OOXML decision two sleeps away
,----[ Quote ]
| With less than two days to go before the International Standards Organization
| (ISO) decides on whether or not to approve Microsoft’s Office Open XML
| (OOXML), lovers and haters of the format are intensifying their arguments for
| a last hurrah.
|
| [...]
|
| For OOXML to be approved, at least two thirds of the participating countries
| need to have voted in favour of the format, and no more than one quarter of
| the total number of votes can be negative.
|
| As things stand, numbers are not looking good for Microsoft. 18 countries
| have voted in favour of OOXML, and 14 countries have voted against it. Nine
| countries, including Australia, have chosen to abstain from the vote.
`----
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/72851,ooxml-decision-two-sleeps-away.aspx
If Microsoft indeed loses, what will it blame? Bill Gates for not phoning
enough presidents? The 'bribery budget' being set too low?
Earlier:
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
Related:
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
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