Microsoft Corrupts The Vote On 'Office Open XML' Standardization

"Office Open". Does that remind you of something? Like maybe
'Open Office', the free Open Source competitor with Microsoft
Office?

Does it kind of remind you of what you get when you spell the word
'L I V E'
backwards?

Folks, would you expect anything better of Microsoft? If so, why?
Go read about the history of Microsoft. Get a clue. Meanwhile,
this should curdle your blood:

<http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2008032913190768>

<http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/16835/>

HEADLINE:

OOXML Vote: Irregularities in Germany & Croatia and a Call for an
Investigation of Norway

Saturday, March 29 2008 @ 02:03 PM EDT

If Microsoft gets this OOXML format "approved", it will be by irregularities
in the voting, it seems. Here's more on what happened in Germany and a report
on what is being called a scandal in Norway. And another odd process in
Croatia.

Microsoft corrupts the German vote:

... When they went to vote, they were not allowed to vote disapprove, so the
choice was to approve or to abstain. It was a tie, 6:6, which means no
consensus. So under the rules I've read, that would have meant that they
should send a vote of Abstain.

But surprise, surprise!! A solution helpful to Microsoft: the representative
from DIN decided to cast a vote, which isn't the process. DIN isn't supposed
to vote, because it's supposed to advise. But this, they rationalized, was a
vote not about whether to accept OOXML on the basis of *technical* issues,
but whether to accept the approval suggestion of the technical committee. So
DIN voted to accept DIN's suggestion. Hence Germany ends up in the Approve
column. I know. No doubt there will be objections filed.

Microsoft corrupts the Norway vote:

... There should be an investigation of the irregularities there, because
while there were only two votes to approve, from Microsoft and a business
partner, Statoilhydro, and all the others voted no, 21 votes, they approved
anyway. Here's how they shuffled the deck in Norway. So they put everyone out
of the room, and Standards Norway, three people were left in the room, and
they usurped the decision and made it their business to decide to approve
anyway.

Unbelievable. If it was happening in only one country, you might think it was
local difficulties. But when it happens in place after place, one can only
conclude that Microsoft, although outnumbered in a fair vote, has sufficient
clout behind the scenes to shove this format into the world's mouth and hold
its mouth closed by force until the world is compelled to swallow. Remember
that Microsoft memo that surfaced in the Comes v. Microsoft litigation? The
one about how to stack a panel discussion at conferences so it would be
favorable to Microsoft? The key was to get to be the moderator.

One thing is certain. Unless ISO steps up and fixes this mess, it will lose
the world's respect, and rightly so. Either the rules mean something, or they
don't, but if they don't, standards don't mean anything either.

Get the idea? This is 'The Microsoft Way.' This is how Microsoft
are single-handedly preventing progress in technology innovation.
If you don't feel guilty about buying Microsoft products, gee,
maybe you should. Ya think?

But wait! There's more!

Microsoft corrupts the Croatia vote:

They voted Yes with comments in September. When they wanted to vote again
after the BRM, Microsoft refused to participate, claiming no revote after the
BRM was mandatory. The result was overwhelming rejection, 14 to 3, but one
vote short of being able to overturn their September Yes vote, if you
calculate that not enough votes were cast, which is the claim. There are 35
members, but only 17 showed up to vote. One thought, according to the
account, is that some didn't show up, thinking the vote was not supposed to
happen, thanks to Microsoft.

You can read the gory details at the Groklaw site where they have
translated articles from each country about the scandal.

:-P

--
Fortune Magazine 11-29-05: What's your computer setup today?
Frederick Brooks: I happily use a Macintosh. It's not been
equalled for ease of use, and I want my computer to be a tool,
not a challenge.
<http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/12/12/8363107/>
[Frederick Brooks is the author of 'The Mythical Man Month'.
He spearheaded the movement to modernize computer software
engineering in 1975.]
.

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