Micro$oft influencing partner NGOs to support OOXML in India

[praka123]

Microsoft influencing partner NGOs to support OOXML in India

By Mayank Sharma on March 04, 2008 (9:00:00 PM)

Microsoft is encouraging its business partners to promote its Office Open XML specification (OOXML) to the Indian Bureau of Standards (BIS) and Ministry of IT. This move has incensed supporters of the rival OpenDocument Format (ODF) who fear that the "soft" Indian state may not be able to stand up to Microsoft pressure tactics.



Open Source Initiative (OSI) board member Raj Mathur claims to have a copy of the Microsoft letter to NGOs. "Microsoft has 'persuaded' several non-profit organizations," Mathur writes, "to bombard the Indian IT Secretary and the Additional Director General of the Bureau of Indian Standards with letters supporting its OOXML proposal."


Mathur describes the letters as "form letters" due to their template-like nature. "As per our discussion," the letter says, "please find attached the draft letters -- please cut/edit/ delete and change it any which way you find useful. Also attached is the list of NGOs who have sent the letters. And attached is also a document that details wht [sic] this debate is all about. Look forward to hear from you in this regard. In case you decide to send the letters, can you please send me a scan of the singed [sic] letters that you send out. Thanks this will help me track the process."


The letters themselves ask the NGOs to paraphrase "We support OXML [sic] as a standard that encourages multiplicity of choice and interoperability giving us the ultimate consumer the choice. [The NGO] recognizes that multiple standards are good for the economy and also for technical innovation and progress in the country, especially for smaller organizations like us, who require choice and innovation." After advising the NGO to write about their work, the Microsoft letters asks them to paraphrase "[The NGO] also supports OXML as this does not have any financial implications thus releasing our resources for welfare and development of society."


In a telephone interview, Venkatesh Hariharan, cofounder of the Open Source Foundation of India, says he doesn't blame the NGOs for sending the letters, "because they probably don't know what they are supporting." Mathur is of the same opinion and is interested in finding out "... how much they [the NGOs] really know about OOXML and open standards."
Microsoft works with several NGOs in India via its Project Jyoti program. None of the NGOs listed on the Project Jyoti Web site responded to email queries regarding the letters.


"India is a soft state," says Hariharan. "These kinds of unethical practices are going unchecked. [It's] very sad to see NGOs being misused for this kind of a process."


When contacted, Microsoft India's head for corporate communications, Meenu Handa, did not directly answer why the NGOs have been asked to endorse OOXML when they might not fully comprehend the issues involved. Handa instead gave us background on the Project Jyoti program and said that Microsoft has partnered with 13 NGOs with "cash and software grants amounting to only Rs37.5 crores (approx $9.3 million US)."


"The NGOs," Handa says, "represent an important section of society. It is for this reason that their views were sought to be represented on the committee formed by Bureau of India Standards (BIS) on the issue of [Office] Open XML. As an important stakeholder in this process, we have sought their opinion and support on the issue. Participating in the stewardship of what could become one of the world's most widely used document formats is an issue which the community is deeply interested in, as it is centered around customer choice and innovation. It is one point of view. There are others, I am sure.


"The process put in place by ISO to consider OOXML in the global library of standards is designed to enable national bodies from sovereign nations to participate in the review and improvement of standards deemed to be beneficial to the global IT industry and its users. [Office] Open XML is a strong example of that.


"I am sure you are also aware that the number of NGOs who have expressed their voluntary support on [Office] Open XML far exceeds the program partners we have for Project Jyoti. The decision to send a letter of support was made by each individual organization basis [sic] its own merit. Likewise, many of our partners also chose not to voice their opinion."


The NGOs aren't the only Microsoft partners to be receiving letters of support for the company. Last month, a respected Indian industry body, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), issued a press statement "in public interest" recommending standardization of OOXML. According to Hariharan when questioned by a journalist, ASSOCHAM admitted to supporting Microsoft because the company is a member of the association.


Hariharan is peeved with ASSOCHAM because it did not consult any of the bodies campaigning for open standards in India. "I think FICCI had also got a request [from Microsoft]," says Hariharan, "and they circulated that among the members and they got opinion from IBM. And today how difficult is it to check up on an issue?"


This isn't the first time Microsoft has tried to influence its partners. Last year in Sweden the company offered extra "marketing contributions" to its business partners to encourage them to vote for OOXML. The trick worked, but the "yes" vote was later declared invalid. Following on the heels of the record antitrust fine, the European Union is now looking into Microsoft's activities in gaining approval for its OOXML format.


"India has not woken up politically," Hariharan says, "to the impact of [selecting the right standard]. So while we are discussing OOXML at a technical level, the issue is far deeper than that. Many people now say that holding of patents on standards is a non-tariff barrier to trade."
The Microsoft letters to the NGO are a wake-up call for groups rooting for open standards in India. "We'll talk to all the policy makers we know of," Hariharan says, "because these kind of proprietary standards are a tax on human communication and don't add any value to the local economy. And especially when there are multiple alternatives, we see no reason why India should compromise."



source and comments:

http://www.linux.com/feature/128528

[iMav]

thats good news

[gary4gar]

Its all a power game, the more money you have the move influential you are.


where as i don't see a need why we should have another format since we already have one?
why can't MS adopt it, if it can't then why is want other to adopt its format.

Double standards

[kumarmohit]

Double standards

Literally

[Cyrus_the_virus]

Man, this sux. Even after the entire world has made it very clear that OOXML is not open and will never become an open standard and is at the verge of getting voted out at this month's ballot resolution at the ISO, we Indians still have the courage to suc the redmond man's feet. Shame on us!

Corruption is not just in politics in India, a very large part of Indians give a damn about the general public and how anything will affect larger India and are out there to just fulfill their own sh1tty vested interests!

[praka123]

^shame on M$ India for bullying others for supporting ooxml crap

[kumarmohit]

My personal thought is that instead of being bothered about what office file formats we have in India as of now, we should focus on getting paper and pencils to people first.

Instead of debating over office file format, we need more offices first. File formats is not something to mull over when 75% of population cannot differentiate between A B C and D.

But then again, it is MS what do you expect? Just like in Kerala where govt is trying to impose a Linux monopoly, why should MS be left behind when it has already drawn fire for that.

On the other hand I think that if MS wants its formats in and accepted, they must make them better in all regards.

[CadCrazy]

thats good news

What else we can expect from a fanboy

^shame on M$ India for bullying others for supporting ooxml crap

Buddy your keyboard is defective. Replace it

[iMav]

emphasis on the word PARTNERS

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

where as i don't see a need why we should have another format since we already have one?
why can't MS adopt it, if it can't then why is want other to adopt its format.

If i am not wrong MS Office has the largest Market share in Office Suites . So it's Default File format has been(and should) be the the standard for office documents .

No one had problems with the older Binary Office Format then why the problem with this one.

[Cyrus_the_virus]

If i am not wrong MS Office has the largest Market share in Office Suites . So it's Default File format has been(and should) be the the standard for office documents .

No one had problems with the older Binary Office Format then why the problem with this one.

It's better to talk after you understand why OOXML is crap and should never become a standard. I guess you are simply not aware of what's been happening lately.

Please read this and many other articles on the net which will clearly tell you what standardization is all about.
Microsoft accused of stacking ISO committee

Only and open format is eligible to become an ISO standard, as simple as that. OOXML is pretending to be open when it is not and will not be open! Your thinking of what a standard should be is simply not going to help the world. A standard is not held by a company!

[Hitboxx]

If i am not wrong MS Office has the largest Market share in Office Suites . So it's Default File format has been(and should) be the the standard for office documents .

No one had problems with the older Binary Office Format then why the problem with this one.

How can that be right? It like saying, assuming country XYZ is the most powerful in the world and hence the entire world should adopt its standards.

Standards should be mutual.

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

How can that be right? It like saying, assuming country XYZ is the most powerful in the world and hence the entire world should adopt its standards.

Standards should be mutual.

Or it's like saying if one thing already works fine why look for something else .

My dad's PDA support MS Office documents and virtually an mobile office application has support for MS-Office documents whereas support for OpenOffice(ODF) documents is almost non-existant .

[Cyrus_the_virus]

Or it's like saying if one thing already works fine why look for something else .

@zeeshan, read the thread i gave you before you say anything further, because it's not something everybody is going to understand by just looking at the surface of it.

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

@zeeshan, read the thread i gave you before you say anything further, because it's not something everybody is going to understand by just looking at the surface of it.

I'm looking at Details bout OOXML not being open and the comparisons n stuff .

BTW , if you do not know . C# has been approved as an ECMA Standard(ECMA-334) ans ISO Standard(ISO/IEC 23270) and i can only see that Other vendors(borland,etc) are now openly selling their own C# compilers .

Also , Mono is also possible because C# is a Standard and thus anyone can write their own implementation of it .

If OOXML goes this way then i do not see any problem whatsoever .

[MetalheadGautham]

If i am not wrong MS Office has the largest Market share in Office Suites . So it's Default File format has been(and should) be the the standard for office documents .

No one had problems with the older Binary Office Format then why the problem with this one.

dude, we can only have a standard if its fully implementable by anyone, and has a fully open doccumentation and is usable by anyone and easily modifyable. In simple words, a national or international standard must be OpenSource or in the public domain. If M$ is really intrested in making their format a standard, they must work together with OpenDoccument format guys and combine the features and advantages of both and make a unified open format that can be used by every application in the future.

[gary4gar]

Why do we need double standards?

Double standards are always bad

[phr33d0m]

My personal thought is that instead of being bothered about what office file formats we have in India as of now, we should focus on getting paper and pencils to people first.

Instead of debating over office file format, we need more offices first. File formats is not something to mull over when 75% of population cannot differentiate between A B C and D.

But then again, it is MS what do you expect? Just like in Kerala where govt is trying to impose a Linux monopoly, why should MS be left behind when it has already drawn fire for that.

On the other hand I think that if MS wants its formats in and accepted, they must make them better in all regards.

What monopoly ?
the govt. just saved more than 20Cr. INR for repetative expenses wen using proprietary s/w by converting to OSS
nw Kerala Electricty Board runs its own s/w in linux that saved more money too..

[narangz]

My personal thought is that instead of being bothered about what office file formats we have in India as of now, we should focus on getting paper and pencils to people first.

Instead of debating over office file format, we need more offices first. File formats is not something to mull over when 75% of population cannot differentiate between A B C and D.

But then again, it is MS what do you expect? Just like in Kerala where govt is trying to impose a Linux monopoly, why should MS be left behind when it has already drawn fire for that.

On the other hand I think that if MS wants its formats in and accepted, they must make them better in all regards.

+1. Its competition

[din]

Just like in Kerala where govt is trying to impose a Linux monopoly, why should MS be left behind when it has already drawn fire for that.

I have no clue why people do not understand things even after explaining it well in detail !!!

Man, please go through the first post in this thread - Linux in Kerala Schools - Fact Sheet

That was for all who discussed the topic here and who do not know the details.

[Cyrus_the_virus]

Guys, please stop this! Stop crapping an OS war without understand what this is all about!

Please make the distinction between an ISO standard and competition!

If you guys want to say something, please stick to the topic and say something regarding OOXML and ISO standards! If you have any intentions of craping this thread with more Linux v/s Windows war, it's simply not going to be apreciated!

For those of you who have no idea about what's happening now at ISO and what the problems regarding OOXML are, it's better you don't post here and post in some thread that has something to do with Linux v/s Windows!

For those who want to know what all this OOXML and ISO thing is all about, a good start can be here:
Microsoft accused of stacking ISO committee

[naveen_reloaded]

its big money invi\ovled and its bussiness... lets see wht happens..