12.18.07
The ISO is Replaced by Microsoft, Long Live ISO
“I, for one, do not welcome our invading overloads”
As we explained a couple of days ago, ISO is falling apart. Resistance to Microsoft steps down while more and more Microsoft lobbyists seem to occupy key positions in ISO. It’s truly like watching an old film about a totalitarian revolution.
In any event, here is some of the latest, in case you wish to explore further.
Microsoft to buy ISO next week before Christmas?
“There is also a push by Microsoft and others to move ISO toward a “direct participation” model where corporations can participate in ISO directly, bypassing the national body mechanisms altogether. This would essentially turn ISO into a vendor consortium. So it will be interesting to see how this all turns out. To coin a folk aphorism, “In the land of the ugly queen all the mirrors have disappeared.”
National Boards to vote NO for OOXML (Office Open Xml) at ISO
They [Microsoft] are setting themselves as heads of the National Boards in Portugal and Ireland. Many National Boards are still loaded and influenced by Microsoft Certified Partners and over a dozen counties have been lobbied by MS for the sole purpose of advancing Microsoft’s interests alone, as opposed to advancing the broader global community which ISO serves.
Don’t worry. Microsoft knows best what’s good for all of us. What’s good for Microsoft is good for the whole world, right? The only reassuring news is that there’s progress in the American antitrust case against Microsoft (”Judge asks for more info in Microsoft antitrust case“, via Seattle P-I). █
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.