European regulator fines Microsoft $1.35 billion
,----[ Quote ]
| In addition, Microsoft recently acknowledged that the commission is also
| looking into lobbying efforts for its Open XML file format, which has been
| derided by critics as insufficiently accessible. Microsoft unsuccessfully
| sought last year to receive approval from the International Organization for
| Standardization, or ISO, to have Open XML declared an international standard.
`----
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/european-regulator-fines-microsoft-135/story.aspx?guid=%7B4421D497-DECC-41BF-9C86-E4C815C25241%7D
Robbery at the BRM?
,----[ Quote ]
| LinuxWorld mentions that the BRM organisors are making a paper ballot on all
| the 900 comments. It seems that the BRM organisors are "robbing national
| delegations of the opportunity to propose their own modifications".
|
| [...]
|
| The purpose of this robbery might be to avoid any fix to the standard.
| MS-ECMA have not proposed any changes, and this robbery is designed to get
| the message that the BRM have fixed some issues.
`----
http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-43897/robbery-at-the-brm
"If you flee the rules, you will be caught. And it will cost you dearly,"
-- Neelie Kroes (about Microsoft), February 27th, 2008
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9881411-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Recent:
Danish Unix User Group Files Complaint With EU Commission Against Denmark For
Mandating MSOOXML
,----[ Quote ]
| The Danish Unix User Group, DKUUG, has filed a formal complaint with the EU
| Commission regarding Denmark's mandating ECMA 376, better known by us as
| MSOOXML, for certain procurements.
|
| The complaint [PDF] is grounded in breach of the EC Treaty article 81 on
| unfair competition. The press release says that the regulation "can be seen
| as an attempt to continue the de facto monopoly of Microsoft in the Danish
| state on office software, as the various public agencies and institutions
| need to buy the products of Microsoft to comply to the regulation."
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080226164131724
Related:
Microsoft’s secretive standards orgs in Former Yugoslavia
,----[ Quote ]
| Croatian laws keep its national body’s votes secret, so the only way for the
| Croatian public to find out how the process went would be if a board member
| illegally leaked information out of CSI. This is, of course, unlikely to
| happen. And the Serbian national standardization body is not officially
| formed, so those two votes were easy for Microsoft, and probably not only
| ones around the globe.
`----
http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2007/092407-ooxml.html?page=1
Microsoft Tech Ed 2007: OpenXML
,----[ Quote ]
| He was asked "Why did Microsoft push OOXML through the "Fast Track" process
| instead of the standard ISO process? Wouldn't they get less resistance than
| faced now?"
|
| His response was very frank: "Office is a USD$10 billion revenue generator
| for the company. When ODF was made an ISO standard, Microsoft had to react
| quickly as certain governments have procurement policies which prefer ISO
| standards. Ecma and OASIS are 'international standards', but ISO is the
| international 'Gold Standard'. Microsoft therefore had to rush this standard
| through. Its a simple matter of commercial interests!"
`---- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
http://www.openmalaysiablog.com/2007/09/microsoft-tech-.html
Microsoft corruption in Uruguay:
http://picandocodigo.linuxuruguay.org/index.php/2007/08/29/uruguay-vota-si-al-ooxml/
Evidence of Microsoft Influencing OOXML Votes in Nordic States
,----[ Quote ]
| "This is how a standard is bought," Bosson wrote later. "I left the meeting
| in protest - pissed off."
`----
http://www.betanews.com/article/Evidence_of_Microsoft_Influencing_OOXML_Votes_in_Nordic_States/1188335569
http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=147&a=686119
Microsoft Memo to Partners in Sweden Surfaces: Vote Yes for OOXML - Updated
,----[ Quote ]
| He acknowledges that the rules might need to be changed.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070829070630660
The OOXML Problem
,----[ Quote ]
| Another thing, by introducing a "new fancy" document format, MS can hold a
| tighter grip round existing customers and get more on the false pretence that
| they've "opened up".
`----
http://phun-ky.net/2007/08/the-ooxml-problem
Rejecting OOXML
,----[ Quote ]
| All the CIOs say they want is XML documents; unfortunately they aren't as
| aware as Georg Greve, above, that Microsoft's implementation of XML is
| exceedingly half-hearted.
`----
http://fussnotes.typepad.com/plexnex/2007/08/rejecting-ooxml.html
|
|
