__/ [ Peter ] on Monday 04 June 2007 04:32 \__
>
>
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9022878
> "In a resounding victory for Microsoft Corp, bills seeking to mandate the
> use of open document formats by government agencies have been defeated in
> five states, and only a much-watered-down version of such legislation was
> signed into law in a sixth state. The proposed bills would have required
> state agencies to use freely available and interoperable file formats, such
> as the Open Document Format (ODF) for Office Applications, instead of
> Microsoft Corp.'s proprietary Office formats."
> ------
>
>
> In a democracy, one would expect the government would protect freedom of
> access to government documents. But, noone really considers USA a
> democracy, do they? This saga looks like another example of laws made to
> protect the wealthy, and disadvantage society in general and freedom in
> particular.
All the political bullying (examples below) and manipulation won't work. In
fact, they make the lockin format (OOXML) just look like more of a farce and
Microsoft look like a corrupted felon that bribes and threatens politicians.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&articleId=9022878
http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=07/04/16/2019244
http://lnxwalt.wordpress.com/2007/03/23/packing-the-court-at-the-iso/
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9012760&source=rss_news50
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060119232859729
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20061128161343183
Sadly, Microsoft plays these games outside the United States as well.
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is labouring under a delusion. While the rest of the world
| thinks of it as a software company, it prefers to consider itself
| a government department. How else to see its latest scheme whereby,
| if you ignore its questions, it will report you to its private
| paid-for policemen at the Business Software Alliance?
`----
http://opinion.zdnet.co.uk/leader/0,1000002208,39285719,00.htm
,----[ Quote ]
| According to ComputerWorld, Vole has sent out a series of letters
| threatening legal action using its agents the Business
| Software Alliance (BSA).
|
| Ram Dhaliwal, Microsoft's licensing programs manager in the
| UK said the move was to "spark off the engagement" with its customers.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37281
EU official joins consultancy serving Microsoft
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-10-03T134311Z_01_L03693228_RTRIDST_0_TECH-MICROSOFT-OFFICIAL.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
US ambassador to the EU was former Microsoft lobbyist
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34706
US politicians go to bat for Microsoft
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/26/microsoft_eu_political_lobbying/
--
~~ Enjoying summertime
Roy S. Schestowitz | "These characters were randomly picked"
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT GNU/Linux ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
run-level 5 Apr 28 15:45 last=S
http://iuron.com - help build a non-profit search engine
|
|
