Microsoft's vision seems as bright as nighttime

Summary: Microsoft is looking to repossess documents by harming ODF, PDF, and HTML, using patents, FUD, RAND, and Silverlight

FOR explanation and background preceding this post, see:

• Signs That Microsoft Might Prepare for 'Patent Terror' Against Rival Office Suites
• Microsoft's OOXML Patents, Apple's Endorsement, and the Rise of OpenOffice.org
• Microsoft Keeps Trying to Inject Software Patents Into ODF and Other Standards
• 7
• Patents Roundup: OASIS Takes Stance Against Software Patents, Microsoft Loses Again
• XML Patents, Microsoft Aggression, and ODF Hostility
• Microsoft's 'ODF Patent' as Vacuous as Its Promise of Interoperability
• Reader's Article: The Microsoft Patent Threat to ODF
• On Microsoft's Software Patents and ODF Fragmentation

As The Inquirer points out right now, this may also affect Microsoft's ongoing attempts to pass XPS as a 'standard'. Microsoft wants patents inside formats and protocols that people use because it discriminates against Free software.

For a few years the Vole had been trying to create open standards derived from its own XML-based file formats, such as XPS and Office XML. True, much of its work was seen as an attempt to stop competing formats, such as the Open Document Format. However Microsoft did get some support for its cunning plan.

As one person put it, "Microsoft granted patent "..document stored in a single XML.." [http://is.gd/2a8y1]. ODF uses several xml files .. so are we in safe??"

Another individual writes: "Not "new usage" for patents: #Microsoft #patents #fud against #ODF: http://is.gd/29nmu"

There is a fairly new video at YouTube where Jon 'Maddog' Hall talks about OOXML and ODF. Have a look.

Direct link

Although we are seeing more ODF software, Microsoft carries on with OOXML and in the process of putting an office suite on-line, Microsoft proves that it is hostile not only towards competition but also towards Web standards. Yesterday from The Register:

Microsoft's web Office: No love for Chrome, Opera

[...]

Apparently, Microsoft isn't familiar with Google Chrome or Opera, or, for that matter, Internet Explorer 6 or the Windows version of Apple's Safari. They're not on the official list of supported browsers included in a recent blog posting by the Office Web Apps Team - a posting, ironically enough, entitled "The Office Web Apps Love Your Browser."

Official support for the Office Web Apps limits that love to Internet Explorer 7 and 8; Firefox 3.5 on Windows, Mac, and Linux; and Safari 4 on Mac. And that's it.

According to Mary-Jo Foley, Silver Lie (XAML) is making its way into this as well. This harms GNU/Linux users no matter which Web browser they use. It is time for regulators to impose open standards on Microsoft, and not proprietary formats that Microsoft pretends (and bribes) to be called "standards". Microsoft's ODF implementation is still deficient and harmful [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. ⬆