11.05.07
eWeek Does it Again. Fool Us Once, Shame on You. Fool Us Twice…
OpenDocument Foundation != ODF Advocates
It was less than a week ago that we complained about a pattern in eWeek. This pattern apparently continues to live on unaltered. Journalism is biased and unbalanced, so this ought to make everyone worried.
To be fair, the latest FUD comes from different directions, not just eWeek. This time it’s OpenDocument format which grabs the spotlight and it’s actually a site dedicated to squashing FUD that rebuts.
So to sum up - really, Mr Gilli [should be “Galli”], stop trying to make out there’s a major controversy and massive fighting amongst the Open Document Format advocates, because in reality there is none. The only thing which has happened is that a from what I can tell extremely minor participant in the Open Document Format committees has basically gone away in a hissy fit because they didn’t get their own way - that’s how I personally see it anyway.
An observation has just been made and it is particularly interesting. Quotes from Microsoft (on ODF) are aligned against the words of the Foundation as though they are conflicting and peer-balancing views. They are not. The Foundation wants funding from CIOs. Bashing ODF is one possibility for achieving this. Microsoft wants to maintain a proprietary format which is nothing but a matter of its financial interests (by its own admission). At the end of the day, as far as standards go, it’s all about the money. It is neither about the consumer’s needs, nor is it about the requirements set by governments.
Image from Wikimedia
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.
Kevin Cave said,
November 5, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Thanks for the link…
I’ve corrected the “Gilli” name spelling error in the article. My only excuse is that I have a bad cold and I finished the article after 12am Japan time
Regards. KC.
Roy Schestowitz said,
November 5, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Carry on with the good work, Kevin. There’s a “FUD Fighter” Award waiting for you.