03.23.08
Of OOXML and “Terrible Weapons of Mass Destruction”
“Embrace or die!”
A few days ago we showed how Bill Gates uses sentimental blackmail to ’sell’ OOXML. Further in the past we also showed how Microsoft uses fear as a tool for urging and rewarding upgraders, pushing for greater adoption of OOXML, thus making it more widespread (network effect is needed for the infamous upgrade treadmill).
As the quote in the title of this post indicates (borrowed from George W. Bush by the way), fear is still being used as a tool for forcing countries to comply with Microsoft’s business objectives. Have a look at this report from Malaysia:
So Mr Cheong pleaded to us, “Dont give up this chance for Malaysia to be heard. If we vote Disapprove, Malaysia will NEVER be on that table! We have already implemented OOXML in our products, and if its not standardised, the format will change!”
Oh Noes! Malaysia will be blacklisted! Microsoft will go dark again! We will never see the light in our documents ever! The world is going to end!
Yeah. Fear. Uncertainty. Nice try.
In case you missed this Friday’s batch of reports from Malaysia, be sure to read about Doug “the Elephant in the Room” Mahugh.
Speaking of fear, how about Microsoft Office warning you that you’re losing data (lossy imports) but says little or nothing more? The joys of forced upgrades and software that’s engineered and crafted to be incompatible! More about it in the next post.
“Microsoft looks at new ideas, they don’t evaluate whether the idea will move the industry forward, they ask, ‘how will it help us sell more copies of Windows?’”
–Bill Gates, The Seattle Weekly, (April 30, 1998)
Yes, it figures. █
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.