Bonum Certa Men Certa

Has Microsoft Just 'Pulled a Hungary' on OOXML Voting in Poland? (Updated)

We haven't a full translation yet, but early evidence seems to suggest that a panel's decision in Poland is being overriden because it is not favourable to OOXML. Watch this space in case there are more updates to come.

There was no practical reason to do that and as you remember first [Polish] comitee rejected MSOOXML with 82% votes against it, but now second comittee approved MSOOXML without single vote against it!.


We mentioned Hungary yesterday, but here is some more text in English.

Hungarian Standards Institution to reconsider its vote!


Remember that a high-level politician got involved and wanted another vote to take place, this time with more Microsoft partners involved. This brings memories of Gates and Ballmer making phonecalls to politicians, thereby flipping the vote on OOXML in the United States.

Other new stories:

OOXML approval system open to abuse

Whether or not OOXML is a good candidate for an open standard is beside the point: there is prima facie evidence of voting in bad faith, without proper consideration of all the aspects of the proposal.


Microsoft admits Swedish employee promised incentives for Open XML support

Microsoft Corp. admitted Wednesday that an employee at its Swedish subsidiary offered monetary compensation to partners for voting in favor of the Office Open XML document format's approval as an ISO standard.


Microsoft's OOXML provokes standards turmoil in France

Microsoft, notably, disagreed with this consensus, and sought for the French vote to ISO to be an abstention.


Microsoft takes off gloves in open documents battle

Microsoft’s fight to get file formats for its Word, Access, Excel and Powerpoint products accepted by the ISO standards organisation is getting nasty.


Here is another headline: INCITS confirms: US to vote for Open XML in ISO

INCITS said "No", but then, Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates started making phonecalls to politicians. It is very important to remember this.

Update: More information on Poland here.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: London Calling...
EPO Vice-President in charge of the "Patent Granting Process" is likely to have been a pay-off for the support which the UK gave to Campinos in 2017
Faking Productivity With Slop and Wasting Money on Faking 'Productivity': A Microsoft Story
If the quality of everything at Microsoft goes down
Wikipedia - Like Some Free Software Projects Infiltrated and Bribed - Bans Its Own Founder
Over the years we've named (not shamed) some projects and organisations that got corrupted by money and ended up banning their own founders
The “Aktion T4” at the European Patent Office (EPO) Saves Money for the President's Own Purse
Call for parents of children with special needs
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Don the Con Meets the Conman From IBM, Shares of IBM Continue Sliding Some More
The "Quantum" hype did not last long [...] PIPs are the new layoffs
Retaliatory Whistleblowing Expected at Microsoft During or After the Mass Layoffs
Retaliatory behaviour by Microsoft will backfire
Gemini Links 24/06/2026: Heatwave, Steam Next Fest, and Year of Buying Guitar Pedals
Links for the day
Links 24/06/2026: China Tops "TOP500", Impact of Microsoft’s Massive Layoffs Extends Further, Internet Society's Community Snapshot
Links for the day
While Thousands at IBM Lose Their Jobs ("Silent Layoffs") IBM's CEO Goes Begging the Dictator for Bailouts, Based on Deliberate Lies About "Quantum"
Many who claim to be retiring are only in their 40s and 50s. They're too proud to publicly admit what IBM did to them.
IBM Sends Workers 'Packing', Sometimes With the "Low Performer" Label That Imperils Their Future
To many people out there, IBM correlates with deceit
Links 24/06/2026: Four-Day Workweeks, GM Cut 1,000 Workers at Its EV Plant, 21,000+ Oracle Layoffs
Links for the day
A Step in the Right Direction (EU) in the Fight Against LLM Slop From GAFAM (US)
We've already mentioned this in Daily Links, but let's discuss this a little further
SLAPP Censorship - Part 117 Out of 200: Libel Tourism or Defamation Forum-Shopping in the United Kingdom Condemned by the European Union (EU)
Last week we reminded readers that the EU had criticised UK defamation law
Demonstration Next Week at the European Patent Office (EPO), Administrative Council Seen as Complicit
Corruption in Europe hurts all of us
IBM is Now Hinged on False Accounting and False Promises
This is the legacy of the current CEO
"PARTNER CONTENT" or 'Content Farms' That Promote Slop and Misinformation (The Register MS)
The Register MS represents a big part of the problem we all face
Turn Off the Slop, It's Wasting Energy and Destroying the Planet (the Only Planet We Have)
Right now we see lots of headlines about energy shortages and drained-up reserves
Lessons From Almost 30 Years of Site-Building Activities
We still strive to become faster and lighter
Do Not Outsource (the Seductive Mirage)
Abandoning so-called 'conventional wisdom'
Media Complicit in IBM Fraud Meant to Prop Up the Share Price Based on Lies, Fabrications
Even IBM insiders are fuming at this
In Some Countries, Windows Has Lost Its Monopoly
Windows fell to an all-time low globally this month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Gemini Links 24/06/2026: Motivation, PostScript Printer, and Why Hyperscalers and the Smolnet are Compatible
Links for the day
The Media's "Satya Says" Syndrome Distracts From Grim Reality
how insiders see Microsoft slop
Oracle's Collapse Has Nothing to do With Slop, It's About Its Debt Exploding by Almost 50% in Just 12 Months
How are people meant to trust the media?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 116 Out of 200: 5 Years of Multiparty Lawfare Against Techrights, Funded by Americans and Also by Third Parties (Including Microsoft Salaries)
The public and our government will be informed in full
Now... a Word From Our Sponsor
Powerade
Links 23/06/2026: Microsoft Studio Closures and Journalism Subjected to Further Cuts
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/06/2026: Gardens, Basketball, Blocking Hyperscaler, and New Commodore Phone
Links for the day
Links 23/06/2026: Apple Price Hikes and Technical Debt in Slop
Links for the day
After IBM's Shares Collapsed the CEO is Trying the "Quantum" Trick Again, Bolstered by a Demented Dictator in the White House
from what we can gather IBM's CEO is trying to get the US government to participate in the scam
Greece Ought to Curb the Threat of Social Control Media
its national discourse seems to be run by an American company called Facebook
State of the GNU/Linux Desktop (and Laptop)
The time to advocate GNU/Linux is now
The 'XBox Narrative' Distracts From Destructive Cuts Across the Whole of Microsoft
Microsoft is preparing to lay off a likely record-breaking number of people [...] this isn't just an XBox problem
SLAPP Censorship - Part 115 Out of 200: Spending the Next Decade Writing About SLAPPs and Trying to Fix the System
It's the same industry that got paid by corrupt EPO officials to try to cover up the corruption
Microsoft's Stock Fell Nearly $200, But the Real Problems Are Just About to Begin
if they dump slop, what will they tell shareholders?
The Cyber Show on Starmer and Software Freedom
The Cyber Show's Andy has just explained why our departing national leader wasn't all bad
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 22, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, June 22, 2026
Gemini Links 23/06/2026: Girlrotting, Homeworlds at BGA, Slop Ruins Sites
Links for the day