10.02.07
Losing Your Job for Opposing a Monopoly Abuser? (Lassi Nirhamo)
Occasionally, comments can be more informative than articles in the press or even press releases. One example would be last night’s comment from a Finnish reader of our Web site. He or she (anonymous by choice) pointed to a news article from Finland talked about a suspicious layoff in Finland, which may indicate that the Microsoft Money Machine(R) is once again pulling strings and getting people fired for not sympathising with monopoly abuse (c/f the corruption that is OOXML). We have definitely seen this before, so there is precedence.
The poster gave a lot more information in the past [1, 2, 3, 4]. Here is the subsequent news about Finland intending to abstain rather than reject, among other news and mentionings, e.g. [1, 2].
It is worth adding that FFII has just awarded with Microsoft a ‘prestigious prize’ for fighting OOXML (yes, fighting!). Sounds bizzare, no? Well, according to FFII:
By pushing so hard to get OOXML endorsed, even to the point of loading the standards boards in Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, and beyond, Microsoft showed to the world how poor their format is. Good standards just don’t need that kind of pressure.
Pieter has a good sense of humour — the honour of desperation. We shall see how much Microsoft can toy with the ISO before the milestone decision in March. Remember: Microsoft has admitted that OOXML is all about the money.
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.