Bonum Certa Men Certa

Reader's Take on OpenDocument Foundation and Microsoft (Updatedx3)

We checked, but we remain unsure

The following has been discussed in the IRC channel for a couple of hours, but it's still inconclusive. We share with you information that an anonymous reader claims to have found. We can't confirm any of this to be verifiable, but this need to be considered in light of the fact that the defunct OpenDocument Foundation (not alliance) seemed close to Microsoft. It was odd at the time.






I have been observing the oiic list and the lawyer guy called marbux



He is using the signature

Universal Interoperability Council <http:www.universal-interop-council.org>

Just did a whois on that domain name

http://www.betterwhois.com

guess what turns up

Domain ID:D150461463-LROR Domain Name:UNIVERSAL-INTEROP-COUNCIL.ORG Created On:23-Dec-2007 09:29:57 UTC Last Updated On:22-Feb-2008 03:50:28 UTC Expiration Date:23-Dec-2008 09:29:57 UTC Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com, Inc. (R91-LROR) Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED Registrant ID:GODA-041357168 Registrant Name:Olivia Edwards Registrant Organization:TransNet.com Registrant Street1:232 F Street Registrant Street2: Registrant Street3: Registrant City:Redwood City Registrant State/Province:California Registrant Postal Code:94063 Registrant Country:US Registrant Phone:+1.6503650899 Registrant Phone Ext.: Registrant FAX:+1.6503645903 Registrant FAX Ext.: Registrant Email:garyedwards@yahoo.com

Now check this

Registrant Organization:TransNet.com Created On:23-Dec-2007 09:29:57 UTC

Go to therr website TransNet.com ..guess what...Nice logo of..

Microsoft gold certified partner

[...]

Check this out..more about the spooky guy called marbux

http://www.transnet.com/aboutTransNet.asp

.asp so this guys are all Microsoft

hum...more stuff...

Our clients include Fortune 100 organizations, primarily in the pharmaceutical, oil and gas, finance and communications industries, **** as well as educational and local and state governmental institutions****. TransNet common stock is traded in the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol "TRNT."

[...]

some more

http://www.transnet.com/train07.asp

microsoft, microsoft, microsoft all over the place






At the moment, Marbux seems active in a new ODF mailing list, but he is hostile towards IBM. The key questions we are unable to answer though:

  1. Is Olivia Edwards the wife of Gary Edwards? We know that his wife helped him set up an office in a garage?
  2. Is "Registrant Organization" associated with the person registering the domain or the host?


Our source was keen to be heard, but we suspect that there's a lot of work to be done if it was ever to become credible enough. It's actually Patrick Durusau that we are more curious about [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

There's a lot more information in the IRC log that will be posted tomorrow.

"Every single negative letter on ODF received by the Malaysian standards organization was written either by Microsoft, or a Microsoft business partner or a Microsoft affiliated organization (Initiative for Software Choice and IASA)."

A Memo to Patrick Durusau



Update: More information keeps coming. We quote:







registrar is at godaddy. i have not put this email public.

but why would anyone put hosting company name in here...he seems to be a pretty smart guy to do such a thing. normally a person will use his own conmpany name there. plus i check that this company transnet.com does not provide hosting or web designing. hum...very close indeed.

Registrant Organization:TransNet.com

very tricky thing indeed..

[...]

plus transnet.com has a lot of interest in government contracts, etc...

lot of things are just not right. they way he is just bullshitting in the list and trying to just throw it off the track. does anyone without any interest has time to write such long and baseless emails.. and he just dogs when asked for proof. they way he is throwing aquisitions at ibm, sun, groklaw, etc. ...just dosent seem to fit will.

why would anyone do such a thing unless they have some sort of personal gains or interest.

i am just keeping mum unless things become more clear.

[...]

http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_g0w5wj

SIC #Code:8748

Est. Annual Sales:$73,000

Est. Employees:1

Est. Employees at Location:1

Contact Name:Olivia Edwards

Contact Title:Owner

So this person (Olivia Edwards) runs a company called Transnet.com

All the records of ownership of the domain www.universal-interop-council.org are with Transnet.com !!!!!

This guy called Marbux claims that he runs that website or writes there. BTW he has left the registration/ownsership of website with Transnet.com - I dont know how many people will do such a thing - that also a real smart techie/lawyer.

Panelist: Buck "Marbux" Martin. Marbux is a retired Oregon lawyer who volunteers his time with the OpenDocument Foundation as its director of legal affairs and is also a freelance investigative writer with an intense interest in software interoperability issues and closely-related subjects such as software patents. Marbux is also a member of the OpenDocument Technical Committee. He received his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. "Buck 'Marbux' Martin" is a pseudonym used to maximize his privacy in retirement.

http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:qzc0Cy62

So that is not his real name but some sort of pseudonym.

this is really funny....



We have also just received almost a confirmation that Olivia is the wife of Gary, but let's wait until some better proof is available.

Updated #2: We also hear that Gary and Olivia may have been directors of a company that owned a converter they never finished, and that they hoped to make a profit on. Further to this, from our anonymous reader, here is something for those lacking background:







Gary Edwards is president of the OpenDocument Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Edwards oversees the software standards and development work of the Foundation. The OpenDocument Foundation provides financial and technical support to permit individuals to participate within software standards consortia like OASIS in an open-source manner. Edwards also leads the development work of the ODF Plugin (to MS Office) for the Foundation and its affiliate, OpenDocument, Inc. Edwards was a founding member of the OASIS OpenDocument (Open Document Format for Office Applications) Technical Committee and plays a key role on the ODF subcommittees, including the ODF Formula and the ODF Metadata TCs. Additionally, his influence was instrumental to the early adoption of the OpenOffice.org software around the world. During and prior to his commitment to software standards work, Edwards has led significant consulting projects focused on business process re-engineering in the media, real estate and financial fields.

hum....really strange things are going on here.....

[...]

more stuff..

http://www.betanews.com/article/OpenDocument_Foundation_Dissolves_L

So what it has all to do with Olivia Edwards and Transnet.com and Microsoft Gold Partner and government contracts.

Gary Edwards is president of the OpenDocument Foundation, Inc.

Olivia Edwards - Transnet.com - Microsoft Gold Partner - government contracts. - Est. Annual Sales:$73,000

Something is really fishy.






Update #3: More input of interest arrives.







Am I missing something ? Why would they sponser such a person/domain ? Who is this Marbux/Paul and why is he spamming the list with such nonsense ?? Is he paid to do that or something and what it has to do with ODF/Microsoft ?

As I can see that email for registering that domain is of Gary Edwards.

Registrant FAX Ext.: Registrant Email:garyedwards@yahoo.com

for detailed information. Domain Name: TRANSNET.COM Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC. Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com Name Server: NS13.WORLDNIC.COM Name Server: NS14.WORLDNIC.COM Status: clientTransferProhibited Updated Date: 03-nov-2006 Creation Date: 03-feb-1992

http://www.transnet.com/sec.asp?mu=in

They have been public since 2001. I am not into stock market/accoutant but this company is active since long back...someone needs to dig through the reports. See if they got some extra money out of nowhere since formation/disruption of OpenDocument Foundation, Inc. or whatever is going on...

download one of them and go through them regarding anything strange...check the last page. No mention of Edwards in the board...

http://www.transnet.com/annualReport.asp?mu=in

[...]

http://blogs.eweek.com/brooks/content/office/_the_op...

check this comment...

Michael Shigorin :

Wow, how nice this false thing spreads. Do you at eWeek get lazy at checking the facts that often? I understand that this was a keen trick but you bought into it: "OpenDocument Foundation" just doesn't have any positive connection to the OpenDocument Format in the first place.

http://whois.americaregistry.com/displayWhois.php?z... => Registrant Organization: TransNet.com

Now TransNet is Microsoft partner, and at least one of the three people in this "Foundation" was a marketing lead at openoffice.org -- who left his position not without scandal.

So, please do consider that we have at least company which is eager to deceive in this area, and who are deceiving.

Posted by Michael Shigorin | November 5, 2007 10:18 AM




Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Hard to Find a Job After Working for Microsoft (Back Doors Giant, Bribery Hub)
It generally looks like people who chose to serve Microsoft's agenda don't end up too well
Altering Perceived Reality to Make It Seem Like Microsoft is Thriving, Not Failing
pretend XBox did not die
Confluent Insiders: IBM Laid Off Over 800 at Confluent, Not Just 800
For the record, the layoffs at Confluent won't be over. After the bluewashing there will be "IBM RAs" impacting Confluent folks, aside from PIPs
Where and How to Spot LLM Slop
Many people correctly perceive LLMs as a site's downfall, a step towards the abyss
Links 25/03/2026: Nations Return to Russian Oil and Burning Wood
Links for the day
 
The World Wide Bots
The shape of the Web is so bad that bots exceed humans in some places
Links 26/03/2026: Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Closes 101 Law Firms in 2 Years, "Please Compensate the Work You Appreciate"
Links for the day
Regaining Software Freedom Means Regaining Control Over Programs That Run on Our Devices
Richard Stallman will speak in Italy
Microsoft Secure Boot Removes Users' Choice
Has Greenland banned Microsoft and 'secure' boot yet?
IBM Pushes Workers Out, It Does Not Count Them as "Layoffs"
The number of IBM layoffs can be as large as tens of thousands per year
Microsoft Lost 31% Of Its Alleged "Value" in Five Months, Then It Got Downgraded
In 2026 Microsoft focuses on keeping the layoffs silent
SLAPP Censorship - Part 24 Out of 200: The Failed Effort by Brett Wilson LLP to Strike Out My Lawsuit and My Wife's Lawsuit Against Garrett (the Master Allowed Our Lawsuits to Proceed)
This is lawfare
Official New Figures Show That Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Sees Rise in Dishonesty Among Law Firms Forcibly Shut Down ('Euthanised' Due to Misconduct)
It's rather if in our little country as many as 16 law firms were found to be so dishonest that they needed to be shut down
Back to Normalcy
In our datacentre at least
IBM is "Increasing Its Temporary and Part-time Headcount" While Net Headcount Falls (Despite Buying Many Companies and Their Workforce)
Headcount is a rather superficial yardstick.
EPO Union Decides to Continue Industrial Actions, Next Strike in Four Days
The latest strike had the highest participation rate
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 25, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Microsoft's "Silent Layoffs" in Slop Clothing
"AI-powered transformation" is just a euphemism for mass layoffs
Public Talk by Richard Stallman in Half a Day "at the Engineering and Architecture Campus of Cesena of the University of Bologna"
He'll probably attract a fairly large crowd
Gemini Links 26/03/2026: Buying a House, Stargazing, OFFLFIRSOCH 2026
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/03/2026: Resisting Authoritarianism and Why Slop Needs to Go Away
Links for the day
Fedora Maintainer-ship Using Slop (Mistakes) Would Make Fedora Less Reliable
It won't produce reliable code or stable systems one can rely upon
IBM's "Legacy Employees" (Experienced Workers, IBM Management Dubs Them 'Dinobabies')
This notion of "legacy employees" seems like something overlapping with "expensive" (well paid) staff, even if not entirely equivalent
EPO's "Current Industrial Actions Are Likely to Intensify Further."
There is another strike in 5 days
This Morning The Register MS Published Slop Promotion With the Term "AI" 15 Times In It. The Register MS Was (As Usual) Paid to Do This
This is not a serious publisher
SLAPP Censorship - Part 23 Out of 200: We Were Right All Along (for 2 Years) About Third Party Funding and Willingness to 'Break the Bank' in Pursuit of "Revenge"
How much damage can a person do to oneself in pursuit of cover-up of legitimate technical concerns?
Gnome Foundation Inc is in Trouble
the agenda is set GAFAM and IBM rather than donors
Links 25/03/2026: Airports Further Militarised, "Slopification and Its Discontents", Microsoft 'Open' 'Hey Hi' Shutting Things Down
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/03/2026: Blogging Fright and Absolutely Useless 'Apps' Made by Slop Machines
Links for the day
Rise in Energy Prices Will Significantly Accelerate the Death of So-called "AI Companies"
It should be noted that fake news about Microsoft OpenAI doubling workforce (mere words, not actions) can serve as a nice distraction from the death of Sora due to divestment
It's Always a Question of Trust
There's a widespread stigma of lawyers being manipulative and chronically dishonest
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Must More Carefully Investigate or Assess the Financial State of Law Firms in the UK
We'll cover this in depth in the future
GAFAM Mozilla Removes Theora Support, Now GNU Needs to Re-encode Videos
Mozilla used to mean something to Free software advocates
An Open Admission Profits Depend on Addiction
Proprietary software tends to be like this
IBM Americas President Ayman Antoun Comes to OpenText, Weeks Ahead the Mass Layoffs Begin
Is that what IBM will be good at?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 24, 2026
SLAPP Censorship - Part 22 Out of 200: When You Complain People Impersonate You in IRC (But You Yourself Impersonate People in IRC and Lock Them Out of Their IRC Handles)
We'll cover this with direct evidence some time soon
Gemini Links 24/03/2026: Junk Drawer Time Capsule and Building Outside Alire
Links for the day
Not Much LLM Slop About "Linux" Lately, It Only Ever Comes From the Same Few Sites
As long as only few such sites use LLM slop we can skip and avoid them
Links 24/03/2026: "Epic Lays Off Over 1000 Employees" and US in Financial Trouble According to the Fed
Links for the day
The "Media" Does Not Only 'Miss' Mass Layoffs
"The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it"
The Empty Suits of IBM Managers (NIH or "Nothing Invented Here")
IBM's management adopted the business model of parasites
2012: 'Secure' (Microsoft-Controlled) Boot Has Not (Yet) Been Made Obligatory. 2026: systemd Has Not Implemented Age Verification
should we stop calling "nazi" everyone we don't agree with?
More Threats (Including Physical Threats) Against Us Are a Dumb Move
It's like a "hit list" (targets list) and I shall keep the police duly informed
New Example of Pentagon in "Feminist" Clothing Inside Fake News of Publishers Paid to Promote Outsourcing to US ("Clown Computing") and American Slop
Google now pays money to promote Google as a friend of women
Hating Techrights is a Career
but is it good for civil society?
Dr. Stallman’s Work Will Never be Considered 'Mainstream' Because He Rejects and Works Against the So-called 'Mainstream'
Try to be more like Stallman
The New Layoffs: 'Silent Layoffs', 'Secret Layoffs', 'Quiet Layoffs', 'Passive Layoffs' 'Stealth Layoffs', and Unannounced Layoffs Disguised as Return-to-Office (RTO Mandates)
The US needs to revisit and fix the WARN Act
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part IX - Cocaine Addicts in Charge of the EPO Attacking Families of EPO Staff
Things like being high-profile and being a serious drug addict aren't opposites
What Feminism in Science Means (Codes of Conduct Don't Tackle the Real Issues)
Universality matters, more so in a project or community that's said to build the "universal operating system" (Debian)
SLAPP Censorship - Part 21 Out of 200: It's About Behaviour Online, Not How Much Money From Shadowy Third Parties Gets Spent on Lawyers and Two Barristers
75+ KG of legal papers, 2 cases, 2 barristers (one hiding in the metadata) and maybe two law firms (also hiding in the metadata) against two modest people in Manchester seems disproportionate and vindicative
Links 24/03/2026: "Airports on ICE" and "Have You Paid Your “Intuit Tax”?"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/03/2026: Slop Interview and Why Slop Makes Lousy Code
Links for the day
Richard Stallman to Give Public Talk This Thursday at the University of Bologna (Italy)
Hardly the first time he speaks in Bologna
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 23, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, March 23, 2026