03.18.08
Microsoft Takes OOXML Lobbying Up a Notch
“There won’t be anything we won’t say to people to try and convince them that our way is the way to go.”
–Bill Gates (Microsoft’s CEO at the time)
It was all rather predictable. Yesterday we mentioned Gates’ latest motion in the the government where he vigorously pushed for OOXML. It never quite stopped there and are other lobbying efforts are seen which are public as opposed to discreet. Here is the latest:
Less than two weeks away from a crucial ISO ratification vote on its Office Open XML standard, Microsoft is stepping up efforts to sway industry opinion in its favor.
[…]
The final international decision on the OOXML file formats will be handed down March 29 by the ISO/IEC’s 87 participating National Body members. The U.S. has already voted in favor of ratifying OOXML.
Don’t forget the full story about the United States where Microsoft is able to exchange favours or money to have peers like Apple and Adobe vote “Yes” (Adobe signed a deal with Microsoft on Monday by the way). Interesting timing. Seen before, but probably not a case of which is beyond a coincidence. The next post will give a more compelling example based on a different story (Vodafone).
After letting Microsoft do its talk, the computing press in New Zealand allows Don Christie to take his turn.
If OOXML is rejected as a global standard, what will it mean for businesses and the public?
Nothing much. Applications that want to be standards-compliant will support the well-defined and broadly accepted ODF standard. They will be able to compete on features and general cleverness. Just as Firefox and Safari do when interpreting HTML files, but then have a ton of different usability features to make the task of browsing the web a more enjoyable experience.
Wikipedia is said to have become somewhat of a battleground as well. Might Microsoft still be paying people to edit? █
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.