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[News] Standards Expert: Microsoft OOXML Greatest Scams of Computing History?

  • Subject: [News] Standards Expert: Microsoft OOXML Greatest Scams of Computing History?
  • From: Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:26:57 +0100
  • Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • Organization: Freelance
  • User-agent: KNode/0.10.4
“Your tale, Sir, would cure deafness” (W. Shakespeare, the Tempest I.2)

,----[ Quote ]
| If you thought you had seen everything about OOXML with the likes of Rick 
| Jelliffe, committees that have been stuffed by Microsoft and its minions to 
| the point where no other choice than approval would be possible, think again. 
| And do open your eyes to one of the greatest scams of computing history. 
| Below are a few examples of what I’m talking about today. But they are 
| meaningful enough.     
`----

http://standardsandfreedom.net/index.php/2008/03/31/your-tale-sir-would-cure-deafness-w-shakespeare-the-tempest-i2/

OOXML about to pass? Incredible irregularities reported

,----[ Quote ]
| Clearly, the entire process has become a mockery. It is quite infuriating 
| having to watch this and being unable to change what is so very obviously a 
| process that is now heavily undermined and compromised by vendor interests. 
| ISO is losing credibility as a technical and independent standards gremium.   
| 
| Why should we care? Nobody forces us to use OOXML, right? One of the posters 
| in the Slashdot discussion wonderfully summed up the situation we will be in: 
| 
|     OOXML will pass, MS Office will use its own, non-standard version of 
|     OOXML, governments will claim they are in compliance with laws requiring 
|     open standards, and the rest of us will be in the same boat we've been in 
|     for fifteen years. It's all quite sick.   
| 
| Yes, I reckon that's exactly what's going to happen, and that - of course - 
| is exactly what Microsoft wants. Sigh... 
`----

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/foobar/4802mocke


Related:

Microsoft influencing partner NGOs to support OOXML in India

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is encouraging its business partners to promote its Office Open XML 
| specification (OOXML) to the Indian Bureau of Standards (BIS) and Ministry of 
| IT. This move has incensed supporters of the rival OpenDocument Format (ODF) 
| who fear that the "soft" Indian state may not be able to stand up to 
| Microsoft pressure tactics.    
`----

http://www.linux.com/feature/128528


Microsoft India using NGOs to fake support for OOXML

http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-44038/microsoft-india-using-ngos-to-fake-support-for-ooxml


Becoming a better company: Microsoft helps NGOs in India

,----[ Quote ]
| Of course, there has to be some trade-offs, because there should never be 
| free lunch, even for the ones who starve: Microsoft, according to this 
| article, has conditioned its help to Indian NGOs to their support of OOXML. 
| What the NGOs had to do was to send letters of support on OOXML to the 
| federal government of India.    
`----

http://standardsandfreedom.net/index.php/2008/02/29/becoming-a-better-company-microsoft-helps-ngos-in-india/


Microsoft "persuades" NGOs to support OOXML

,----[ Quote ]
| Our friends at Linux Delhi have put up a copy of the form letters that 
| Microsoft has been sending NGOs on the OOXML issue. Apparently, these NGOs 
| have been sending copies of these letters to the Ministry of IT and Bureau of 
| Indian standards.    
`----

http://osindia.blogspot.com/2008/02/microsoft-persuades-ngos-to-support.html


Developers around the world, unite!

,----[ Quote ]
| Monopoly and proprietary software have an advantage in influencing state and 
| governmental institutions because of their large market base and ready 
| capital. Unscrupulous ways of influencing state governments have persisted in 
| India, for example, where executives of proprietary software cajole 
| government heads to promote their brands in lieu of some form of charity 
| given. FLOSS activists must overcome this huge challenge in order to get 
| their philosophy accepted and model implemented for the good of people who 
| are still on the barren side of the digital divide.       
`----

http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=147277&catid=11


Using NGOs to Push Agendas

,----[ Quote ]
| The extent to which Microsoft can go in its efforts to get OOXML is
| interesting. Microsoft has "persuaded" several non-profit organizations to 
| bombard the Indian IT Secretary and the Additional Director General of the 
| Bureau of Indian Standards with letters supporting its OOXML proposal. A copy 
| of the form letter they have been circulating to NGOs is given below. 
| Somebody should interview these NGOs to see how much they really know about 
| OOXML and open standards.      
| 
| The sequence of events leading up to the spamming of GoI? is:
| 
| Letter from an NGO thanking Microsoft (name changed to protect their
| identity) 
`----

http://wiki.linux-delhi.org/cgi-bin/twiki/view/OpenStandards/MsNgoLobby


Evidence of Microsoft issuing money to tens of thousands to Indian charities
just days before the vote here:

http://boycottnovell.com/2008/03/01/bribe-charity-xooml-india/


Microsoft files complaint on OOXML vote to apex office and Ministry of Consumer
Affairs

,----[ Quote ]
| At the meeting held on 20th March 2008, we were informed that Microsoft has 
| complained to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and to the apex office of the 
| country about the constitution of the committee and also cast aspersions on 
| the impartiality of the chairperson of LITD15, Mrs. Neeta Verma. The 
| chairperson was furious and offered to step down from her post. She pointed 
| out that the committee has met numerous times and Microsoft never brought 
| this issue up in front of the committee nor did they check the facts with her 
| or her organization before complaining to the apex office.       
`----

http://osindia.blogspot.com/2008/03/microsoft-files-complaint-on-ooxml-vote.html


Should India change its vote No vote for OOXML? - please?

,----[ Quote ]
| Well done to the Bureau of Indian Standards for standing firm against this 
| raging bully. Hopefully one day the bully will learn how to play fair and 
| contribute positively to the standards process, and not try to manipulate its 
| way in.   
| 
| Truly despicable behaviour. Shame on you, Microsoft, yet again. How will we 
| ever trust you? 
`----

http://www.openmalaysiablog.com/2008/03/should-india-ch.html


Steve Ballmer was in India?

,----[ Quote ]
| Interestingly, that was the day when BIS met to discuss OOXML. For those who 
| have been following this issue, India's final vote on the subject will be on 
| 20th May 2008. Talk about timing!  
`----

http://osindia.blogspot.com/2008/03/steve-ballmer-was-in-india.html


Microsoft puppets spamming ANSI

,----[ Quote ]
| An impressive list of spam comments asking for supporting OOXML and 
| backward compatibility, claiming also that "Open XML in no way 
| contradicts any other international document standard". No really?
`----

http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-11857/microsoft-puppets-spamming-ansi


Microsoft Lobbying In Singapore

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft business partners were giving template letters and asked to fill 
| them in. The letters are word for word the same. It makes for incredible 
| reading. In fact, the keen-eyed reader will notice that some of the letters 
| have the template variables still present (look for [ADD NAME, TITLE, ASSOC.] 
| e.g Alphasoft, CHASS, etc).    
| 
| [...]
| 
| And the most hilarious letter of support comes from a Singaporean secondary 
| girl's school, Crescent Girl's School. That's right folks, that's how 
| desperate they were to get their "Approve" vote, they actually got a school 
| to submit a letter of support...   
`----

http://www.openmalaysiablog.com/2008/03/microsoft-lobby.html?cid=108850772

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