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[News] GNOME Foundation and Journalist Slammed for Supporting Microsoft Formats

  • Subject: [News] GNOME Foundation and Journalist Slammed for Supporting Microsoft Formats
  • From: Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:12:27 +0000
  • Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
  • Organization: Netscape / schestowitz.com
  • User-agent: KNode/0.10.4
OOXML: move the goalposts, avoid facing the obvious

,----[ Quote ]
| ...there seems to be a manufactured air of defeatism around - as Byfield puts 
| it, "Whether or not OOXML becomes an official ISO standard, it will still 
| become unofficial standard (sic), simply because Microsoft Office is the main 
| office program used on computers." Why is this so?   
| 
| If this kind of defeatist attitude had been there from the time Richard 
| Stallman decided to create free software for use by everybody, would we have 
| even come close to the stage we are at?  
`----

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15872/1148/

More proof that only Microsoft and Microsoft Office have something to do with
OOXML:

Microsoft reissues Mac OOXML converter

,----[ Quote ]
| A new beta of the Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac has 
| appeared on Microsoft's web site, but there is no indication of any 
| functional changes.  
`----

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15879/1054/


Related:

Digging in the Comments: Patents

,----[ Quote ]
| Patent licensing is probably the most important aspect for all third parties 
| that want to implement or use the Open XML specification. Unfortunately the 
| Ballot Resolution Meeting cannot discuss these aspects because only technical 
| and editorial issues would get resolved.   
| 
| [...]
| 
| When you have a patent which covers Open XML and you refuse to license it, 
| the standard process gets stalled. Large companies in the standardization 
| process are reluctant to use that nuke option. Given the ambush that the 
| software patent practice means today it is quite possible that Open XML 
| infringes a patent and all parties eventually have an obligation to license 
| it.     
`----

http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-31491/digging-in-the-comments:patents


Patent threat looms large over OOXML

,----[ Quote ]
| "If OOXML goes through as an ISO standard, the IT industry, government and 
| business will encumbered with a 6000-page specification peppered with 
| potential patent liabilities" said NZOSS President Don Christie.  
| 
| "Patent threats have already been used to spread doubt amongst organisations 
| keen to take advantage of the benefits of open source. No one knows whether 
| such claims have any merit, but it is calculated to deter the development and 
| use of open and alternative toolsets."   
`----

http://nzoss.org.nz/node/179


Cyberlaw OOXML Seminar 14 December

,----[ Quote ]
| However, this raises the issue - what assurance does a developer have that 
| such a large specification is not the subject of third party patent claims?  
|       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| The pedigree of the specification is certainly no reason for hope, Microsoft 
| has been the target of third party patent claims for some time now including 
| some high profile losses in patent suits. The fact that the specification has 
| been developed behind closed doors and on a fast track means that there has 
| been no adequate opportunity to evaluate the likelihood of third party patent 
| claims against the specifications. The sheer size of the document suggests 
| there will be at least a couple hiding in there somewhere.       
`----

http://brendanscott.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/cyberlaw-ooxml-seminar-14-december/


Corrupt countries were more likely to support the OOXML document format

,----[ Quote ]
| Is this just a random coincidence? The median of the CPI index of the above 
| mentioned 70 countries is 3.95. Of the most corrupted half (CPI index less 
| than 3.95) 23 or 77% voted for approval (approval or approval with comments) 
| and 7 or 23% for disapproval; 5 abstained. Of the least corrupted half (CPI 
| index more than 3.95) 13 or 54% voted for approval and 11 or 46% voted for 
| disapproval; 11 abstained - see the table below.      
`----

http://www.effi.org/blog/kai-2007-09-05.en.html


Microsoft accused of more OOXML standards fiddling 

,----[ Quote ]
| However the 11 new countries are refusing to say how they will vote. These 
| include Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Ecuador, Jamaica, Lebanon, Malta, Pakistan, 
| Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela. Most people seem to think 
| that these have been put there by Vole to make sure the standard gets pushed 
| through.    
`----

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=42106

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