Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> ____/ nessuno@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on Friday 03 August 2007 15:55 : \____
>
>> <Quote>
>> Microsoft wins. We lose...open standards have taken a major hit, which
>> will eventually hit us in the wallet...
>>
>> In the long run, this means that no one except Microsoft Office users
>> will be able to Open XML. And since it's a "standard," no one else
>> will give OpenOffice, WordPerfect or any of the other office suites a
>> fair try. Once more, Microsoft will have set up the software game so
>> that it and it alone, can be the only winner.
>>
>> Don't think it will matter to you as a user? Just wait until you see
>> what the next version of Office is going to cost you once Microsoft
>> has ground its would be competition back into the dirt.
>> </Quote>
>>
>> http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2165652,00.asp
>>
>> Money, lies, and corruption. The themes of our times.
>
> An aspect here which people seem to be missing is the rise of Web-based
> office
> suites. They can make formats quite irrelevant. Instead of people sending
> you Office files, they only E-mail you a link to an address that contains
> a spreadsheet/document/presentation. Firefox 3.0 gets offline support.
>
> I published a well-cited item on corruption in MA. Microsoft cannot escape
> from the crimes it has done to achieve this 'victory' in MA.
>
I think you are dreaming. Microsoft has one of the biggest IT lobbyist
operations in Washington. Do you seriously think that they are going to
allow the Justice Department to sandbag them again ? Microsoft has become a
lot more savvy with the federal government ever since that anti-trust case.
Especially in a now next to certain Hillary Clinton administration ? Some of
whose biggest supporters are the RIAA types (Hillary Rosen is one) ? If
there was a chance for Microsoft to be called to its misdeeds, it would
have been under an old style GOP administration. Something we both know
does not exist. At least not since 1992.
You can trust Democrats to turn over everything to Microsoft, as they tend
to be very reliably pro-Microsoft (perhaps it comes from having Hollywood
and its DRM loving figureheads as your biggest cash source).
And even if you somehow rouse enough voters to care about this (over the
economy, Iraq, medicare, illegal immigration, etc. - an unlikely feat in
itself as most of the public just thinks Word when it comes to documents)
its not going to make a jot of difference as the game is rigged and fat
cats own both parties. A fact of life that should have become crystal clear
a few weeks ago when the Senate almost ended up passing an amnesty bill
opposed by some 80% of the public. That they were ultimately stopped by
public pressure is not the point - the real question is - how did they even
muster the gall to pick up a piece of legislation they knew to be detested
by people on both right and (old school) left ? Was it hubris, or was it an
assumption that they could do anything as long as they could spend enough
on the next campaign ? That is where cash cows like Microsoft come in.
Forget about the US. Microsoft practically owns the US. And increasingly
China too.
--
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