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Germany Joins Growing Ranks of Governments Adopting ODF
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| The ODF Alliance welcomed the decision by the Federal Government of Germany
| to implement use of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) by federal agencies
| beginning in 2010.
|
| "2008 will end on a high note, with Germany joining the growing ranks of
| governments that have adopted ODF," said ODF Alliance managing director
| Marino Marcich. To date, 16 national and 8 provincial governments have now
| formally recommended or required the use of ODF by government agencies and
| with the public.(1)
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http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Germany-Joins-Growing-Ranks-Governments/story.aspx?guid=%7BF43476E0-FEAA-45C3-9655-7148332F77FD%7D
So it's official now. Germany is no "developing country".
Recent:
ODF conference heads to SA
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| As one of the lead parties in the OOXML ISO opposition and with a government
| ODF strategy, the second OpenDocument Format workshop is, fittingly, to be
| held in South Africa in October.
`----
http://www.tectonic.co.za/?p=2978
ODF Wins the Office Document Format War?
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| Exactly why Microsoft is backpedaling its support for OOXML is not known. But
| open standards maven Andy Updegrove blogs that it may have something to do
| with Microsoft's current regulatory troubles in Europe and with the standards
| bodies that now govern OOXML. It appears likely that Microsoft actually can't
| implement a fully-compliant version of the standard just yet.
`----
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,146162-c,unresolvedtechstandards/article.html
Huge Success for the ODF Community
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| OpenOffice.org, which is just one implementation of ODF, is currently being
| downloaded more than 1.2M times per week and being distributed by popular
| hardware products like the Asus Eee PC. Government organizations around the
| world are adopting OpenOffice.org and/or ODF and have started to help each
| other with their adoption challenges. Thus, ODF has become a "market force"
| that can't be ignored anymore. Thus, again, congratulations and thank you to
| all the people who have contributed to the success of OpenOffice.org and ODF
| so far! Well done!
`----
http://blogs.sun.com/dancer/entry/huge_success_for_the_odf
Is Office the new Netscape?
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| One of the cornerstones of Microsoft's competitive strategy over the years
| has been to redefine competitors' products as features of its own products.
| Whenever some upstart PC software company started to get traction with a new
| application - the Netscape browser is the most famous example - Microsoft
| would incorporate a version of the application into its Office suite or
| Windows operating system, eroding the market for the application as a
| standalone product and starving its rival of economic oxygen (ie, cash). It
| was an effective strategy as well as a controversial one.
|
| Now, though, the tables may be turning. Google is trying to pull a Microsoft
| on Microsoft by redefining core personal-productivity applications -
| calendars. word processing, spreadsheets, etc. - as features embedded in
| other products. There's a twist, though. Rather than just incorporating the
| applications as features in its own products, Google is offering them up to
| other companies, particularly big IT vendors, to incorporate as features in
| their products.
`----
http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2008/05/one_of_the_corn.php
Microsoft can’t support Open XML
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| If Microsoft can’t give users a compelling reason to switch from their old
| version of Office to Office 14 their cash-flow is going to slow down
| considerably.
`----
http://practical-tech.com/business/microsoft-cant-support-open-xml/
The Fall of Microsoft Office
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| On the same day that the state of New York published a report supporting open
| formats for electronic documents, mighty Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) said that
| it would support the open-source ODF format in Office 2007. Redmond's own
| Open Office XML specification may be heading for the great Recycle Bin in the
| sky, never to come back.
|
| [...]
|
| I can't say that Google or Sun or anybody else just won a bigger share of the
| office software market, and if they did, it won't help their revenue or
| profits directly anyway. But it's clear as day that Microsoft just took a
| serious hit, and the impact may take a long time to make itself felt but it
| will come.
`----
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/05/27/the-fall-of-microsoft-office.aspx
Is Microsoft Office in trouble?
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| And, now Microsoft isn't hurrying to support its own format, but it is moving
| to support PDF and ODF... Could it be that all those copies of Office 2007
| Microsoft boasts of selling are collecting dust at reseller and retailer
| warehouses instead of being used on office systems? Could users be sticking
| with their older copies of Office and when they do want to move to something
| newer, they're moving to OpenOffice and Google instead?
|
| Interesting isn't it?
`----
http://blogs.computerworld.com/is_microsoft_office_in_trouble
Microsoft stock drops amid slumping sales
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| Microsoft Corp., whose Windows software dominates the personal-computer
| market, fell 6.2 percent Fridayin Nasdaq trading after sales slumped, casting
| doubt on whether PC demand can hold up in a slowing economy. The software
| maker reported a 24 percent drop in sales of Windows last quarter and
| forecast earnings that may miss analysts' estimates.
|
| [...]
|
| "The risk is that Linux gets a foothold and then affects their long-term
| revenue significantly."
`----
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_9061263
Microsoft earnings post-mortem: The cash cows quiver
,----[ Quote ]
| I can’t help but wonder if the lackluster Windows/Office results also can be
| attributed to Microsoft brass’s complete and crazy obsession with Google (and
| taking over Yahoo) has resulted in no one minding the Windows store. Kevin
| Johnson, the head of Microsoft’s Platforms & Services division seems to be so
| laser-focused on the online-ad business these days that he almost seems to
| have forgotten Microsoft is still in the software business, too.
|
| Microsoft execs’ claims about walking away from the Yahoo deal are nothing
| more than bluster. A protracted hostile takeover bid is just going to
| distract not just employees in Microsoft’s online services business, but
| company management, too. It’s not a pretty picture.
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http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1362
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