Disclaimer
The content on this site is my own and does not necessarily represent my employer’s positions, strategies or opinions. I work for IBM.
Monthly Archives: February 2008
Monthly disclaimer
The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM positions, strategies or opinions, especially if they are about the guitar, fishing, gardening, carpentry, house painting, and musical tastes.
links for 2008-02-29
OOXML Around the World Using NGOs to Push Agendas “Microsoft has “persuaded” several non-profit organizations to bombard the Indian IT Secretary and the Additional Director General of the Bureau of Indian Standards with letters supporting its OOXML proposal.” (tags: microsoft … Continue reading
Some metrics for measuring the success of the OOXML BRM
A very strange thing happened at the beginning of September, 2007. Microsoft issued a press release following the close of balloting on OOXML that began Today the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released the results of the preliminary ballot to … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-28
Sutor shares surge on nearly 50% growth y/y in 2Q earnings, sales not me … Microsoft’s ‘Openness’ Pledge A Potential Patent Trap, Gartner Warns — Microsoft “IT research firm Gartner is warning open source software makers that Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s … Continue reading
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Dow Jones MarketWatch: EC investigation regarding OOXML
As part of the recent story about the EU’s fine of Microsoft, the article “European regulator fines Microsoft $1.35 billion”, also included the following: In addition, Microsoft recently acknowledged that the commission is also looking into lobbying efforts for its … Continue reading
Dylan touring in Mexico and South America in the next month
See the Bob Dylan tour schedule.
Geneva, Wednesday afternoon
I’m starting to feel talked out. Yesterday I led the morning session at the OFE meeting, schmoozed with folks in the afternoon, and did the evening session with Vint Cerf, Håkon Wium Lie, and Andy Updegrove. Then it was dinner, … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-27
Virtual Worlds and Game Consoles I4U News – Xbox 3D Virtual World necessary to compete with Playstation Home? “If Sony does everything right it will be huge for the Sony PS3. I actually think Microsoft cannot afford to not launch … Continue reading
Google statement on OOXML
(My del.icio.us daily link posting appears to be broken, so I’m doing a separate entry on this.) See “A renewed wish for open document standards” by Zaheda Bhorat, Open Source Programs Manager, Google.
My Geneva presentation
I’m speaking in Geneva this morning at the Open Forum Europe Conference “Standards and the Future of the Internet.” Here are the slides I’m using: “Raising the Quality Threshold of Standards Development” in PDF format. Update: This evening I’m on … Continue reading
Monday morning: OOXML BRM tidbits
I’m in Geneva this week because I’m taking part in the Open Forum Europe conference “Standards and the Future of the Internet.” In addition, of course, the ISO/IEC OOXML Ballot Resolution Meeting is taking place this week. The OFE organizers … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-23
PySoy, a 3D Game Engine for Python “PySoy is a revolutionary cross-platform Python module which enables developers to easily build 3D games.” (tags: python 3d games) A Journey to the Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth, Pa. – Travel – Escapes … Continue reading
Saturday in Newark
I’m not a morning person. Therefore, I really don’t like getting up early, though I frequently do it to get my kids to school, which is reasonable. But today is Saturday and I had to get up at 6:30 AM … Continue reading
How not to resolve OOXML comments
See Arnaud Le Hors’ blog entries “Can anyone be more disingenuous?” whereby Microsoft counters China’s comment about OOXML being too large for a fast track process by comparing it with large standards that did not go through a fast track … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-22
What If Microsoft Gave An Interoperability Party and Nobody Came? Jason Brooks – Open Source – Microsoft’s Interop Forecast Is Partly Cloudy “However, the legal environment surrounding interoperability between Microsoft’s products and the open-source applications that have sprung up to … Continue reading
Posted in Document Formats, News, Open Source, Politics / Government
Tagged FSF, ISO, Microsoft, Obama, ODF, OOXML
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Handy Phrase of the Day
“Do they just not get it, or do they think we’re stupid?” Try it, it’s useful in many areas of life. I said it several times yesterday, for example.
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OOXML is too hard to implement … even for Microsoft
Over on CNet, Ina Fried has an article “Microsoft again delays Mac XML converters” and says, in part: The software maker said that it plans on March 11 to deliver the first update to Office 2008 for Mac, delivering several … Continue reading
Random Notes
I haven’t written much here lately, though I seem to have picked up the pace on the del.icio.us links. There are several reasons for this: I’ve been busy. I’ve tried to squeeze in a few vacation days this week since … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-21
No, Really, We Mean It This Time EU regulators cool on Microsoft open-source move | CNET News.com “The European Commission has expressed doubt regarding Microsoft’s announcement Thursday claiming a move toward greater interoperability.” (tags: microsoft opensource) Microsoft’s open-source patent threat … Continue reading
Posted in Document Formats, Macintosh, News, Open Source, Patents
Tagged Humor, Microsoft, OOXML, Video
3 Comments
links for 2008-02-20
Politics Lessig: I’m considering a run for Congress | Tech news blog – CNET News.com “Confirming weeks of speculation, Larry Lessig, the Stanford University law professor and “free culture” icon, has confessed that yes indeed, he’s considering a run for … Continue reading
Posted in Games, News, Open Source, Politics / Government, Programming, Virtual Worlds
Tagged Microsoft, Second Life
1 Comment
Trouble down under on Australia’s OOXML delegation
See the ComputerWorld Australia article “Microsoft developer joins Aussie OOXML standards delegation: Both sides of the equation not evenly represented.” If something is to be done to fix this, it must be done quickly.
links for 2008-02-19
Lean, green, open source machine – LinuxWorld “The Linutop is a pocket size desktop PC, the size of a paperback novel. It does not have an internal hard disk drive, but instead its open source operating system resides on a … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-19
Groklaw – How to Get Your Platform Accepted as a Standard – Microsoft Style “Our mission is to establish Microsoft’s platforms as the de facto standards throughout the computer industry…. Working behind the scenes to orchestrate “independent” praise of our … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-17
Can Microsoft be trusted on OOXML covenants?: Insight – Software – ZDNet Australia “Developers wanting to use Microsoft’s Office Open XML specification will need to brush up on their legal skills.” (tags: microsoft ooxml) Datamation Announces 2008 Product of the … Continue reading
Posted in News, Open Source, Patents, Politics / Government, Standards
Tagged Massachusetts, Microsoft, OOXML, Sun, Symphony
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OOXML troll tolerance dial now set to zero
Right before major milestones in OOXML’s fight to become respectable by becoming an ISO/IEC standard, pro-OOXML bloggers and blog commenters have come out in force to challenge any sentiment perceived as negative to their cause. It’s almost like it was … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-16
Gates Foundation’s Research Influence Criticized – New York Times “The chief of malaria for the World Health Organization has complained that the growing dominance of malaria research by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation risks stifling a diversity of views … Continue reading
Posted in News
4 Comments
links for 2008-02-15
Harvard Research to Be Free Online – New York Times “On Tuesday the arts and sciences faculty voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution that would commit Harvard to open access — the movement to speed the exchange of knowledge … Continue reading
Coming up for air
I’ve been in North Carolina for a couple of days, first to speak on a panel at the Globalization 2008 Conference in RTP, and then to visit some family down in Wilmington. It was a great visit all around, though … Continue reading
links for 2008-02-14
The Job Interview, Starring Your Avatar – New York Times “As big companies are spreading their brands to Web-based social networking communities like Facebook and MySpace, a handful of employers are also exploring the world of Multi-User Virtual Environments, or … Continue reading
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links for 2008-02-12
Metaverse U Conference “The Metaverse U Conference takes place on February 16th and 17th 2008 at Stanford University.” (tags: metaverse virtualworlds conference secondlife) Attend all of Metaverse U virtually for free! | Metaverse U Conference “I am very happy to … Continue reading
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