



Summary: Microsoft unleashes lobbyists to fight ODF despite pretending to have changed

THERE ARE all sorts of articles out there right now which portray Microsoft almost as a champion of open source. There is this one example from IDG and another from InformationWeek. IBM is on a similar boat with its semi-proprietary derivative of OpenOffice.org, which makes one wonder about IBM buying Sun Microsystems.

There is also this from the news, which is good news to OpenDocument format (but not so much for Free software).

Some 50,000 Australian university students will receive a free version of IBM’s Lotus Symphony software this month…

It’s worth watching what Microsoft is doing at the moment despite pretending to have changed. Regarding a bill that promotes ODF:

The main argument, advanced by a Microsoft lobbyist, is that the bill is anti-competitive, and would be “like choosing Betamax over VHS.” There is also a fear that users would have to replace their current software, although I believe Microsoft has been pretty scrupulous in supporting the Open Document Format.

The original article we have already mentioned a couple of days ago and it contains more details about Microsoft’s role. But Microsoft is trying to say that it became a friend of ODF. It’s nothing but a lie. Microsoft understands that without predatory lock-in like its proprietary OOXML, people’s choice will no longer be very limited and products will compete based on value and merit. █

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