Last night we saw Microsoft pulling its usual routine in Holland. This country seems to have been corrupted by Microsoft's OOXML back in August as well. This was far from surprising because -- as sad as it may seem -- Microsoft is still in a position where it is able to isolate 'dissidents' and lobby (gentle word for "bully") until they return to the flock of obedient cattle. Politicians will need to be mentally strong and persistent because a lot of money and power will put their job in jeopardy for 'daring' to question the authority of an arrogant and shameless monopoly.

Here is a good translation of a new article written in Dutch: Microsoft wants open standards (as long as they are from Microsoft)

This article is partly a translation from this article: Microsoft is ook voor open standaarden

This week the Dutch government will discuss a proposal to switch as much as possible to open standards and open source software.

[...]

My comments: Contrary to what “buying rules”? Open standards are ok for Microsoft, as long as these are their standars. Why is it dangerous to focus too much on open source? Since it will affect Microsoft’s market share and profits?

This aligns with everything we've said about Microsoft invading the OSI, changing the agenda in Linux companies, and making lots of other moves, some of which make it appear like an open source player. This creates plenty of confusion. Free software is misunderstood along with its added value and philosophy. Policies that encourage competition are no longer compatible with the new state of the marketplace, which Microsoft manipulates to permanently alter. ⬆