Microsoft vetos technical comments in Norway

Re: Microsoft vetos technical comments in Norway

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:06:21 +0000

Belive it or not; this forum post actually made it into a Norwegian newsite, with the sub-headline "Microsoft compared with the Nazis on a website".

http://digi.no/php/art.php?id=394862

Re: Norway AD 1940

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:32:49 +0000

Cool, thanks for beating me on factual grounds.

"But I control 100% and won't change my story."

;-)

Norway AD 1940

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:24:38 +0000

Just to make that clear,

Germany invaded Norway mainly to get control of ice-free harbours, which later proved important for attacking the convoys with military material support going to Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.

Norwegian resistance was quite weak, although the German Kriegsmarine lost Blücher at Drøbak, and the army suffered a defeat (its first, I think) at Narvik.

-k

Re: Microsoft vetos technical comments in Norway

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:07:32 +0000

Norway didn't have oil untill late 1960s so no oil for nazi germany from Norway ;)

Re: Microsoft vetos technical comments in Norway

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:43:11 +0000

A 100% consensus is indeed high for what amounts to a political decision, therefore ensuring a non-vote. Many countries seem to require 66%. Switzerland requires 75%. With four or five dozen members, the Swiss committee is very large, and a great many of these are Microsoft partners. It looks like a photo finish between "Approve…" and "Abstain…" if the Swiss Normen Vereinigung sticks to its 75% rule, and some of us indeed envy Norway for a simple and clear non-decision, saving everybody a lot of time!
Theo Schmidt

Microsoft vetos technical comments in Norway

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 09:32:32 +0000

You probably noticed the new caricature. Microsoft and their YES-Men. It is not meant as a joke or exaggeration. This is exactly how it works. In 1940 the German Reich invaded Norway to get control over their oil. This summer a vendor invades Standard Committees worldwide to keep a strategic resource of its business under control: document standards. While in 1940 Norway's resistance was very strong, in 2007 the Norwegian standard process is broken. We are watching the same incidences as found everywhere. First Norway faces an increase of interest.

Before the pile of 6500 pages of OOXML specification was placed in the lap of the Norwegian committee, they numbered 4 members. Half a year later we count 46. The matter does indeed engage people.

Then the usual corruption of process? No! Norway grants them power to veto all comments.

The meeting started out with the Vice President of Standard Norge trying to lay down the rules of the game: We are here to go through the documents with comments to the standard and only those comments that we agree on will be passed on to ISO. He took up the first point (mine) and asked: “Are there any disagreement to this point?“. Unsurprisingly, a lady from Microsoft replied “We disagree“. He went on “Ok, so we have a disagreement on this point” and was ready to move on to the next. I and many with me dropped our jaws. “Are you seriously telling us that if Microsoft here says no to a point, it’s pulled from the list?“. “Yes, that is how the process works“. “And they can do that without even giving an explanation as to why they don’t agree?“.

Read the full story in Geir Isene blog. The standardization of Open XML is a never-ending farce but the Geir Isene article is probably one of the most entertaining reports. I wonder what Norwegians think about that? What does Parliament say?