OOXML vote in Romania, signs of committee stuffing
,----[ Quote ]
| Today four have joined the committee, all of them seem to be MS partners
| (Fujitsu-Siemens is one of them, the others are local software companies).
| The sad thing is that these companies or people have not shown interest in
| the subject so far, have not participated in the 6 months online debate but
| are probably going to cast their vote in favor of OOXML . What they are doing
| is perfectly legal, after all anyone can join the committe, but it's sad to
| see attempts at public debate and the chances of it changing something
| getting offset by throwing money at the problem at the last minute.
|
| I'll keep an update on how things are progressing and the results and details
| of the vote when it happens.
`----
http://janimo.blogspot.com/2008/03/ooxml-vote-in-romania-signs-of.html
Every time you see a story like this ask yourself again "what does Microsoft
have to do with standards, with open source and with Linux?" It sabotages, it
bribes, it corrupts entire systems. Microsoft cannot and must not be ignored.
Recent:
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/
Related:
Microsoft admits Swedish employee promised incentives for Open XML support
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp. admitted Wednesday that an employee at its Swedish subsidiary
| offered monetary compensation to partners for voting in favor of the Office
| Open XML document format's approval as an ISO standard.
`----
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9033701
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
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