10.04.07
OOXML Fiasco Revisited, Antitrust Action a Possibility
Remind yourselves of older stories about Microsoft corruption and how it was used to push for wider OOXML acceptance.
Examples:
- Microsoft’s secretive standards orgs in Former Yugoslavia
- Corrupt countries were more likely to support the OOXML document format
- Microsoft accused of more OOXML standards fiddling
It is reassuring to find that a proper investigation might come in the near future.
Office May Be Microsoft’s Next Antitrust Battlefield
My take from the cheap seats: Keep an eye on the Windows fight if you like, but the Office game is where you’ll be seeing the most action. Players are already trash-talking about office document formats.
“Novell has moral responsibilities for Microsoft, not just standards.”This was mentioned before in a different context. After the European Commission had gotten the upper hand in its ruling (appeal might come), some spoke about a more vicious monopoly that is office suites. As we have witnessed, Microsoft has not only used proprietary (and thus hostile) file formats to maintain a monopoly, but it also resorted to bribery in its pursuit for a global perception that these proprietary formats are actually open. If Novell played a role in this game of domination, it probably did more harm than good to ODF, for reasons that we listed several times in the past. Novell has moral responsibilities for Microsoft, not just standards.
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.