programmatically combine or divide OOXML documents which may contain macros. For example, imagine a 2-page spreadsheet, with a macro on sheet one only. How can it be split into two one-page documents, if there is no defined way to locate the script associated with page one? This is the type of automated composition and document manipulation that OOXML should be enabling. Similarly, how can one combine two single documents containing macros into one document, if there are no defined rules for locating and naming macros? Many basic types of applications,such as merging slide shows, etc., will break in the presence of macros.
The above topic was of interest to several NB’s in Geneva, but could not be discussed for lack of time at the BRM.
The Fast Track to the Wastebasket
Microsoft may have taken a wild gamble by choosing an inappropriate route to ISO-isation. As a result of this, under great pressure, Microsoft needed to resort to breaking the law (more on this in a moment). Here is Groklaw’s interpretation of Malaysia’s press release, which we mentioned yesterday.
Malaysia Standards Says Most of Their Technical Concerns Unresolved at BRM; Fast Track Inappropriate
They were there. And they contradict the stories being put out by those in charge and by Microsoft. They did *not* have the opportunity to have their concerns addressed totally. Malaysia voted to disapprove the undiscussed bulk dispositions, although they had earlier voted to approve some dispositions that were discussed.
When All Else Fails, Break the Law
The OOXML scandal in India — one which we covered here before [1, 2, 3] — is finally receiving some press coverage. While the 'mainstream press' turns somewhat of a blind eye, Linux.com does a story.
Microsoft is encouraging its business partners to promote its Office Open XML specification (OOXML) to the Indian Bureau of Standards (BIS) and Ministry of IT. This move has incensed supporters of the rival OpenDocument Format (ODF) who fear that the “soft” Indian state may not be able to stand up to Microsoft pressure tactics.
It is encouraging to see that all these known and proven incidents get documented. Hopefully, the EU is watching this carefully and taking it into account (or Microsoft's accounting). █
“If you flee the rules, you will be caught. And it will cost you dearly.”
–Neelie Kroes (about Microsoft), February 27th, 2008
Permalink
Send this to a friend
03.04.08
Posted in Asia, ECMA, GNU/Linux, IBM, Microsoft, Office Suites, Open XML, OpenDocument at 12:59 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Reports from the BRM in Geneva continue to come [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], but there are some encouraging news from the ODF front as well. IBM, for example, is now spreading its ODF love using Symphony (“proprietary software” comes to mind) on top of GNU/Linux in Europe. Here is the report from Reuters.
International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said it was offering the PCs based on the open-source Linux operating system together with Red Hat (RHT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) software distributor VDEL of Austria and Polish distributor and services firm LX Polska in response to demand from Russian IT chiefs.
[...]
The PCs will include IBM’s Lotus Symphony software based on the Open Document Format, a rival format to Microsoft’s Office Open XML document format, which the latter is trying to get adopted as an ISO internationally approved standard.
The following article takes a more direct approach and focuses on the role of GNU/Linux in the stack.
IBM to offer Linux machines
[...]
The machines, it was announced, will come with Red Hat’s Linux distro, and will come pre-loaded with software from IBM, including its Lotus Symphony suite.
Fortunately enough (yet unsurprisingly), OOXML file are still rare (also see this), so there is hardly any inertia.
So with all this evident love for Microsoft Office 2007, why is it that 6-months later there are only 63 OOXML spreadsheet documents on the web, something like 0.3% of the number of ODF spreadsheet documents? How can there be 300 companies supporting OOXML and only have 69 OOXML presentations on the web? (This is starting to sound like when I say I support 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day. I don’t do it, but I sure support it!)
OK, I know the argument about “dark matter”, that Google indexes only the tip of the iceberg, that there is a lot of data squirreled away on PC hard-drives, behind corporate fire walls, etc., stuff that Google will never see. But the same is equally true for ODF documents, right? I have tons of ODF documents on my laptop, but none of them are indexed by Google.
Over in Greece (discomforting memories spring to mind, e.g. [1, 2, 3, 4]), some complaints are politely made about ECMA/Microsoft’s handling of comments and irrational time constraints.
The contrast with OOXML is sharp, and this brings us to another issue of contention. The Greek workgroup on OOXML had been handed only the Ecma Responses for Greece. It was at the BRM when we found out that we should have studied all responses, not only those for Greece. It is not clear if this is an error by Ecma or by the Greek NB, but, in both cases, we did not have the time to study one thousand responses, so there would have been no difference. In fact, even the 80 responses that Greece studied, we did not study at the level of scrutiny that is required when you inspect a standard. There was no time for that. What we did was glance through, and make fast decisions based on what seems right at a quick glance.
More such complaints are made by the ODF Alliance [PDF] (as text).
…the ODF Alliance said in a statement that “despite the hard work by the many national standards bodies and ISO/IEC, the results fell far short of fixing the most important errors and omissions in OOXML. More than 80 percent of the comments from national bodies were not discussed…”
Malaysia is no exception.
Malaysian delegation at the ISO meeting in Geneva (25 – 29 Feb ’08) finds the technical issues in the draft standard OOXML unresolved satisfactorily
Malaysia’s Department of Standards (STANDARDS MALAYSIA) recently found the Draft ISO standard, ISO/IEC DIS 29500: Office Open XML (OOXML) specification for electronic document formats, had the majority of its technical issues still not addressed satisfactorily.
In an interview with Sean Daly, Vint Cerf questions a variety of things, including the closed nature of the whole process.
Cerf: We saw that walled gardens are NOT what users want. They want freedom to interact with everyone in convenient and standards-compliant ways. I do not think we will see walled gardens of the previous kind, but I do worry when global standards are adopted that are likely to be implementable by only one vendor. When global standards processes are overly influenced by proprietary interests, they cease to facilitate interoperability and competitive implementation. I do worry when standards are adopted that have potential encumbrances or that erode the openness that has been a hallmark of the Internet since its origins.
More recently, Noooxml.org concluded that the BRM has made things worse for Microsoft (but everyone has already known this, Microsoft included).
Microsoft tries to blame all negative criticism on fanaticism, covert influence from IBM and an unreasonable anti-Microsoft attitude. I would be more inclined towards regarding a blank approval without comments as a sign of corruption or gross incompetence.
Where is it most likely that you will find corruption and a lack of experience: in long standing P-members, or in small newcomers without even a proper national standards committee?
A very comprehensive list of OOXML irregularities you can still find here. It continues to be updated.
Here is Matt Aslett’s take on the spin from Microsoft, which leads to confusion (by design).
Lastly, the OSI talks about this issue.
But if you read this far, you’re smart enough to look behind the claims of a label and determine whether its promises can be judged true. Now is the time to stand up and say no to OOXML, saving us all generations of technical servitude, commercial disappointment, and individual shame. Support ODF, support true open standards, and enjoy the support you can get from open source.
In conclusion, in the the past week we saw victories for ODF and a major setback for OOXML. This momentum will hopefully be maintained. █
Permalink
Send this to a friend
03.02.08
Posted in Antitrust, Asia, Finance, Free/Libre Software, Microsoft, Novell, Open XML at 2:56 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
“Microsoft: still a bunch of gangsters.”
–Sam Hiser (reaction to Microsoft’s 'open' pledge, 2008)
Our last wrap-up covering the incident in India showed that Microsoft offered money to tens of thousands of non-profits only days before the nation’s vote on OOXML. Leaked letters, whose authenticity has not yet been confirmed, suggest that these non-profits later pressured their national standards body to cave in and fall for Microsoft. This is extremely damaging and the following new article from The Post seems to allude to this incident rather gently.
Monopoly and proprietary software have an advantage in influencing state and governmental institutions because of their large market base and ready capital. Unscrupulous ways of influencing state governments have persisted in India, for example, where executives of proprietary software cajole government heads to promote their brands in lieu of some form of charity given. FLOSS activists must overcome this huge challenge in order to get their philosophy accepted and model implemented for the good of people who are still on the barren side of the digital divide.
“Remember that the LF is partly funded by Novell, which is a Microsoft partner…”This is definitely something for the European Commission to look into. The ongoing antitrust investigation of OOXML-related abuses has another ‘smoking gun’ right there. It’s one among many, but the scale of this one is rather disturbing. It illustrates the possibility of ‘charity’ being used as a bribery funnel.
The LF‘s President, Jim Zemlin, is probably known for his liberal views that are relatively supportive of Microsoft. Remember that the LF is partly funded by Novell, which is a Microsoft partner, so he has to be nice and avoid controversies. Nevertheless, he did bother a post a gentle item bearing the sympathetic title: “It’s Been a Tough Week for Microsoft”.
It has been a tough week for Microsoft. This morning the E.U. announced it is imposing a 1.3 billion dollar fine on the company because Microsoft had “charged unreasonable prices for access to interface documentation for work group servers” and that it had abused its dominant position under Article 82 of the EC Treaty. That is not something any company wants to hear the week after announcing, “new interoperability principles and actions will increase openness of key products” and on the day of Windows Server 2008’s “Heroes Happen Here” launch event.
It’s understandable that the LF should keep an open mind that appeals to the marketplace. The LF does not, after all, wish to be perceived as "anti-Microsoft".
Going forward, Microsoft will have to face the consequences of its unacceptable behaviour. Its stock has already been knocked down by a downgrade, spurred by its recent abuses that led to considerable fines. Here is the Reuters article:
RESEARCH ALERT-Bear Stearns cuts Microsoft Q3 shr view
[...]
“We believe the EU is unlikely to levy further fines relative to this issue as they declared MSFT has been in compliance since Oct 22, 2007,” Bear Stearns said and continued to rate the stock “peer perform.”
Then came the reaction.
In Nasdaq trading, Microsoft Corp slid 1.2 percent to $27.93. Bear Stearns cut its estimates for Microsoft’s GAAP earnings per share for both the third quarter and fiscal 2008 after the European Commission levied a record fine against the company for failure to comply with antitrust sanctions.
We shall soon publish a summary of Microsoft’s financial situation, as a reader suggested that we do. We have also contacted Bill Parish, who is familiar with these matters.
In other good news, the controversial chairwoman of the FTC, who repeatedly turned a blind eye to many monopolistic abuses and more recently got caught in a conflicting interests scandal (her husband), has finally stepped down.
U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras will resign in late March and become general counsel of Procter & Gamble, the FTC and company said on Thursday.
If the American regulators can learn from Europe (getting claws and teeth), then Microsoft, Intel and several other abusive monopolists will finally have to rethink and reconsider their business strategy. █
Permalink
Send this to a friend
« Previous Page — « Previous entries « Previous Page · Next Page » Next entries » — Next Page »
Content is available under CC-BY-SA