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UKUUG Court Case Falls at First Hurdle
,----[ Quote ]
| Chairman for the group Alain Williams was clearly disappointed to announce
| the group does not have enough money – they need about £50,000 ($98,000US) –
| to cover the costs of their action. The UKUUG was looking for the High Court
| to consider that the British Standards Institution (BSI) had no grounds to
| vote in support of Microsoft at the International Standards Organisation.
`----
http://www.linuxsolutions.fr/ukuug-court-case-falls-at-first-hurdle/
Yes, that's 'justice'. Microsoft will corrupt, bribe, lie and bully; and if you
don't have money, then forget about justice.
Recent:
Has OOXML Broken the British Standards Institution?
,----[ Quote ]
| That the BSI, long the quintessence of standards in this country, should see
| itself dragged through the courts over something as apparently minor as a
| document standard, is truly an extraordinary development. But of course it is
| not a minor issue: at stake is the question of how something as central to
| technology and business as standards should be decided. Unless people have
| complete confidence in the process, the end-result will be deemed worthless –
| truly, little more than a “rubber-stamping”.
|
| A good start along the road of bolstering confidence would be making the
| standards-setting process completely open, which currently it is not. The
| practice of voting on an open standard behind closed doors borders is simply
| not justifiable in the age of the Internet and of increasing openness in
| general. And as the UK government loves to remind us: if you have nothing to
| hide, you have nothing to fear....
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=753&blogid=14
Unix beardies get legal over OOXML
,----[ Quote ]
| the UK Unix and Open Systems User Group (UKUUG) has sought the advice of a
| barrister over whether it can mount a legal challenge to a British Standards
| Institute decision to approve the Microsoft standard. It has also written to
| the BSI asking for an explanation.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/09/unix-beardies-legal-ooxml
Expect a 2nd Official Complaint -- Against UK's OOXML Vote
,----[ Quote ]
| Update 3: To help you understand what Taylor means that once BSI owns up to
| what it has done, then there will be a complaint filed, here's an email that
| a reader just sent me, a response to his request to understand why the UK
| changed its vote at the last minute, which we have permission to publish:
|
| ---- Original Message ------------
| Subject: RE: no information re: dis 29500
| From: "Lucy Fulton" [redacted email]
| Date: Tue, April 1, 2008 12:34 pm
| To: [redacted email]
|
| -----------------------------------
|
| Dear Mr Wright,
|
| Many thanks for your email.
|
| It is not BSI's policy to make public the details of how it votes on
| International Standards. BSI sent a delegation to the ballot resolution
| meeting which took place in Geneva in February 2008 and subsequently
| requested that its technical committee carry out a review of its position
| on ISO/IEC DIS 29500.
|
| The technical committee did so, made a consensus decision and advised BSI
| on its vote.
|
| This is the procedure with any international ballot.
|
| Best wishes,
|
| Lucy Fulton
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080401133818372
Whatever Happened to Standards?
,----[ Quote ]
| The British Standards Institution (BSI) has always been one of those iconic
| central points of reference in British life – a kind of Big Ben for
| standards. But it's a little hard to square that image – perhaps hopelessly
| outdated – with the BSI's recent decision to vote in favour of Microsoft's
| OOXML document standard.
|
| You don't have to take my word for this cognitive dissonance. Someone rather
| more qualified than me to comment on the process to produce the final version
| of the proposed standard is Tim Bray. He's generally credited with being one
| of the fathers of XML, which of course lies at the heart of OOXML. It's true
| he's currently employed by Sun, the main backer of the rival ODF standard,
| and so potentially biased, but I don't think anybody has ever impugned his
| integrity because of that.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/toolbox/open-source/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=668&blogid=14
How many bricks for 67Bricks?
,----[ Quote ]
| Inigo Surguy, the 67 Bricks Chief Technologist, was appointed Principal UK
| Expert in Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML) document format by the British
| Standards Institute technical committee responsible for British and
| international XML standards.
|
| 67Bricks is part of the Microsoft Empower programme.
`----
http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-49516/how-many-bricks-for-67bricks
John Pugh, MP, Rides to the Rescue
,----[ Quote ]
| Dear Mr Low,
|
| I am deeply concerned that some national bodies have considered approving
| DIS29500 "in their national interest".
|
| It is not in the interest of the UK or any other country for DIS 29500 to be
| published as an international standard in its present form as there are a
| significant number of unresolved issues, including incompatible licensing
| conditions, single vendor interest and control as well as those other
| factors uncovered since the original comment period closed. There is also the
| issue that is no current form of DIS 29500, as yet another exception to the
| process was made regarding the presentation of the proposed changes.
|
| Issues raised by the BSI and others during the original 30 day objections
| phase have also never been properly addressed, not least of which is the
| unsuitability of such a large and complex specification of an unproven format
| to the fast track process.
|
| Such a standard, if approved, would govern the manipulation of all future
| documents and lock users into a single supplier environment. The OOXML
| specification contains significant Intellectual Property Rights and other
| traps which will:
|
| - Stifle competition
|
| - Diminish innovation overall
|
| - Severely restrict consumer choice
|
| - Block Government choice
|
| - Limit the ability of UK SMEs to innovate and compete
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=654
Related:
The BSI Has Been Corrupted by Microsoft — Another Chink in ISO’s armor
,----[ Quote ]
| Britain will be essentially represented by a Microsoft Gold Certified
| Partner, having rejected OOXML several months ago. This apparently comes
| after a reappointment.
`----
http://boycottnovell.com/2008/02/15/bsi-sends-microsoft-partner/
EU Initiates Investigation Against Microsoft OOXML Push
,----[ Quote ]
| But with Steve Ballmer taking over as CEO, there was supposed to be a kinder,
| gentler Microsoft - one that would play nicely with its competitors. When
| antitrust regulators in turn challenged this new Microsoft, it issued not
| challenges to fight to the end to prove that it had done nothing illegal, but
| statements promising to "cooperate fully."
|
| But at the same time, Microsoft is still a tough competitor. As Microsoft's
| Director of Corporate Standards Jason Matusow famously warned at his blog
| last year:
|
| Make no mistake; all parties are looking at the full picture to find
| strategies that will result in the outcome they desire. Provided - of
| course - that they do so within the context of the rules that apply to
| the process, this is exactly what one should expect to happen. It is
| going to be a very interesting next few months.
|
| Indeed, the months that followed proved to be interesting indeed. Microsoft
| said that some of its employees became over zealous, most flagrantly in
| Sweden, where marketing assists were promised to several business partners as
| incentives to join the national standards committee and vote for OOXM.
`----
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20080208082501776
EU Commission Investigating Microsoft's MSOOXML Push
,----[ Quote ]
| I hope they think to investigate the smear campaigns that seem to always
| happen to anyone on the other side from Microsoft. What happened to Peter
| Quinn was by no means unique.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080208151410252
Corrupt countries were more likely to support the OOXML document format
,----[ Quote ]
| Is this just a random coincidence? The median of the CPI index of the above
| mentioned 70 countries is 3.95. Of the most corrupted half (CPI index less
| than 3.95) 23 or 77% voted for approval (approval or approval with comments)
| and 7 or 23% for disapproval; 5 abstained. Of the least corrupted half (CPI
| index more than 3.95) 13 or 54% voted for approval and 11 or 46% voted for
| disapproval; 11 abstained - see the table below.
`----
http://www.effi.org/blog/kai-2007-09-05.en.html
Microsoft accused of more OOXML standards fiddling
,----[ Quote ]
| However the 11 new countries are refusing to say how they will vote. These
| include Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Ecuador, Jamaica, Lebanon, Malta, Pakistan,
| Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela. Most people seem to think
| that these have been put there by Vole to make sure the standard gets pushed
| through.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=42106
Gates blackmailed Danish government
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft boss Bill Gates threatened to kill 800 Danish jobs if
| Denmark opposed the European Computer Implemented Inventions
| Directive, reports today's Danish financial daily Børsen,
| quoted by NoSoftwarePatents.com.
`----
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/articles/auto/02162005a.php
Sarkozy intervenes in France to revert the OOXML position
,----[ Quote ]
| Confidential sources say that President Sarkozy has intervened himself in the
| French position on Microsoft OOXML, asking members of the committee to revert
| their position, and support an abstention. Our sources say he was approached
| by a lobbyist during his 3-days trip in England. The intervention has been
| made on Friday.
`----
http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-50670/sarkozy-intervenes-in-france-to-revert-the-ooxml-position
Kenya Changes From Yes to Abstain! Denmark Says No; EU Commission Investigating
Poland - Updated 5Xs - Mexico
,----[ Quote ]
| [...]
|
| And more news from troubled Poland, with news that the EU Commission is
| investigating the process in that country. Things have reportedly gone from
| bad to worse there, with threats of lawsuits in the air if folks talk
| publicly about what is happening.
|
| [...]
|
| [More bits about Poland, Finland, software patents in OOXML]
|
| [....]
|
| Get a load of this, will you? Participants at the BRM were told that only
| technical issues can be addressed. Bill Gates, however, reportedly contacted
| the president of Mexico to try to influence Mexico to accept OOXML. Unless,
| of course, they were talking about representing dates in Excel or other
| technical issues. Hardy har. Like, totally. I'm sure.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080327104739103
Microsoft Looks for the Big Guns in OOXML In-Fighting
,----[ Quote ]
| Bill Gates has reportedly been making phone calls to the Secretary of Defense
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| and the Secretary of Commerce to push the American National Standards
| Institute to ignore the votes of its advisory committees and vote "yes" on
| ISO standardizing Microsoft's Open Office XML (OOXML) format, the one in
| competition with the OpenDocument Format (ODF) pushed by IBM and Sun.
|
| Gates reportedly picked up the phone when the last INCITS ballot failed by
| one vote to support Microsoft.
`----
http://xml.sys-con.com/read/419573_p.htm
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
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