07.23.07
More Document Formats Coverage (Updatedx2)
Yesterday, influence on the media was mentioned in the context of OOXML. It turns out to have been very predictable. Head over to Andy’s blog.
What will happen next will be complex procedurally, and will be difficult for journalists to follow, particularly since the steps that will be taken between now and the end of August that will result in the final US position will not be visible on a current basis. At the same time, there will likely be statements made and interviews given by various parties (most or all of whom will have a stake in the outcome) throughout this time period, each giving their particular spin on events as they transpire.
[…]
Microsoft may have exacerbated this situation rather than eased it when it decided earlier this year to press forward without productively addressing the issues that were raised during the Contradictions period. Had it chosen to respond to these problems then, it could have shortened the list of issues that are troubling National Body representatives in the United States and elsewhere. I am told that Microsoft has continued its full court press in other National Bodies through the current review period, and has sought to cut comment periods in some countries in an effort to move as quickly as possible to a vote to approve.
Not only has this allowed even less time for responsible review of OOXML, but this “cowboy” effort by a dominant United States IT company to force the local process (and often to populate it with its business partners) has not always sold well abroad. A more sensitive, locally-aware, collaborative approach might have worked better than the heavy handed strategy that appears to be backfiring in countries like Portugal and South Africa.
It’s a long blog post and many more thoughts are worth a mention. There are also these comments on OOXML [PDF], which come from the ODF Alliance [link found in Bob’s blog].
If you are aware of more sources of information, please feel free to share.
Update: Microsoft is prematurely confident of OOXML success. Does it know something the rest of us does not know? Can money and power buy anything?
Update #2: Here are a couple more. These are both new articles.
Leslie D’Monte: Double standards
While majors like IBM, Red Hat, Novell, Apple and the Free Software Foundation (all part of the ODF alliance) support the open document format, Microsoft does not subscribe to the ODF line of thinking.
[…]
Multiple standards create a problem. Take, for instance, a case wherein you want to retrieve an old land record from a government office in India. If the record is in the OOXML format, then ODF document users would need a converter to decode the record. Likewise, OOXML users would have a problem with ODF documents. Microsoft has a tie-up with Novell, so the conversion may be smooth. But that’s not the case with other companies.
We hate format wars. Not because we’re afraid of good old-fashioned tech fisticuffs, but because they’re often completely unjust. So often, the format that wins isn’t technically better than the competition, just cheaper or better marketed. (And no, we’re not just sore because we were Betamax owners.)
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
Skeptic said,
July 23, 2007 at 9:05 pm
[Personal attack — deleted]
[Comment restored]:
What’s interesting here is how much money is changing hands the other way around. Who’s leading the $$$ push against Microsoft? Sun? RedHat? Canonical? For example, who funds this blog? Hard questions, but they need to be asked. Searching for ‘Roy Scheztowitz’ on Google reveals some disturbing things.”
Roy Schestowitz said,
July 23, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Sorry, Skeptic, but if you continue these ad hominem attacks, your comments will be deleted.
I believe this is the first time we have ever censored or obstructed feedback in any way, but this behaviour is unacceptable and it upsets readers, too.
GNU/Linux User said,
July 23, 2007 at 11:02 pm
That wasn’t a personal attack, it was a valid question. I happened to see it before you deleted it. Way to go censorship. I guess if you’re not rah-rahing the party line you’re not welcome here.
Roy Schestowitz said,
July 23, 2007 at 11:44 pm
GNU/Linux User,
I have just restored the comment, which came from the same person who has been posting more abusive messages and baseless allegations before (it’s precedence that played a role here). A few users suggested that we should eliminate trolls posts.
I have no affiliation with anybody who is in the Linux industry. I do have a contract with Netscape/AOL where I cover Open Source and Linux and I occasionally write articles for Datamation. It is not related to this site at all. I always express my personal opinions.
Stephen said,
July 24, 2007 at 4:55 am
Yes indeed, searching for ‘Roy Scheztowitz’ [sic] does indeed yield a very, very disturbing message from Google, namely…
— snip –
Did you mean: Roy Schestowitz
No standard web pages containing all your search terms were found.
Your search - Roy Scheztowitz - did not match any documents.
Suggestions:
* Make sure all words are spelled correctly.
* Try different keywords.
* Try more general keywords.
* Try fewer keywords.
— snip —
Perhaps Skeptic might consider respecting the spelling of someones name when accusing them!