Demonstration against OOXML in Oslo, Norway

http://www.computerworld.dk/art/45252
http://www.digi.no/php/art.php?id=519531

Demonstration in Oslo, Norway on April 9th.

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           Demonstration against Microsoft OOXML
                Wednesday 9 April @ 12:00
                       Oslo, Norway
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Steve Pepper, the former Chairman of the Norwegian committee responsible for deciding the Norwegian vote on OOXML, is calling for a demonstration to take place outside the building where SC34, the ISO committee that has been landed with OOXML, is holding its spring plenary.

The demonstration will take place outside Håndverkeren, Rosenkrantzgate 7, Oslo, Norway, on Wednesday April 9 at 12.00.

Among the slogans are:

* No to ISO approval of OOXML!
* Defend the integrity of ISO!
* Microsoft: Support ODF!
* Ecma: Withdraw OOXML
* Norway must say no to OOXML!

Steve Pepper is supported by the majority of the Norwegian technical committee who were against approving OOXML, but who were overruled by the bureaucracy at Standard Norway.

"I call on all those opposed to ISO's approval of OOXML to join this demonstration", says Steve Pepper. "Standard Norway defends its scandalous act by pointing to 37 identical letters that were formulated by Microsoft and sent to Standard Norway by Microsoft's partners and customers during the open hearing."

"If they want numbers, we can give them numbers. Join me on the street and show your disapproval. Please pass this message on around the globe.

Let's use *our* technology for everything it is worth."

More (Norwegian): http://www.digi.no/php/art.php?id=519231

NOOOXML !

Whats up duck ?

I haven't been blogging that much lately. Sorry, but I feel rather busy at the moment.

• Busy trying to catch up with all the information floating around, both in the community but also regarding ODF and in the NOOOXML world.
• I have spent the last couple of days on a small travel to Aarhus ( http://www.findvej.dk/,8000 ). You know, I also need bread on the table ;-)
  
• Translation of 2.4 is going slowly forward. But we are still missing several hundred strings.
  
• Also preparing the next (December) edition of the Danish newsletter (expected to be out one of the first days in December). Sign up for it here: http://da.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=nyhedsbrev (if you understand Danish)
  
• I am also trying to contribute to the new certification project and today I have submitted my comments to the Spanish syllabus (http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/OOo_Certification_Syllabus). Please join the project here if you think you can contribute in any way. Sign up here: http://documentation.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=certification
• And then I have been trying to plan how to approach the new Parliament after the election this month. Hmmm. I think we have to act on this very soon. I better get on with it, eh ?

And then of cause

• I promised my family to be present once in a while. On Saturday I think we will all go to the movie theater together. Perhaps I should ask my wife out for dinner too. Yes, this is a high priority task on the list :-)
  

Microsoft is taking over your life

Visit www.noooxml.org

Will B 103 end up with the opposite result ?

The Danish Parliament agreed on a pragmatic solution when the implementation plan was arranged just before the summer holidays this year. The only way to close the case at that time, was by choosing a solution with dual standards. Probably because the MP's couldn't reach consensus on a more categoric solution.

Even after the rejection of OOXML from ISO, the Danish Government still wants Microsoft at the table. Even after we have seen ridiculous attempts of couping National Boards in Sweden, Norway, Malaysia and even Denmark. Still, the Danish government wants to kiss with Microsoft.

Now it shows, that the reaction from the local IT-managers might be in contradiction with the 'soul' of the resolution. According to this article https://www.sam-data.dk/artikler/artikel.asp?id=82 (in Danish, sorry) from one of the largest and most respected trade unions HK, the result is, that IT managers is beginning to hoard solutions based on OOXML.

The reason is, that the Parliament agreed on a one year trial period, where Microsoft should prove the openness of OOXML. But now that ISO has rejected OOXML as an international standard for office documents, people are beginning to get scarred. Will OOXML eventually be accepted ? Projects that might not even be mature, is started, just to get a Microsoft solution.

Dear Folketing (that the Danish Parliament):
Stop this now. Close the case and send Microsoft home until they can come up with a good explanation. ...And a useful and reasonable document format for our files.

ISO seems to be listening

On several occasions I have been writing about the huge problems ISO is facing after the fast track process with MSOOML. E.g. http://lodahl.blogspot.com/2007/08/money-talks-bullshit-walks.html and http://lodahl.blogspot.com/2007/08/microsoft-coup.html.

Charles-H. Schulz is writing about the same subject

Now it seems that ISO is waking up. Please see this article: ISO reforms proposed in response to OOXML shenanigans By Ryan Paul Published: September 07, 2007.

IBM joins OpenOfficeorg community

I'm very pleased to find IBM taking part of the community behind OpenOffice.org.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/openoffice.org/IBM/prweb552157.htm

More scandals revealed

Some time ago (just a few days later than the Swedish scandal was revealed), one of the members of the Danish TC said, that the process in Denmark had been very serious and fair. Quote from my blog:

A representative from The municipal of Århus, Jens Kjellerup, says that the meetings in Denmark was alright and fair (http://www.computerworld.dk/art/41082).

And the result was: Consensus NO !

I am proud to be Danish on such good day.

But now, after the result has been published, more and more details is coming out of the dark. It seems as if Microsoft in Denmark has playing dirty tricks during the process too. Of cause Microsoft in Denmark denies that they have tried to put any pressure on their business partners. But they have send this letter (Letter to business partners) and this e-mail (e-mail to some business partners). From an anonymous source (Microsoft business partner), we hear that he felt a huge pressure (http://www.version2.dk/artikel/3759).

How come ?

You must know about how it works, that Microsoft business partner thing - If Microsoft likes you, you will get leads. And leads is cash. Microsoft never sell software directly. Everything goes through the partner channel, and if Microsoft recieves an order from a customer directly, they will post this as a lead to one of their partners. The partner will then post an order with Microsoft and get commission like 30% of the turnover. Leads is cash.

In one of the letters, Microsoft asked if the partner would be willing to answer questions from a journalist called Thomas Breinstrup from the newspaper Berlingske Tidende.

Translation of the words:

Would you take a position and contact the National IT- and Tele agency ?
Can Berlingske Tidende, Thomas Breinstrup call you and ask some questions about your opinion ?
Finally, could you contact Danish Standards about the subject ?

The problem was, that Thomas Breinstrup didn't know anything about this letter before yesterday.

Ask if it's clever to misuse one of the most respected and well spoken Danish journalists ? No. It's wise to stay friends with the press. One of the headlines today was: "Microsoft lobbying must have consequenses" and another "Corrupt countires love Microsoft standards".

Final......NO

A ballot on whether to publish the draft standard ISO/IEC DIS 29500, Information technology – Office Open XML file formats, as an International Standard by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) has not achieved the required number of votes for approval.

http://www.iso.org/iso/newsandmedia/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1070

Can it be said any more clearly ?

Case closed !......for now.

Denmark will vote NO !

It's official now. Denmark will vote no with (64 pages of) comments. Here is the press release in Danish.

We have won this battle, but the war is not over yet.

I just got an email from Dansk Standard that Denmark will vote no with comments. The 64 pages of comments was obviously too heavy and too important.

Dansk Standard has been under heavy pressure over the last week, because of the Swedish case.

Translater here.

The Netherlands proposes revised procedures at ISO

Finally.

The Netherlands will abstain from voting. Not because they are happy about it, but because the procedures demands an abstention. It has appeared that it is actually impossible to vote no because Microsoft continuously obstructs the work.

On this site: ISOC.nl regrets absence of Netherlands decision on OOXML
Michiel Leenaars writes:

ISOC.nl recommends that the ISO procedures - and more specific the Fast Track procedure - be adapted significantly to better deal with controversial standards like DIS 29500/Office Open XML in order for ISO to maintain relevant. This includes demanding two interoperable and independent full implementations prior to accepting a submission for a Fast Track procedure.

Michiel is member of the Dutch committee.

Let's hear from other countries about this issue.

Sign the petition agianst OOXML

Please sign this petition against OOXML getting approved as an international ISO standard:

I ask the national members of ISO to vote "NO" in the ballot of ISO DIS 29500 (Office OpenXML or OOXML format) for the following reasons:

1. There is already a standard ISO26300 named Open Document Format (ODF): a dual standard adds costs, uncertainty and confusion to industry, government and citizens;
2. There is no provable implementation of the OOXML specification: Microsoft Office 2007 produces a special version of OOXML, not a file format which complies with the OOXML specification;
3. There is missing information from the specification document, for example how to do a autoSpaceLikeWord95 or useWord97LineBreakRules;
4. More than 10% of the examples mentioned in the proposed standard do not validate as XML;
5. There is no guarantee that anybody can write a software that fully or partially implements the OOXML specification without being liable to patent damages or patent license fees by Microsoft;
6. This standard proposal conflicts with other ISO standards, such as ISO 8601 (Representation of dates and times), ISO 639 (Codes for the Representation of Names and Languages) or ISO/IEC 10118-3 (cryptographic hash);
7. There is a bug in the spreadsheet file format which forbids to enter any date before the year 1900: such bugs affects the OOXML specification as well as software versions such as Microsoft Excel 2000, XP, 2003 or 2007.
8. This standard proposal has not been created by bringing together the experience and expertise of all interested parties (such as the producers, sellers, buyers, users and regulators), but by Microsoft alone.

http://www.noooxml.org/petition