04.13.08
India’s Continued Fight for Standards and Against OOXML
OOXML is not a standard, it’s shenanigans
An open letter which was prepared for demonstration purposes in India has just stretched and leaped beyond the boundaries of the Internet.
This letter presents a complaint about vote-rigging by Microsoft and its close allies and it was put up for display in various physical places. Activities are also being organised to promote OpenDocument format and Free software.
The Candle light vigil demands India to appeal ISO approval of ooxml based on its comments and no vote. We also demands the Department of IT to draft a clear national policy for the use of Free standards for data storage.
This programme is planned as a starting point for various events & awareness campaigns on Document freedom.
What happened (and continues to happen) over there is a disgraceful shame. One must never forget to point this out a textbook classic that demonstrates political, corporate, charity-twisting misconduct. Advocacy whose emphasis are the positives (openness, freedom, choice) is truly grand but without the mentioning of its detractors (cheating, lying, bribery and bullying) it might suffer from lack of impact on an observer’s mind.
The story about Microsoft’s behaviour in India won’t be forgotten any time soon (you can look back at old posts for credible details). Microsoft gave its watchers a great deal of ammunition to be used in months to come. It’s not a case of being anti-Microsoft or anti-America. That’s just how Microsoft wishes to characterise it, but it really is a case against corruption. █
“The government is not trying to destroy Microsoft, it’s simply seeking to compel Microsoft to obey the law. It’s quite revealing that Mr. Gates equates the two.”
–Government official
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.