anti-trust - Gary Edwards on Diigo

Pat Gelsinger: Setting the record straight on ProShare

Anti-Trust testimony reveals the iron fist of Microsoft has a hand in ending the Gelsinger dream of a high speed video conferencing network of business services running over the Web.

Tags: andy-patrizio, pat-gelsinger, proshare, vri, microsoft, mcgeady, anti-trust on 2008-08-18 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Steven McGeady - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve McGeady was head of the Intel Labs Projec tthat developed ProShare Video Conferencing. I've often wondered why it was that the ProShare ISDN boards would not allow Internet connections! The answer might be here: Microsoft was illegally blocking Intel from implementing hardware direct Internet connectivity.

The only reason ProShare failed was this lack of Internet connectivity!!!!

Tags: intel, proshare, mcgeady, gelsinger, anti-trust on 2008-08-18 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Independent study advises IT planners to go OOXML: The Bill Gates MSOffice "formats and Protocol" eMail

The IOWA Comes vs. Microsoft antitrust suit evidence is now publicly available. This ZDNet Talkback posts an extraordinary eMail from Bill Gates concerning the need to control MSOffice formats and protocols as Microsoft pushes onto the Web. I've also attached a rather comprehensive summary of events regarding ISO approval of MSOffice OOXML, tying it back into the meaning of the 1998 eMail directive from Chairman Bill.

The key point is that Chairman Bill understands that the real threat to Microsoft is that of Open Web formats and protocols outside of Microsoft's control.

Tags: anti-trust, browser-wars, gates, msoffice, netscape, ooxml, w3c, comes, iowa on 2008-05-30 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Transcribed link to original Bill Gates: "Office Rendering" eMail (PDF):

http://boycottnovell.com/comes-vs-microsoft/text/msg00005.html

This part of a really good transcribed IOWA-Comes-Microsoft resource at:
http://boycottnovell.com/comes-vs-microsoft/text/
post by garyedwards on 2008-05-30
The Bill Gates 1998 eMail: Comes vs. Microsoft .... IOWA antitrust

From: Bill Gates Sent:
Saturday, December 5 1998
To: Bob Muglia, Jon DeVann, Steven Sinofsky
Subject : Office rendering

"One thing we have got to change in our strategy - allowing Office documents to be rendered very well by other peoples browsers is one of the most destructive things we could do to the company. We have to stop putting any effort into this and make sure that Office documents very well depends on PROPRIETARY IE capabilities. Anything else is suicide for our platform.

This is a case where Office has to avoid doing something to destroy Windows. I would be glad to explain at a greater length.

Likewise this love of DAV in Office/Exchange is a huge problem. I would also like to make sure people understand this as well."
post by garyedwards on 2008-05-30
The IOWA Comes vs. Microsoft antitrust suit evidence is now publicly available. This ZDNet Talkback posts an extraordinary eMail from Bill Gates concerning the need to control MSOffice formats and protocols as Microsoft pushes onto the Web.

The key point is that Chairman Bill understands that the real threat to Microsoft is that of Open Web formats and protocols outside of Microsoft's control. It's 1998, and the effort to "embrace and eXtend" W3C HTML, XHTML, SVG and CSS isn't working well. The good Chairman notifies the troops that MSOffice must come up with another plan.

Interestingly, it's not until 2001, when OpenOffice releases an XML encoding of the OpenOffice/StarOffice imbr that Microsoft finally sees a solution! (imbr = in-memory-binary-representation)

The MSOffice crew immediately sets to work creating a similar XML encoding of the MSOffice binary (imbr) dump. The first result is released in the MSOffice 2003 beta as "WordprocessingML and SpreadsheetML".

XML was designed as a structured language for creating specific structured languages. OpenOffice saw the potential of using XML to create an OpenOffice specific XML language. MSOffice seized the innovation and the rest is history. Problem solved!

So what was the "problem" the good Chairman identified in this secret eMail? It's that the Web is the future, and Microsoft needed to find a way of leveraging their existing desktop document "editor" monopoly share into owning and controlling the Web formats produced by Microsoft applications. MSOffice OOXML is the result.

ISO approval of MSOffice OOXML is beyond important to Microsoft. It establishes MSOffice "editors" as standards compliant. It also establishes the application, platform and vendor specific MSOffice OOXML as an international "open" standard.

Many will ask why this isn't a case of Microsoft actually opening up the MSOffice formats in compliance with government antitrust demands. It is "compliance", but not in the sense of what
post by garyedwards on 2008-05-30

3.2.2.2. A pox on both your houses!

gary.edwards - 01/22/08
Hi Robert,

What you've posted are examples of MSOffice ”compatibility settings” used to establish backwards compatibility with older documents, and, for the conversion of alien file formats (such as various versions of WordPerfect .wpd). These compatibility settings are unspecified in that we know the syntax but have no idea of the semantics. And without the semantic description there is no way other developers can understand implementation. This of course guarantees an unacceptable breakdown of interoperability.

But i would be hesitant to make my stand of rejecting OOXML based on this issue. It turns out that there are upwards of 150 unspecified compatibility settings used by OpenOffice/StarOffice. These settings are not specified in ODF, but will nevertheless show up in OpenOffice ODF documents – similarly defying interoperability efforts!

Since the compatibility settings are not specified or even mentioned in the ODF 1.0 – ISO 26300 specification, we have to go to the OOo source code to discover where this stuff comes from. Check out lines 169-211. Here you will find interesting settings such as, “UseFormerLineSpacing, UseFormerObjectPositioning, and UseFormerTextWrapping”.

So what's going on here?

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Wizard of ODF: The Foundation on Interop and the List Proposal Vote Deadline

If ever there was a discussion thread of consequence at the OASIS ODF TC, the "Enhanced List Proposal" donnybrook is it. This is where the ODF interoperability nightmare burst into the daylight of a showdown vote. The interop issues were clear. OpenDocument TC members voted between interoperability and/or application specific innovation. Application specific innovation trumped interoperability. Again.

And what a sad day it was. The thing is, the recent ECIS antit trust action against Microsoft comes at the request of IBM and Sun. They allege that Microsoft is violating standards requirements for interoperability, and has launched a series of corrupt activities to push through a non interoperable standard. They are right. Microsoft is guilty. The problem is that Microsoft can easily point to Sun and IBM activities at OASIS ODF, and make the same allegation! Using this thread as evidence!</p>\n\n<p>Furthermore, this thread is evidence that if Microsoft had tried to implement ODF, their efforts to establish interop would have been met with the same response from IBM and Sun that the OpenDocument Foundation received. Or so they could argue.

Houston, we have a problem.

IBM and Sun could have fixed the ODF interop problems at any time during the past five years. Yet, the world is waiting. Meanwhile, this will full negligence and lack of desire to address pressing market needs for full interop has served to hold the door open for OOXML. And now these negligent acts look to be the basis of a Microsoft counter claim.

Oh well ..

Tags: ECIS, anti-trust, foundation, odf, ooxml, opendocument, openxml on 2008-05-30 -All Annotations (0) -About

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The Internet Tidal Wave : Bill Gates 1995 - May 26th

The eMail Bill Gates sent out to his executive staff warning of the Internet Tidal wave certain to wash out the "Road Ahead" unless they came up with a plan. Gaining control over web formats and protocols by holding onto MSOffice desktop formats and client/server protocols was key. Link to Combs Anti Trust eMail from Gates in 1998

Tags: Gates, Internet, MSOffice, anti-trust, combs, antitrust on 2008-05-30 and saved by2 people -All Annotations (0) -About

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Antitrust: The EU Case Against Microsoft | Investingation, Court Proceedings, Decisions, Enforcment, Case Docuemnts

Tags: EU, MSOffice, Microsoft, OOXML, OpenXML, anti-trust on 2008-02-27 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Antitrust: Commission imposes € 899 million penalty on Microsoft for non-compliance with March 2004 DecisionOOXM

Tags: EU, Microsoft, OOXML, OpenXML, anti-trust on 2008-02-27 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Microsoft makes more code public - International Herald Tribune

Tags: ECIS, EU, ODF, OOXML, anti-trust on 2008-02-22 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Microsoft bids big for Yahoo - $44.6 Billion |Techworld.com

I hope the anti trust police are awake.

Tags: anti-trust, google, microsoft, yahoo on 2008-02-01 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Fat Guy in Salesforce hell - Flock

Tags: anti-trust, integration, interop, interoperability on 2007-10-01 -All Annotations (0) -About

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antitrust_eu_us.pdf (application/pdf Object) - Flock

Tags: anti-trust, eu, interoperability, microsoft on 2007-09-27 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Microsoft Watch - Corporate - Microsoft's Stunning Court Defeat

Tags: anti-trust, cdf, interoperability, microsoft, odf, ooxml on 2007-09-17 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Microsoft Watch Joe Wilcox is on the job. This particular hgihlighted quote speaks volumes. The USA anti trust settlement famously allowed Microsoft to commercialize interoperability through expensive licenses - $8 Million per year for just the basic package.

It looks like the EU would force those interoperability API's out into the open. I wonder how this position will impact the November 12 th hearing on lifting the USA anti trust oversight? We have the EU saying the monopolist is illegally maintaining their monopoly through various interop barricades. And, the USA about to declare that the interop barricades no longer exists, therefore, the monopolist should be free to wreck havoc.

The stage looks set for a vey dramatic final act.

post by garyedwards on 2007-09-17

"The Court considers that the Commission was correct to conclude that the work group server operating systems of Microsoft's competitors must be able to interoperate with Windows domain architecture on an equal footing with Windows operating systems if they are to be capable of being marketed viably. The absence of such interoperability has the effect of reinforcing Microsoft's competitive
position on the market and creates a risk that competition will be eliminated."
Here, U.S. oversight of Microsoft will continue until at least November 2009, largely because of server protocol licensing. The so-called "California group" of states—those that didn't settle the U.S. antitrust case—and other parties will likely ask the court here to align the two disclosure programs, extending the ruling's impact well beyond Europe.

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CALIFORNIA Final Report on MS Anti Trust Settlement

Tags: anti-trust, california, doj, microsoft, settlement on 2007-09-03 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Gary Edwards's Bookmarks tagged anti-trust → View Popular

Pat Gelsinger: Setting the record straight on ProShare

Steven McGeady - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Independent study advises IT planners to go OOXML: The Bill Gates MSOffice "formats and Protocol" eMail

3.2.2.2. A pox on both your houses!

Wizard of ODF: The Foundation on Interop and the List Proposal Vote Deadline

The Internet Tidal Wave : Bill Gates 1995 - May 26th

Antitrust: The EU Case Against Microsoft | Investingation, Court Proceedings, Decisions, Enforcment, Case Docuemnts

Antitrust: Commission imposes € 899 million penalty on Microsoft for non-compliance with March 2004 DecisionOOXM

Microsoft makes more code public - International Herald Tribune

Microsoft bids big for Yahoo - $44.6 Billion |Techworld.com

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Fat Guy in Salesforce hell - Flock

antitrust_eu_us.pdf (application/pdf Object) - Flock

Microsoft Watch - Corporate - Microsoft's Stunning Court Defeat

CALIFORNIA Final Report on MS Anti Trust Settlement

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