08.15.08
Shame on ISO and Shame on Microsoft for Corrupting ISO
ISO aftermath #5
Earlier today we mentioned ISO and its latest outrageous decision. It was no surprise. Reactions have arrived from Brazil, from Massachusetts and from Groklaw.
ISO essentially got corrupted from the inside, based on what we could gather. It should now be seen as credible as IDC and Gartner, i.e. it’s a trash can of numbers, [presented by chaps who are always smiling behind a till]. It’s susceptible to abuse and sensitive to corruption. It is therefore not to be taken seriously. For those who are unaware of the corruption, start here.
About a dozen times before, we have already discussed the departure of the Managing Director of Microsoft India. According to the following gem, it was an expulsion.
The expulsion of Neelam Dhawan over Open XML had consequences for the operations of Microsoft India:
The high-profile exit of Neelam Dhawan created a vacuum in the company for almost two months, who quit Microsoft India to join HP India in June this year.
Rajan Anandan is now the person who joins the company who fired an executive who didn’t perform in international standardisation and fill the vaccuum.
Remember just what happened in India [1, 2].
Meanwhile, down in South Africa, ODF gets another good boost from an independent software developer.
Customers are now able to save all “ODF” documents including those created in “Calc, Writer or Impress”. These documents are saved with all attributes, including security and retention, as if they were working within a Microsoft environment.
Says Malcolm van den Berg, IA Systems Product Director: “This is only the first step in meeting our clients’ needs; some future development will be looking at the browser support for Open Text eDOCS as well as the support for Linux.
It is good to have received some good news (ODF) rather than stories of dirty games and manipulation (OOXML). █
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.