03.24.08
Quote of the Day: What Microsoft Did in Malaysia
It’s quite shocking, especially if you haven’t been following this for a while. Have a look at this summary:
1. Waste NBs time in reviewing monstrous draft specifications
2. Claim that these specs can do everything for anyone by standardising marketing material
3. If you don’t get your way at a certain level, lobby the superior above. Dont stop! Go all the way to the head of the nation if you think you can!
4. Leak press stories to journalists to pressure Ministries to make a decision. Quick!
5. Try to shut down TCs if actual technical work is done revealing issues with your plan
6. Question Question Question everything (process, fairness, the system, members) when things dont go your way
7. Otherwise create another TC with friendly experts
8. If the NB allows new members just by paying membership fees, encourage your business partners to join with marketing funds. Stack-stack-stack it high!
9. Stalk decision makers, even if it means traveling around the globe with them
10. Refuse changes in the spec especially if it breaks your product which you released prior
11. Have private interviews with TC members in the guise of funding for their new projects/research grants/interoperability initiatives and conveniently talk about their position on your spec.
12. Get your Business Partners to write in form letters. Some don’t even bother to change the templates
13. Attend TC meetings uninvited by fabricating business cards
14. Send Lawyers in to Technical Committee meetings who prefer not to engage in “high-school” debates
15. Make rude and inaccurate statements against TC members in public
So, what have we here? Smear campaigns, blackmail, libel, stalking, stacking and so forth.
Is the European Commission watching this? Is Malaysia beyond its scope? In not, Neelie Kroes et al have a real treasure trove of evidence right there.
One of the points above also applies to India.
“Even though only one member per organisation is allowed, Microsoft not only allowed 4 members but also members who were foreign nationals to discuss India’s position. It’s not understandable why lawyers should be brought to technical meetings,” an ODF-backer pointed out.
Remember what we wrote about those who voted “Yes”. It was a first-class disaster, but hardly a surprise.
Quite some time ago, in several countries including Malaysia, it was pointed out that Microsoft sends non-technical representatives on purpose. This way, Microsoft’s attendants can pretend to be naive and careless when legitimates technical issues are raised. It’s must be the company’s strategy.
To add another example which relates to Malaysia’s story, people have not gotten over the New Zealand kerkuffle (a smear campaign). It’s still being talked about. How far will Microsoft go? █
“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)
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.