Bonum Certa Men Certa

BECTA: OOXML Lock-in and Anti-Linux Abuses All Microsoft's Fault

Not so fast, BECTA!

Several months ago BECTA complained about OOXML, Windows Vista, and Microsoft Office 2007. It was not an issue of cost. This came after BECTA's long and rather disturbing love affair with Microsoft. An accomplice claiming innocence?

It is interesting to find BECTA's referral of an interoperability complaint [via Bob Sutor[ to the European Commission because BECTA too has come under pressure for its anti-competitive moves which blindly favoured a single vendor while completely excluding the rest (refusing to think outside the box) and for keeping decisions away from the taxpayers' eyes. BECTA tries to pass liability. Here if what the BECTA site states at the moment:

Becta welcomes the European Commission's antitrust investigation of Microsoft concerning interoperability and confirms it has recently referred its interoperability complaint and supporting evidence to the Commission.


Interoperability is just part of a much broader issue for BECTA. Another issue are the payments to Microsoft for each PC in the educational system, regardless of what operating system and software it actually runs (it's similar to the OEM-level abuses). BECTA tried to pass liability when it spoke to Sirius IT.

“By attempting to push Office 2007 into the educational cycle, using considerable discounts at times, Microsoft hopes to 'poison' the whole environment with documents that can only be properly interpreted and opened by Microsoft software.”When it comes to interoperability, however, it's important to remember that Microsoft almost forces children not to use 'other' office suites, such as OpenOffice.org, even at home. By attempting to push Office 2007 into the educational cycle, using considerable discounts at times, Microsoft hopes to 'poison' the whole environment with documents that can only be properly interpreted and opened by Microsoft software.

This is sheer abuse and it was part of the plan all along. Over at Groklaw, a complaint was made about a totally backwards article from Neil McAllister (PCWorld), who uses Office 2007 compatibility as the yardstick to judge office suites by, as opposed to looking at international standards like ODF, which Microsoft refuses to embrace (giving it a very low score, as deserved).

A small panel including two people from PCWorld brought up and articulated some of the pains of OOXML, even in offices that revolve all around Microsoft products. The Open Malaysia blog has some of the text.

Its also funny that the segment before this was about the April Fools pranks which occurred online. I think its quite unfortunate for Microsoft that their hollow victory (if its one at all) would fall on April the First. Well, whether the joke's on us or not, OOXML to me will always be remembered as the April Fools' Standard.


As the item above hopefully shows its readers, even those who are loyal and exclusive users of Microsoft software are suffering from OOXML. Was the format's intention merely to move goalposts for rivals and to add the anti-GPL clauses, using software patents?

"Software companies and other businesses are watching closely as a U.S appeals court weighs whether an inventor can patent an abstract process -- something that involves nothing more than thoughts."

--U.S. appeal raises business method patent issues

Recent Techrights' Posts

Web Monopolist, Google, 'Pulls a Microsoft' by Hijacking/Overriding the Name of Competitor and Alternative to the Web
Gulag 'hijacking' 'Gemini'
Forging IRC Logs and Impersonating Professors: the Lengths to Which Anti-Free Software Militants Would Go
Impersonating people in IRC, too
GNU/Linux Popularity Surging, So Why Did MakeUseOf Quit Covering It About 10 Days Ago?
It's particularly sad because some of the best articles about GNU/Linux came from that site, both technical articles and advocacy-centric pieces
GNOME Foundation is in Reliable Hands (Executive Director)
Growing some good in one's garden
 
[Meme] Social Control Media Giants Shaping Debates on BSDs and GNU/Linux
listening to random people in Social Control Media
Reddit (Condé Nast), Which Has Another Round of Layoffs This Month, Incited People Against GNU/Linux Users (Divide and Rule, It's 2003 All Over Again!)
Does somebody (perhaps a third party) fan the flames?
Who Will Hold the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Accountable for Taking Bribes From Microsoft and Selling Out to Enable/Endorse Massive Copyright Infringement?
it does Microsoft advocacy
Using Gemini to Moan About Linux and Spread .NET
Toxic, acidic post in Gemini
Links 04/12/2023: Mass Layoffs at Spotify (Debt, Losses, Bubble) Once Again
Links for the day
ChatGPT Hype/Vapourware (and 'Bing') Has Failed, Google Maintains Dominance in Search
a growing mountain of debt and crises
[Meme] Every Real Paralegal Knows This
how copyright law works
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, December 03, 2023
IRC logs for Sunday, December 03, 2023
Links 04/12/2023: COVID-19 Data Misused Again, Anti-Consumerism Activism
Links for the day
Links 03/12/2023: New 'Hey Hi' (AI) Vapouware and Palantir/NHS Collusion to Spy on Patients Comes Under Legal Challenge
Links for the day
'Confidential Computing'? More Like a Giant Back Door.
CacheWarp AMD CPU Attack Grants Root Access in Linux VMs
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, December 02, 2023
IRC logs for Saturday, December 02, 2023
Links 03/12/2023: CRISPR as Patented Minefield, Lots of Greenwashing Abound
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news
Professor Eben Moglen: In 1991 Richard Stallman Thought GNU/Linux Was Doomed Due to Software Patents
Back when Linus Torvalds was about to release Linux Prof. Moglen and Dr. Stallman had already spent years developing GNU and refining its licence, the GPL, which Linux would later adopt
Montana’s TikTok Ban Was to Protect Free Speech and the United States' First Amendment
TikTok does not embrace Free speech
GNU/Linux Surges to Almost 4% Worldwide on Desktops/Laptops, 2% in Latest Steam Survey (Ubuntu Not the Top Distro)
We've fortunately bet on a winning platform
Links 02/12/2023: ChatGPT Drowns in Bad Press, Censorship Worldwide Increases Some More
Links for the day
Cybercrimes and Online Abuse From Extremists and Militants on a VPN/Tor
A straitjacket or lobotomy won't solve this issue
Links 02/12/2023: Pfizer Sued for Lies About Efficacy, Censorship of Scientific Dissent, More Pfizer Layoffs
Links for the day
Selling Free Software
by Richard Stallman
[Meme] Screenshots of Web Pages (Relevant to One's Article) Are Not Copyright Infringing Anywhere in the World
bullying and hate crimes
IRC Proceedings: Friday, December 01, 2023
IRC logs for Friday, December 01, 2023
A Year of Doing Techrights 'Full Time'
been a year!