It's a strange feeling of outrage that I get when I read news about a certain company. The voting for the OOXML format has finished and the votes are being taken in [Groklaw]. Before I start to rant non-stop all of you who haven't taken interest about what OOXML is and the ISO voting process is all about, I suggest you read here .
I'm a linux user, confirmed evangelist and true believer; I read daily outrageous news about how monopolistic companies such as Microsoft use their position, market share, power, and when that doesn't do it, money to get to where they want...however I am amazed even more than normal at the blatant corruption that was presented by M$ during the voting regarding the OOXML format. After the failure of the vote to be accepted back last November, M$ have been given some time to arrange their 6000 page specification to reflect that comments done by the technical bodies around the world that have voted No, with comments. As one would expect, M$ didn't change jackshit in the spec and have represented it to the comittee for approval. What appears to have been done however, was that of using the time given to corrupt more high ranking members and getting more microsoft employees to attend the voting process. (Companies and vendors are not allowed to attend the voting process).
An interesting example would be the BRM (ballot resolution meeting ) held as reported by groklaw where 20 of the participants were direct Microsoft employees:
1 BELGIUM Mr. Bruno SCHRODER MICROSOFT
2 BRAZIL Mr. Fernando GEBARA Microsoft Brazil
3 CANADA Mr. Paul COTTON Microsoft Canada
4 COTE D'IVOIRE * Mr. Wemba OPOTA MICROSOFT West and central Africa
5 CZECH REPUBLIC Mr. Štepán BECHYNSKÝ Microsoft Czech Republic, Ltd
6 DENMARK Mr. Jasper Hedegaard BOJSEN Microsoft Denmark
7 FINLAND Mr. Kimmo BERGIUS Microsoft Ltd
8 GERMANY Mr. Mario WENDT Microsoft Deutschland GmbH
9 ISRAEL Mr. Shmuel YAIR Microsoft
10 ITALY Ing. Andrea VALBONI Microsoft Italy
11 JAPAN Mr. Naoki ISHIZAKA Microsoft
12 KENYA Mr. Emmanuel BIRECH Microsoft East Africa
13 NEW ZEALAND Mr. Brett ROBERTS Microsoft New Zealand
14 NORWAY Mr. Shahzad Rana Microsoft Norge AS
15 PORTUGAL * Prof. Miguel Sales DIAS MICROSOFT Portugal
16 SWITZERLAND Mr. Marc HOLITSCHER Microsoft Schweiz GmbH
17 UNITED STATES Mr. Doug MAHUGH Microsoft Corporation
18 Ecma International Mr. Brian JONES Microsoft
19 Ecma International * Mr. Jean PAOLI Microsoft Corporation
20 Assistant to Project Editor Mr. Tristan DAVIS Microsoft
source: groklaw
and to say that vendors weren't allowed to attend...also, which brainsick person would vote against their employer ? unless they want to quit their job that is..
Anyways, let me move to the higher purpose (and title of this article); The great digital divide. Now I know this term was coined several years ago when computers became an inherent part of our life and being actually computer literate was an advantage over another person who didn't have a clue. Several years later, 1 or 2 technological reforms and one realises that the above description isn't valid anymore..while computer illiterate users still exist and are a reality, it's also a fact that the majority of users are no able to perform basic functions with their computer (surf the web, check their email, write documents and have their own facebook profile). Ergo, the old description doesn't hold anymore and a new one takes place. The great digital divide describes the difference between users who are locked down to only the technologies that have been pulled in front of their eyes while others are free enough to look around and use software and technologies that don't lock them down to a specific set of rules set by a company but are able to choose from a host of software that really suites their needs and their needs only. (A hefty price tag, may or may not apply).
Let's examine the computer of the common joe in malta; The computer was probably bought as a whole from a vendor or general computer store (think scan, klikk, atoz,). The computer is pre-installed with windows (99% of the cases not an option the user can choose to forgo).
STOP 1
1) The user was not given a choice on which operating system to have pre-installed on his new computer.
2) The user was charged an extra 93.173EUR for this "choice" in the case of windows xp. The premium is even higher for windows vista home premium edition. ( The premium may be less in some cases were a large amount of advertising/promotional software is pre-installed on your computer which degrade computer performance)
3) This "choice" restricted the user to only certain models as some of the older (and cheaper ) models do not support windows vista and the accompanying breed of bloated software, ergo the user was restricted to purchasing certain types of hardware only.
continue..
If the computer needs to be of any particular use to the average joe who is buying it, the seller will inevitably question the need of an office suite (This need is more pronounced in the case of parents with children as they would need to use office software for assignments, homework etc). The vendor will inevitably present some strain of Microsoft office (say 2003 or 2007...2007 probably being preferred and partially forced on the user).
STOP 2
As we can see, this pushed the user onto yet more expenses of office software. As an after affect, a borderline machine running vista home will struggle to work with office 2007 open and thus even more expensive hardware may be needed.
Final note: That's the purchase of a new computer system in a vendor lock-in environment. Other casual problems the user will encounter are: Forced payed for upgrades to new versions of windows. Inability to open certain file formats with Microsoft office since microsoft office does not support the ODF file format (which is an ISO standard ). Problems with every other mortal on the planet who doesnt use office 2007 or an office suite that can open microsoft's ooxml formats. DRM software running in the background of your operating system that examines all running processes and media. Inability to remove certain software from your computer such as: Microsoft messenger, internet Explorer, windows defender.
I, on the other hand run linux, my OS costs me nothing except a download and an empty cd. I use a free office suite (openoffice.org) that can open and edit and save all standard file formats. My operating system comes with a host of software for anything I may wish to do, however I have the easy and clear choice of removing/replacing this software with anything I want.
Many will retort that not being part of the crowd works against me..I guess I'd rather be free than staying with the crowd and live in chains.
M
I'm a linux user, confirmed evangelist and true believer; I read daily outrageous news about how monopolistic companies such as Microsoft use their position, market share, power, and when that doesn't do it, money to get to where they want...however I am amazed even more than normal at the blatant corruption that was presented by M$ during the voting regarding the OOXML format. After the failure of the vote to be accepted back last November, M$ have been given some time to arrange their 6000 page specification to reflect that comments done by the technical bodies around the world that have voted No, with comments. As one would expect, M$ didn't change jackshit in the spec and have represented it to the comittee for approval. What appears to have been done however, was that of using the time given to corrupt more high ranking members and getting more microsoft employees to attend the voting process. (Companies and vendors are not allowed to attend the voting process).
An interesting example would be the BRM (ballot resolution meeting ) held as reported by groklaw where 20 of the participants were direct Microsoft employees:
1 BELGIUM Mr. Bruno SCHRODER MICROSOFT
2 BRAZIL Mr. Fernando GEBARA Microsoft Brazil
3 CANADA Mr. Paul COTTON Microsoft Canada
4 COTE D'IVOIRE * Mr. Wemba OPOTA MICROSOFT West and central Africa
5 CZECH REPUBLIC Mr. Štepán BECHYNSKÝ Microsoft Czech Republic, Ltd
6 DENMARK Mr. Jasper Hedegaard BOJSEN Microsoft Denmark
7 FINLAND Mr. Kimmo BERGIUS Microsoft Ltd
8 GERMANY Mr. Mario WENDT Microsoft Deutschland GmbH
9 ISRAEL Mr. Shmuel YAIR Microsoft
10 ITALY Ing. Andrea VALBONI Microsoft Italy
11 JAPAN Mr. Naoki ISHIZAKA Microsoft
12 KENYA Mr. Emmanuel BIRECH Microsoft East Africa
13 NEW ZEALAND Mr. Brett ROBERTS Microsoft New Zealand
14 NORWAY Mr. Shahzad Rana Microsoft Norge AS
15 PORTUGAL * Prof. Miguel Sales DIAS MICROSOFT Portugal
16 SWITZERLAND Mr. Marc HOLITSCHER Microsoft Schweiz GmbH
17 UNITED STATES Mr. Doug MAHUGH Microsoft Corporation
18 Ecma International Mr. Brian JONES Microsoft
19 Ecma International * Mr. Jean PAOLI Microsoft Corporation
20 Assistant to Project Editor Mr. Tristan DAVIS Microsoft
source: groklaw
and to say that vendors weren't allowed to attend...also, which brainsick person would vote against their employer ? unless they want to quit their job that is..
Anyways, let me move to the higher purpose (and title of this article); The great digital divide. Now I know this term was coined several years ago when computers became an inherent part of our life and being actually computer literate was an advantage over another person who didn't have a clue. Several years later, 1 or 2 technological reforms and one realises that the above description isn't valid anymore..while computer illiterate users still exist and are a reality, it's also a fact that the majority of users are no able to perform basic functions with their computer (surf the web, check their email, write documents and have their own facebook profile). Ergo, the old description doesn't hold anymore and a new one takes place. The great digital divide describes the difference between users who are locked down to only the technologies that have been pulled in front of their eyes while others are free enough to look around and use software and technologies that don't lock them down to a specific set of rules set by a company but are able to choose from a host of software that really suites their needs and their needs only. (A hefty price tag, may or may not apply).
Let's examine the computer of the common joe in malta; The computer was probably bought as a whole from a vendor or general computer store (think scan, klikk, atoz,). The computer is pre-installed with windows (99% of the cases not an option the user can choose to forgo).
STOP 1
1) The user was not given a choice on which operating system to have pre-installed on his new computer.
2) The user was charged an extra 93.173EUR for this "choice" in the case of windows xp. The premium is even higher for windows vista home premium edition. ( The premium may be less in some cases were a large amount of advertising/promotional software is pre-installed on your computer which degrade computer performance)
3) This "choice" restricted the user to only certain models as some of the older (and cheaper ) models do not support windows vista and the accompanying breed of bloated software, ergo the user was restricted to purchasing certain types of hardware only.
continue..
If the computer needs to be of any particular use to the average joe who is buying it, the seller will inevitably question the need of an office suite (This need is more pronounced in the case of parents with children as they would need to use office software for assignments, homework etc). The vendor will inevitably present some strain of Microsoft office (say 2003 or 2007...2007 probably being preferred and partially forced on the user).
STOP 2
As we can see, this pushed the user onto yet more expenses of office software. As an after affect, a borderline machine running vista home will struggle to work with office 2007 open and thus even more expensive hardware may be needed.
Final note: That's the purchase of a new computer system in a vendor lock-in environment. Other casual problems the user will encounter are: Forced payed for upgrades to new versions of windows. Inability to open certain file formats with Microsoft office since microsoft office does not support the ODF file format (which is an ISO standard ). Problems with every other mortal on the planet who doesnt use office 2007 or an office suite that can open microsoft's ooxml formats. DRM software running in the background of your operating system that examines all running processes and media. Inability to remove certain software from your computer such as: Microsoft messenger, internet Explorer, windows defender.
I, on the other hand run linux, my OS costs me nothing except a download and an empty cd. I use a free office suite (openoffice.org) that can open and edit and save all standard file formats. My operating system comes with a host of software for anything I may wish to do, however I have the easy and clear choice of removing/replacing this software with anything I want.
Many will retort that not being part of the crowd works against me..I guess I'd rather be free than staying with the crowd and live in chains.
M
