When you control information, you control the minds (and the wallets)
Yesterday we published some analysis which explained the relationship between OOXML and the “renting” model for Microsoft Office. The vision is soon becoming a reality as the carrier of the curse (Office 2007 carries OOXML) is brought to more people, who will later on be forced to pay to access data, as though access to personal data requires a subscription (or access be lost).
Hyderabad: Just like a pre-paid mobile telephony card, you can now have a pre-paid Office 2007 productivity software from Microsoft in India.
This offering that comes with the purchase of new personal computer allows a user to access this software for six months and thereafter with the option of renewal with additional payments.
We are approaching a digital dark age. Bob Sutor posted a pointer to a Q & A regarding OOXML. If OOXML isn’t stopped, then this lower entry barrier, as illustrated by the report above, will have people’s information imprisoned. If only more people realised the severity of this…
When dirty tricks are not just the norm, but also a standard
It never ceases to amaze how much Microsoft achieves with proxies that hide behind apparently independent names. There are several such arms and one of the major ones is shilling for Microsoft at the moment.
Microsoft and industry body Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) have teamed up to drive the adoption of Office Open XML in the Philippines.
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs Top CompTIA Poll on Most Influential IT Industry Personalities of the Past 25 Years
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The co-founders of two of the world’s most successful, recognizable and innovative information technology (IT) companies are the industry’s most influential personalities of the past 25 years, according to a poll by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).
Yes, this comes from the same lobbyist that praised Internet Explorer and now praises OOXML at ODF’s expense. This must be how it all works when proxies are abound. Enough ranting though. It’s just something that ought to become common knowledge.
Here is what happens on IBM’s side (no need for proxies):
If you cannot process all the comments deeply and diligently, then reject OOXML. If you are still not satisfied for any reason that it makes sense for OOXML to be an ISO standard, regardless of Microsoft’s market share, then reject OOXML. If you fundamentally believe that OOXML is a bad idea built for the wrong reasons, reject OOXML.
Symphony has been downloaded by more than 250,000 registered users since its release, according to IBM.
The next post will discuss the importance of ODF and a worrisome (yet quiet) trend where people are (virtually) required to pay per OOXML file that they create. It is a true danger which is yet to be realised in years to come.
In two consecutive days, The Wall Street Journal presented two different answers. The first is not surprising: Intellectual Ventures, the brainchild of ex-Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold. It’s now out “to raise as much as $1 billion to help develop and patent inventions, many of them from universities in Asia.”
It is curious that universities outside the US are mentioned. Japan seems to have accepted software patents, but it is one among very few countries to be on that boat (probably the only one in Asia). Mexico has always been edgy. Groklaw discovered a very interesting newsletter from last year and it speaks about the Mexican patent legislation.
Besides, CAFTA also requires the acceptance of any patents granted by the US Patent Office, including patents on ideas applied to software, mathematical algorithms, living matter and so on, and extends the copyright monopoly to at least 70 years past the death of the author.
An interesting topic to review regarding FTAs [Free Trade Agreements] is how, in several cases, signing such an agreement places the legal norms in a country in check. For example, in Mexico today there is an important confusion regarding software patents that did not exist before the FTA: Mexican patent legislation explicitly states that computer programs are not patentable (just like corresponding legislation in Argentina and Brazil). Nevertheless, the Mexican Patent Office has been granting software patents, in accordance with the FTA with USA, which brings a major uncertainty to the Mexican community.
There is a coordinated attempt to successfully push for similar confusion and mess in other countries [1, 2, 3]. There is heavy lobbying involved and some software patents actually ‘trickle’ through the European legal system. Consider Britain With new laws established, scaring businesses outside the United States, for example, would be easier. Remember accusations of a ‘patent terrorism’ culture. It’s all about fear (perception).
Microsoft’s appointed 'patent terrorist' recently quit his role in the company. This came just a year after Martin Taylor, the man behind the “Get the Facts” propaganda, escaped the company abruptly (and without even giving a reason).
Upon Bill Hilf’s departure from his position, let’s recall some of his ‘greatest hits’.
Here is what he said about ODF/OOXML (article pulled after a long time, probably because of Microsoft’s pressure, which Hilf himself talked about at the time).
Hilf accused his former employers, IBM, of starting a standards war simply because they wanted a part of the Office market
Does Hilf endorse the OOXML frauds that we still see? Does he approve sabotaging the typically-peaceful process of standards body in order to pass proprietary formats as though they were ‘open’?
Hilf did not shy away from the cameras when Microsoft attacked GNU/Linux and OpenOffice.org with baseless FUD and accusations. Among the things he said at the time:
“We would like to strike similar patent deals with all the Linux vendors, but we had to start somewhere,” said Bill Hilf.
Hilf’s response was… priceless. “I get a lot of e-mail.” “People like to subscribe me to crazy newsletters and spam.”
Hilf is no longer at that position which he held. All I can personally say is: good riddance. Remember the article from the Bangkok Post (article pulled):
“The Free Software movement is dead. Linux doesn’t exist in 2007. Even Linus has got a job today.” Controversial statements from the head of Microsoft’s Linux Labs, Bill Hilf.
”OIN is intended to make the whole broken patent system collapse, as it should.“A regular reader of this site, having read some articles on the assorted patent trolls [1, 2, 3], wrote to inform us about a techdirt.com article. The article discusses Intellectual Ventures, on which he has commented. Since IANAL (neither is he, I assume), we wish to know whether organisations like OIN (Open Innovation Network) can use the method he has described to protect GNU/Linux entities from patent trolls such as Intellectual Ventures.
My own answer is that it’s interesting scenario. Can OIN ever be counter-sued at all? Therein lies the strength of patent trolls which have patents but no actual products. They are like an amorphous malicious spirit. You can’t take a swing at them because there is no physical entity (product).
A friend recently told me about an idea which OIN supporters have in mind. OIN is intended to make the whole broken patent system collapse, as it should. Patent trolls don’t want it to collapse. OIN, on the other hand, wants patent trolling to end. If shattering the system is the means, then so be it. It renders the system obsolete and pointless.
As we stated a couple of hours ago, SUSE is not really free. In fact, it isn’t quite so good either, even from a technical perspective. Among almost a dozen GNU/Linux distributions which were tested, only OpenSUSE refused to load.
All of these distros except OpenSuse (couldn’t load) are great options for those wanting to move to Linux (I will try Mint again later).
Having been taught that OpenSUSE “always works” where other do not, the above series of tests ought to raise a brow. Perhaps it is a case of perception and marketing replacing and superseding actual experience.
”Microsoft and Novell exclude those who do not pay for mythical patents.“In other news that we mentioned over the weekend, SUSE has just reached Dell’s PCs in China. The Novell/Microsoft/Dell relationship and partnership has always been a mysterious one and these new preinstalls raise even more suspicion.
Frankly, Dell ought to offer more choice. If Microsoft starts getting paid for GNU/Linux sales (yes, it’s being paid per-unit royalties for SLED), then it’s the end of Free software as we know it. It’s also the point where Microsoft can crush Linux as though it was a company. Microsoft and Novell exclude those who do not pay for mythical patents.
Skeptics can deny the truth all they want, but they are just punishing yourselves. Microsoft is not that stupid and if people don’t wake up soon, long-term consequences will kick in and harm GNU/Linux as we know it.
Novell’s GroupWise gets a lift from a third party.
Privacy Networks’ enterprise-level email archiving solution adds GroupWise to its current offerings for Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino
Here is what’s potentially an old press release (i.e. reposted), but maybe it’s just reminiscent of a previous one about ArcMail and GroupWise:
ArcMail Technology, a leading provider of email archiving technology, today announced the release of the new ArcMail Defender for GroupWise. The network appliance combines archiving and data compression technology with on-board storage for a comprehensive GroupWise email archiving solution. ArcMail Defender for GroupWise provides seamless compatibility with the GroupWise email protocol through an ArcMail software gateway that is installed on a company’s Windows server.
Novell today announced it has been positioned in the leaders quadrant of Gartner, Inc.’s, “Magic Quadrant for Web Access Management, 2H07″ by Ray Wagner and Earl Perkins, Oct. 29, 2007. Novell Access Manager(TM), the company’s Web access management solution, protects both Web and enterprise applications and helps organizations enhance user productivity, streamline administration, increase security and ensure compliance.
The following seems like old news (from LinuxWorld, circa August when Dell made the big announcement). It’s back in the press and Novell makes some noise about it (with a photo even).
The slow, toe-in-the-water approach by PC makers to the Linux desktop continued on Wednesday, with Dell and Novell formalizing a deal to ship Dell OptiPlex 330 and 755 desktops preloaded with Novell’s SLED 10, to commercial accounts in China.
Presently, Novell generates most of its revenue from the server market as Microsoft’s Windows system still holds the lion’s share of the desktop segment.
[...]
The nation’s Linux market is projected to grow fivefold from 2006 to 2010 to $51.1 million, according to a report by IT researcher IDC.
Novell’s NetWare finds a place in the NHS, but I suspect we’ve seen this before. Anyway, here is the article.
Giant steps are what you take, to mis-quote Sting, when you’re Moonwalking. The Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (the L&D), in Luton, UK, has deployed Moonwalk software as an information management scheme for its Novell Netware environment.
‘PC acquisition/Windows tax’ is similar to (and can be replaced by) Linux “patent tax”
The previous post was used to show that software patents can be used to put a price tag on Free software, such as GNU/Linux. In China, for example, Linux boxes are subjected to payments of ‘codec money’.
Speaking of low-cost computers in China (that’s what the previous articles discussed), Microsoft is sneakily fighting against what it calls ‘naked PCs’. Again! It fights unbundling in China.
The earlier agreement to preinstall Windows on Founder PCs helped fight piracy by reducing the number of systems that are shipped without operating systems.
If Microsoft wanted to stop ‘piracy’ (the term “piracy” is technically incorrect), then it could put an end to its crocodile tears and actually defend Windows. Consider the following good articles:
”If computers were ever to be stripped off Windows in Europe, would software patents have a new type of tax imposed?“‘Piracy’ helps Microsoft for the same reason IP ‘theft’ helps it. It gets people dependent on its software/protocols/formats/interfaces and at any time Microsoft can turn the table over and start charging money. Recall the MP3 lawsuit against Microsoft.
First they entice their prey and let it grow. It’s a bait. Only later, once it has become too mature (think about Mono' infestation') and the victim highly entangled should they attack, in order to gain from maximal damages. You can hopefully see how ‘Windows tax’ — that which one pays when buying a PC with unwanted preinstalled software — can be replaced by another form of ‘tax’.
Returning to the issue at hand, to China, the news is of course a big step back. In Europe, unbundling (i.e. no forced Vista installation) seems like the way to go, particularly after the EU’s ruling. Articles on this matter include:
If computers were ever to be stripped off Windows in Europe, would software patents have a new type of tax imposed? What if SUSE (e.g. SLED) was preinstalled? We already know that Microsoft gets paid for it, simply because Novell pays for mythical patents. This is yet another reason to weaken Novell and reject its software, unless it changes its way.
Message to Novell: Money is not a measure of success. It is sometimes a measure of how much you are able to exploit others, such as FOSS developers.
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