__/ [ B Gruff ] on Friday 05 January 2007 17:53 \__
> On Friday 05 January 2007 17:39 Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | As Microsoft prepares the biggest update ever of its ubiquitous
>> | Office software suite, it is once again fending off charges of using
>> | hardball business tactics to muscle out competitors.
>> |
>> | [...]
>> |
>> | Massachusetts is not alone in realizing that proprietary document
>> | formats pose a problem for cross platform organizations.
>> |
>> | "Public administrations and regulated businesses were worried about
>> | meeting Freedom of Information requirements if documents were stored
>> | in a long-extinct proprietary data format," says John McCreesh,
>> | marketing project lead for OpenOffice.org.
>> |
>> | The international community has yet to decide on a standard document
>> | format, though recent trends see ODF gaining ground. Seven nations
>> | (Brazil, France, Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Norway and Demark)
>> | have recognized ODF and the need for open standards for all
>> | government documents.
>> |
>> | Microsoft's intentions notwithstanding, multiple standards mean
>> | added headaches for the competition. Rival online productivity
>> | suites like Zoho, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, which are quickly
>> | gaining popularity, and open-source desktop apps Sun Microsystem's
>> | OpenOffice all currently support ODF and not OOXML.
>> |
>> | "Zoho will have to support both formats and will do it going
>> | forward," says Zoho's Raju Vegesna. "While we support standards,
>> | we also have to look at practicality."
>> |
>> | "If we were to choose a format, we would pick ODF," says
>> | Vegesna.
>> `----
>>
>>
>
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/software/0,72403-0.html?tw=wn_technology_7";
>
> "Microsoft's campaign against ODF can largely be chalked up to fear of
> being left behind by one of its most lucrative customer bases -- the
> government and institution sector. In fact, only when Massachusetts
> proposed ODF as the default file format for its state agencies in 2005 did
> Microsoft move to submit Open XML as an alternative standard"
It did much more than just that. For example:
,----[ Quote ]
| Quinn: Almost to a person, to anybody involved or who knows about
| the ODF issue, they attributed the story to Microsoft, right, wrong
| or otherwise. Senator Pacheco may be a bully but I do not believe he
| is disingenious and would stoop to such a tactic. Senator Pacheco and
| Secretary Galvin's office remain very heavily influenced by the
| Microsoft money and its lobbyist machine, as witnessed by their
| playbook and words, in my opinion.
|
| Quinn: I believe that the ODF decision will stand. I believe MS
| will continue to do anything and everything it can to stop it. And I
| know my seat wasn't even empty and they (MS) took another shot at
| the title, to no avail. This horse is out of the barn and I see no
| way for it to go back in. Remember, all we are asking for was and is
| for Microsoft to commit to open and the standards process; so
| everyone looks really bad if the plug gets pulled at this juncture.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060119232859729
Mass ITD Resolved Accessibility Issues, Adjusts ODF Rollout Details
,----[ Quote ]
| Now let's turn to Dana Blankenhorn's bizarre piece. First of all, Dana
| (who should know better) picks up and repeats the open source confusion,
| titling his piece Blind leading the way from open source.
|
| I'm sure this is just a hiccup, but apparently the blind have given
| Massachusetts' efforts to mandate open source the shaft. Because Open
| Document Format (ODF) software (Open Office) does not yet work with
| screen magnifiers, which make computer documents usable by those who
| are legally blind, the state of Massachusetts is
|
| This is an ancient piece of FUD (mandating open source) that has been
| perpetrated by ODF opponents, and it is discouraging to see it continue
| to appear in venues (such as ZDNet and TechWorld) that have credibility.
`----
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20060823131715736
Blind leading away from open source
,----[ Quote ]
| I'm sure this is just a hiccup, but apparently the blind have given
| Massachusetts' efforts to mandate open source the shaft.
|
| Because Open Document Format (ODF) software (Open Office) does not yet
| work with screen magnifiers, which make computer documents usable by
| those who are legally blind, the state of Massachusetts is backing-away
| from its commitment to mandate the format.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=755
Microsoft offers schools in Mass. free software
,----[ Quote ]
| Corporate donations to school systems are not unusual, as companies often
| try to gain name recognition by placing their brands with younger
| consumers. State and school officials, though cognizant of companies'
| attempts to use students for branding, said the donation is a boon
| for financially strapped schools trying to update their technology.
|
| Microsoft's software includes normal applications, such as word
| processing and spreadsheets, as well as more advanced programs.
`----
http://news.com.com/2100-7344_3-6090196.html?part=rss&tag=6090196&subj=news
Microsoft plays Massachusetts Senate card
OpenDocument not a done deal yet
,----[ Quote ]
| Accusations are rife that the software giant Microsoft has not given up
| on getting rid of the State of Massachusetts's plans to shift all its
| documents to the open source standard OpenDocument (ODF).
|
| Last week an amendment which would have would have removed the power of
| the State to set state wide IT standards and enabled the ODF project to
| be killed off was dropped. This lead many to believe that the ODF was a
| done deal.
|
| However, this week Vole gave Massachusetts high schools and universities
| more than splashed out more than $30 million worth of IT gear. This works
| out at $800 per student, and $2,400 per college kid. This is a huge amount
| of dosh, by education donation standards, in what is a very small US
| State.
|
| [...]
|
| Nothing wins votes more than being able to cut your budget thanks to a
| hefty donation from a big corporate donor, while at the same time Vole
| gets what it wants by somewhat unpublicised means.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32515
MA Governor-Elect Names MS Anti-ODF Lobbyist to Technology Advisory Group
,----[ Quote ]
| That person is Brian Burke, the Microsoft Regional Director for Public
| Affairs, and if that surprises you, it surprises me as well, given the
| degree of acrimonious debate and disinformation witnessed in Massachusetts
| over the last 15 months involving the Information Technology Division's
| transition to ODF.... it is my understanding that it was Burke who led
| the lobbying effort on Beacon Hill against ODF, and also urged legislators
| to introduce the amendment intended to take away much of the ITD's
| planning power generally, and as regards standards specifically, and hand
| it to a task force made up of political appointees.... Although I'm told
| that Burke announced yesterday at the first meeting of the new working
| group that he will be participating as a private citizen rather than a
| Microsoft employee, I believe that Burke should recuse himself from
| participating in any discussions or recommendations relating to
| document format standards.
`----
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20061128161343183
Changing the Report, After the Vote
,----[ Quote ]
| That agreement was nearly imperiled last weekend, though. Gerri
| Elliott, corporate vice president at Microsoft's Worldwide Public
| Sector division, sent an e-mail message to fellow commissioners Friday
| evening saying that she "vigorously" objected to a paragraph in which
| the panel embraced and encouraged the development of open source software
| and open content projects in higher education. The paragraph read like
| this:
|
| "The commission encourages the creation of incentives to promote
| the development of open-source and open-content projects at universities
| and colleges across the United States, enabling the open sharing of
| educational materials from a variety of institutions, disciplines, and
| educational perspectives. Such a portal could stimulate innovation, and
| serve as the leading resource for teaching and learning. New initiatives
| such as OpenCourseWare, the Open Learning Initiative, the Sakai Project,
| and the Google Book project hold out the potential of providing universal
| access both to general knowledge and to higher education."
`----
http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/01/commission
Open Source Foes In Bed With Abramoff
,----[ Quote ]
| "Citizens Against Government Waste has said some highly critical things
| about open source software in the past. They've also pounced on supporters
| of the OpenDocument Format along the way. Alas, it seems their close ties
| to Jack Abramoff have drawn the (unfavorable) attention of Senate staff."
`----
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/12/2036223&from=rss
MS leads lobby against open source (2002)
,----[ Quote ]
| "Microsoft and other software companies are ramping up a lobbying
| effort aimed at convincing governments to think again where it
| comes to adopting open-source software. The Initiative for Software
| Choice, which launched quietly in early May, is chaired by an
| industry body called the Computer Technology Industry Association
| (CompTIA), but its biggest software industry backer is Microsoft."
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-949527.html
--
~~ Best wishes for the new year!
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