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So what's the difference between Microsoft/OOXML and OpenOffice.org/ODF ?

,----[ Quote ]
| The difference is, that Microsoft Office is behind OOXML. OpenOffice.org is
| ahead of ODF. According to the ISO rules, a specification can only be
| approved as an ISO-standard, unless it has been implemented.
`----

http://lodahl.blogspot.com/2008/05/behind-or-ahead.html

ODF's competition is not OOXML; it's corruption, which all leads back to
Microsoft and its anti-competitive ecosystem.

Recent:

When is a Standard Not a Standard?

,----[ Quote ]
| What this means in practice is that Microsoft will be able to get away with
| blue murder, by deftly moving between all the different kinds of standards –
| ECMA standards, putative...

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Japan to tax MP3 players

,----[ Quote ]
| According to a report in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Japan's Agency for
| Cultural Affairs wants to force MP3 player manufacturers to pay a royalty
| charge to copyright holders that may have lost out as a result of illegally
| recorded content.
`----

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/07/ipod_tax_japan/

Now, now... the music industry doesn't even need to sell you anything. All it
needs to do for profit is ensure people buy electronics. Maybe they should
start taxing babies for having ears and mouths, very much in the same /vein/.

"Can't compete? Buy some new laws."

Competing with things like CC:

Creative Commons promotes standard license expression

,----[ Quote ]
| It is described in a paper by four Creative Commons employees and published
| by Communia, a European site that explores the relationship between
| technology and the public domain....

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Microsoft May Build a Copyright Cop Into Every Zune

,----[ Quote ]
| If you like to download the latest episodes of “Heroes” or other NBC shows
| from BitTorrent, maybe you shouldn’t buy a Microsoft Zune to watch them on.
`----

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/microsoft-may-build-a-copyright-cop-into...

Microsoft also willingly paid a 'pirate tax' for Zune, setting a precedence
that was then used to attack iPod users (details at the bottom). Microsoft and
the MPAA/RIAA are very close (e.g. secret meetings, agreements on DRM in
Vista). Recently they used the MSNBC puppet to pretend that iTunes is bad by
moving to Zune Marketplace. And then there's this:

Digital Rights Management (DRM): is it in its death throws?

,----[ Quote ]
| Many end users, both Windows and GNU/Linux, hate DRM, for both technical and
| political reasons. Hackers too hate it and have consistently broken and
| defeated its security measures...

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Free Software in Ethics and Society - Richard Stallman - Manchester 1st May

,----[ Quote ]
| As mentioned previously, Richard Stallman was in Manchester last Thursday to
| give a presentation. Manchester Free Software organised the event in
| association with the BCS and the IET.
|
| The talk was a resounding success with many “enlightening” points made and
| insightful questions asked. Over 300 people attended, filling the lecture
| theatre, causing latecomers to sit in the aisles.
`----

http://manchester.fsuk.org/blog/2008/05/06/free-software-in-ethics-and-society-richard.../

Meet Inna Kuznetsova, IBM's Linux Strategy Director (video)

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Windows XP SP3: Beware the service pack!

,----[ Quote ]
| The first thing that happened after installing Vista SP1 is that it broke my
| HP printer driver. That wasn't too bad, I fixed that quite easily by
| uninstalling the driver and doing a clean reinstallation. However, the fact
| that a service pack upgrade caused an instability in a previously working
| standard software installation is a concern.
`----

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/18109/1023/

All the eXPerienced Windows coders seem to have left the building (examples at
the bottom), so they keep hacking on (read: breaking) the codebase of Windows.
Even the chief of Windows left about a month ago.

Good luck to Microsoft. It has just invested another $0.3 billion in
far-eastern developers. After sales of Windows sank 24%%, it ought to start
saving, but all savings tend to come at a cost.

Recent:

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Unicaresoft loses MSNLock case against Microsoft

,----[ Quote ]
| The Dutch version of Oxford English Dictionary, Van Dale, also mentions MSN
| as a generic term meaning to contact someone via an instant messenger.
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/07/dutch_lock_firm_loses_case_against_micro.../

This won't add to Microsoft's popularity in a country that's already moving to
Free software and ODF. Serves it right:

Microsoft Satellite Map Project Sued Over Name

,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft's TerraServer-USA satellite imagery project has been slapped with a
| trademark lawsuit from a small North Carolina company with a confusingly
| similar name.
`----

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145613/microsoft_satellite_map_project_sued_over_name...

Related:

Grisoft subpoenas Microsoft

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Linux facing first real desktop test

,----[ Quote ]
| It’s not just the ultraportable notebook and associated chip manufacturers.
| Major players such as Intel are getting involved with efforts such as the
| chip giant’s Atom, which plays into Linux cost advantages. And even though
| Linux may not be offered on Wal-Mart store shelves, Linux continues to be a
| top seller online for the so-called ‘low-price leader.’
`----

http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2008/05/07/linux-facing-first-real-desktop.../

Related:

2007's most important IT lesson is spelled with an Eee

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Google Almost At 80 Percent In Europe

,----[ Quote ]
| With a 79.2 percent share of the European search market in March, Google
| easily qualifies as the top European search property.
`----

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/05/07/google-almost-at-80-percent-in-euro...

Why Apple and Google are winning

,----[ Quote ]
| Google has won the search wars primarily because Google focused first on
| pleasing consumers. It didn't try to stripmine the search experience in
| search of every last penny of profit from ads, the way Yahoo! and Microsoft
| did. These latter two littered their pages for years with absolute rubbish,
| neon advertising, making the search experience feel like Vegas.
`----

http://www.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9938880-16.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheOpenR...

Days ago:

Google Ends Microsoft’s Yahoo Search

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Six downloadable boot discs that could save your PC

,----[ Quote ]
| Linux Live CD: The name refers to any version of Linux you can download as
| an .iso file and boot off a CD. But Linux can be an intimidating environment
| for the uninitiated, it doesn't always handle NTFS well (many versions can
| read NTFS but not write to it), and it is seldom geared to help with Windows
| problems.
`----

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=C5E28373-17A4-0F78-31ED500083267256

Related:

Linux saves the special day!

,----[ Quote ]
| Thanks Linux! You saved the day and turned a Windows disaster into a Linux
| win!
`----

http://www.tyrannozaurus.com/?q=node/987

Why I love Linux

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/april.aspx