Microsoft Believes IBM Masterminded Anti-OOXML Initiative

mahuyar writes "Microsoft executives have accused IBM of leading the campaign against their initiative to have Office Open XML approved by the International Organization for Standardization. 'Nicos Tsilas, senior director of interoperability and IP policy at Microsoft, said that IBM and the likes of the Free Software Foundation have been lobbying governments to mandate the rival OpenDocument Format (ODF) standard to the exclusion of any other format. "They have made this a religious and highly political debate," Tsilas said. "They are doing this because it is advancing their business model. Over 50 percent of IBM's revenues come from consulting services."'"

Pity the poor little Microsoft

[KublaiKhan]

So sad, that such a tiny little garage shop like Microsoft should be beaten up by the big bad IBM.

Anyone else think that this sounds like whining?

That's all right...

[26reverse]

IBM believes that Microsoft masterminded the Pro-OOXML Initiative.

Re:That's all right...

[morgan_greywolf]

Yup. Direct quote from an IBM official: "They are doing this because it is advancing their business model. Over 50 percent of Microsoft's revenues come from selling Microsoft Office."

kudos to MS

[psbrogna]

For putting aside vendor difference and suggesting that IBM be recognized for their alleged efforts. For, in my mind, campaigning against bad spec does indeed make one masterful.

Because IBM promotes everything so well...

[damn_registrars]

After all, who isn't running OS/2 on their thinkpads these days, or typing on Model M keyboards? And the IBM PowerPC chip - now that's a popular chip for the mainstream market if ever I saw one!

Yep, I'm sure the guys who sold us all on "I just totally warped my files" would be capable of blocking a Microsoft initiative... When I think powerful and successful marketing, I know I think IBM.

Re:Hmmm...

[richg74]

After all the revelations of Microsoft's attempts to poison the standards process by buying votes, to accuse someone else of some dirty campaign is so hypocritical and immoral that one has to stand in awe of the kind of twisted mind that could produce it.

You've got to give them credit for one thing: they have more nerve than a one-legged guy in an ass-kicking contest. I think my irony meter just exploded.

He's got a point

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks to IBM lobbying, we'll all be using EBCDIC-XML for our documents.

Re:You belive about others...

[moderatorrater]

Amen. What does that say about all those European powers who insult the US?

Re:Microsoft is to blame

[passthecrackpipe]

actually, I have it on good authority that google is behind a lot of these moves.

Re:It's about the public good as well.

[rprins]

I love my pubic goods..

Godwin's Law

[A nonymous Coward]

Sounds like Hitler crying that Britain and France were entirely to blame for the war that started after they invaded Poland.

No accusations of "dirty" campaigning

[walterbyrd]

I don't see msft accusing IBM of "dirty" campaigning.

The problem is that another company may be campaigning at all. I mean, how friggin *dare* they! Doesn't IBM know that msft has a sacred right to all PC OSes and office products?

IBM has already shown itself to have the unmitigated gall to donate IBM's own code to Linux. This prompted msft to fund caldera to file a bogus lawsuit against IBM. According to the original lawsuit, caldera owned UNIX, and therefore anything that ever touched UNIX was also owned by caldera.

Yet, it spite of being punished, IBM has still not learned their lesson. To do anything that might obstruct msft is an absolute sacrilege! Msft is understandably appalled. Msft will not accept this horrible injustice silently. Msft wants the world to know just how completely unethically IBM is behaving.

I mean, to try and compete with msft! Of all the bloody nerve

In related news Iraqi Minister of Information ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Says there are No Americans in Iraq .

Re:Rephrased..

[Anonymous Coward]

> Calling Free Software a religious movement is a dubious and cheap slur against a movement.

Especially if it's coming from apparent worshipers of Mammon.

Re:IBM Does This! Intelligently, using Open Source

[Thwomp]

Python? Errr nothing - nothing beats python ;-)

I don't know about that, operation "Dead Parrot" has gained a lot of momentum lately.

Re:Very Unprofessional

[BenoitRen]

In Portugal it was the Sun and IBM reps who lodged complaints because they were denied a vote due to a "lack of chairs".

I guess Ballmer had paid them a visit.