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Pieter Hintjens, Digistan.org May 23, 2008: "On Wednesday 21st May we signed
the Hague Declaration. We signed four copies. One went to the Royal Dutch
Archives, one will remain with Digistan, and we'll sell two on eBay to raise
funds for our work. By a striking coincidence, Microsoft announced just after
the Hague Declaration was signed that future versions of Office will support
ODF and PDF natively. This is great news and shows that when public demand for
free and open standards is well focussed and expressed, businesses listen."
ISO Appeal: South Africa Rises to the Challenge
,----[ Quote ]
| When the ISO vote was “won” by OOXML, many spoke of challenging the result,
| but nobody actually took that step. Until now...
|
| [...]
|
| Also worth noting here is the growing stature of the South African computer
| community in terms of standing up for open standards and open source, which
| is great to see. I don't think it's a coincidence that Microsoft's Jason
| Matusow has recently attacked the South African government for its policies
| on computer procurement – a sure sign they're doing something right.
`----
http://www.computerworlduk.com/toolbox/open-source/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=825&blogid=14
SM - Subject: South Africa. ( May 23, 2008, 18:59:32 )
,----[ Quote ]
| South Africa has done what many other countries (presumably through
| corruption or laziness) have so far failed to do - call out the obvious. I
| guess a country like South Africa that was denied freedom for so long, truly
| values freedom for the same reason, while the rest of us just take it for
| granted.
`----
http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2008-05-23-012-26-NW-LL-PB-0000
South Africa Files Official Appeal Re OOXML - OOXML in Limbo Now
,----[ Quote ]
| I wonder if this is why Microsoft suddenly decided to support ODF, to avoid
| being shut out completely pending the appeal. Might other national bodies be
| considering doing the same thing? Stay tuned.
|
| [...]
|
| So. OOXML is not currently an official standard? I think that is what this
| means. It will take months, at least, I believe, to resolve this. So, to me
| the ODF support announcement by Microsoft yesterday suddenly makes sense. I
| wrote a bit about the appeal process here, if you want to review it. In the
| immortal words of Yogi Berra, it ain't over till it's over.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20080523130503456
South Africa Appeals OOXML Adoption
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20080523052458101
New York wants open documents
,----[ Quote ]
| It is an interesting turn of fate that sees US legislators recommend
| dismantling a vital means for Microsoft to hold its dominant world position
| in desktop software, yet make those same US commercial interests central to
| the nascent international document standard, while ensuring a powerful lobby
| of the ISO in the interests of US government.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/05/23/york-wants-open-documents
Bad times for the convicted monopolist. Expect lots of trolling from Microsoft
Munchkins and lots of patent terrorism also.
Recent:
Microsoft sees slide in profits
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7366106.stm
Is Microsoft Aura Fading?
,----[ Quote ]
| Yesterday's early relief rally reversed, and Microsoft's value has now fallen
| by more than $30 billion since it unveiled its bid for Yahoo on February 1.
`---- ^^^^^^^^^^^
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121004447596669953.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Microsoft stock drops amid slumping sales
,----[ Quote ]
| 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
Vista Blues Weakens Microsoft's Influence On Software Market
,----[ Quote ]
| That was evident in how Microsoft's client division third-quarter sales,
| which includes the XP and Vista operating system, fell 24% compared with the
| year earlier period. Although the decline was expected because of a one-off
| revenue gain of around $1.6 billion in the year-earlier quarter, client
| revenues were lower than analysts expected.
`----
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200805071423DOWJONESDJONLINE000951_FORTUNE5.htm
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