[Leaplist] France "Non OOXML! & bar fight; ODF Alliance exposes M$ extortion visa vi OOXML Swedish Partner payoff memo

[patrick]

> France: "Non, avec des commentaires!"
> 
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Apparently, the French discussion on OOXML broke into something resembling a 
> | bar-fight. 
> | 
> | [...]
> | 
> | Matters soon got out of hand: the shouting seems to have climaxed with the 
> | Microsoft representative insulting the management of AFNOR, members of the 
> | Defense Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Interior Ministry, and two 
> | members from the Industrial Ministry exclaiming that they were servants of a 
> | banana republic!    
> `----
> 
> http://fussnotes.typepad.com/plexnex/2007/08/france-no-with-.html
> 
> Well done, France. Their parliament is moving to GNU/Linux (they have already
> received Linux laptops).
> 
> Microsoft accused of ballot stuffing in standards vote
> 
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | The Russian Government has taken a step towards endorsing ODF through an 
> | e-government program that would mandate use of software that conforms 
> | to "widely used standards" in all government contracts.  
> | 
> | According to the Russian Ministry of Information Technologies and 
> | Communications "within the project to form an e-government concept in the 
> | Russian Federation, support of ISO/IEC 26300: 2006 is planned."  
> | 
> | The move has been welcomed by the Open Document Format Alliance, which said 
> | in a statement that Russia is "sending a message worldwide that software 
> | should be affordable, innovative and accessible, now and for the foreseeable  
> | future."  
> `----
> 
> http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/08/29/microsoft_ooxml_sweeden_rigged_vote/
> 
> More Office Open XML Trouble for Microsoft
> 
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Meantime, the managing director for the ODF Alliance notes that Microsoft’s 
> | work may backfire. As he told Computerworld: 
> | 
> |     Some of the comments that have been received from the countries...
> |     shine a light on OOXML defects. Governments will think long and hard
> |     after viewing some of these comments before using the format.
> `----
> 
> http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/osb/?p=218