Novell Markets Its OpenOffice.org Fork Using Patents-Encumbered Microsoft Add-ons

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2008-10-24 15:24:14 UTC
Modified: 2008-10-24 15:24:14 UTC

Become a Novell customer, be 'safe'?

Novell's attempt to steal Sun Microsystems' thunder (OpenOffice.org charm) was previously covered in [1, 2]. It's a fork. It's there for everyone to see, even with some software patents on top of it. Well, Ubuntu's coming release will exclude OpenOffice.org 3.0, in part because of Novell's Microsoft-esque version of the software, which contains patent poison and helps the spreading of OOXML.

Finally, one of the headline features of OpenOffice.org 3.0 that many people have asked about is support for Microsoft Office 2007 documents. Thanks to our use of the Go-oo patch set, we already support this important feature with 2.4.1.

We encouraged GNU/Linux users to lobby against this. It's not the nature of the fork that makes it dangerous; it is the forker, a Microsoft ally, which makes this untrustworthy.

Had Novell been serious about Free software and open standards, it would not have sold out to Microsoft and OOXML back in 2006. In fact, some time next year, even Microsoft will have surrendered to ODF, thus confirming that the real international standard is growing dominant and never going away. The Register has this new article regarding Microsoft's time line.

In May Microsoft moved to appease its critics and reassure regulators by proclaiming that Office 2007 SP2 will support rival file format OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.1 used by openistas such as IBM and Sun Microsystems.

As another side note worthy of a mention, Microsoft's accessibility smear against ODF is FUD that's growing thinner than ever before owing to this announcement: [via Glyn Moody]

Today I am more than pleased to share with you news of the AEGIS project, a €12.6m investment in accessibility, with the vast majority of it focused on open source solutions.

What is AEGIS?

AEGIS stands for "open Accessibility Everywhere: Groundwork, Infrastructure, Standards". It is a major research and development investment in building accessibility into future mainstream Information & Communication Technologies.

ODF comes complete with many of the necessary features, yet it is not based on a single reference implementation, which makes it elegant. Why again is Novell helping OOXML? Oh, that's right. Microsoft ~~bribed~~ paid Novell to do so. ⬆

Novell gets 'bribed'

Comments

landofbind

2008-10-24 17:00:23

Well, Ubuntu’s coming release will exclude OpenOffice.org 3.0, in part because of Novell’s Microsoft-esque version of the software.

So you liar where did anyone say anything like that?

C'mon explain it?

You really are a miserably person! Note: comment has been flagged for arriving from an incarnation of a known (eet), pseudonymous, forever-nymshifting, abusive Internet troll that posts from open proxies and relays around the world.
vincent

2008-10-24 17:07:08

Why Office 2007 SP2 will support ODF 1.1 and not ODF 1.2 which will be standardized soon ?
Roy Schestowitz

2008-10-24 17:28:24

vincent,

Maybe people have asked that question. I'm not sure if Microsoft ever responded (maybe I missed it).
Dan O'Brian

2008-10-24 23:30:36

The likely/obvious answer is that Microsoft can't implement a spec which hasn't been finalized yet.
Roy Schestowitz

2008-10-24 23:53:44

Microsoft has already deviated far from OOXML (even in Office 2009) and expresses no plan to validate, so it's hard to buy such an argument.

"It’s hard for Microsoft to commit to what comes out of Ecma [the European standards group that has already OK’d OOXML] in the coming years, because we don’t know what direction they will take the formats. We’ll of course stay active and propose changes based on where we want to go with Office 14. At the end of the day, though, the other Ecma members could decide to take the spec in a completely different direction. … Since it’s not guaranteed, it would be hard for us to make any sort of official statement."
--Brian Jones, Microsoft

could they use th same excuse here?

The Better the Understanding or the More Nations Understand the Threat Posed by Microsoft, the Faster It'll be Eradicated: We believe that the thing to advocate is self-hosting and Free software... A lack of simplicity or absence of alternatives is a form of vendor lock-in
A Week of Sunlight: They say transparency is like sunlight to a vampire
"Linux" Sites That Went Astray: there are even worse things than shutdowns
Links 16/06/2025: Climate, Wildfires, Breaches, and Monopolies: Links for the day
Links 16/06/2025: Summer in Finland and Misunderstandings: Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 15, 2025: IRC logs for Sunday, June 15, 2025
Gemini Links 15/06/2025: Rainy Season and OpenDocument Format (ODF): Links for the day
Links 15/06/2025: Military Games, Parade, and Actions: Links for the day
Links 15/06/2025: Windows TCO, Openwashing, and Wars: Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/06/2025: "AI Fatigue and Crappiness": Links for the day
When Abusive Law Firms (Working for Microsofters Against Us) Assert That Someone Writing in Social Media About Himself is Confidential Information: There was no reason to throw "GDPR" into 2 SLAPPs; they know it, but the goal was to increase the cost of a Defence and lessen the incentive to challenge the SLAPPs
Microsoft Attack Dogs Against Watchdogs and Guard Dogs in Software: Last year Microsofters hired attack dogs or "guns for hire"
Slop Cannot Replace Domain Expertise: All this "AI" hype (it's not even intelligence, it's all a misnomer, as many of us have insisted all along) will fizzle and be written off as a failed experiment
IBM's Fresh 'PIPs' (Action Before Layoffs): At times like these, even once-reputable employers resort to PIPs and other procedures/tricks for denial of workers' rights
Microsoft is a Problem Not Just for Denmark: Every country should consider what Denmark is doing, why Denmark is doing it, and then do the same
The Slopfarms' Self Detonation: If more sites like BetaNews go under, then maybe we can still salvage some of the Web
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 14, 2025: IRC logs for Saturday, June 14, 2025
Links 14/06/2025: FDA Changes Priorities, Cassette Data Storage From The 1970s: Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/06/2025: Steam Next Fest and Thoughts on Gemini: Links for the day
Site/Datacentre Maintenance Next Week: speed things up
Bulgaria: GNU/Linux Near 10%: The Bulgarian market seems to be changing
I Never Spoke to BetaNews. But BetaNews Wants to Ensure I Never Will, Either.: Sometimes just the reluctance to talk about it can say a great deal
Throwing Money at Lawyers Can't Stop Us (It Never Did): Even just trying to censor things can result in the opposite of the desired outcome
Online Search or Large Search Engines Aren't Working Anymore: business models that directly compete with interests of Web users
Holidays and Breaks: I've hardly taken any long breaks since I got married
Danish OpenDocument Freedom: "year of Linux"
Links 14/06/2025: Wars and L.A. Distortion Effect: Links for the day
BetaNews Has More or Less Died After Experiments With LLM Slop, Is Linuxsecurity Next?: It doesn't seem like BetaNews knows what it's doing, let alone what it talks about
Gemini Links 14/06/2025: Historic Ada Design and GeminiSpace.Club to Expire: Links for the day
Links 14/06/2025: India Plane Crash and Middle-Eastern War: Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 13, 2025: IRC logs for Friday, June 13, 2025

Novell Markets Its OpenOffice.org Fork Using Patents-Encumbered Microsoft Add-ons

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts