On Monday 31 March 2008 01:16 pm, Venkatesh Hariharan wrote:
The standard operating process of Microsoft has been:
a) Stuff the committee with supporters (as happened in Pakistan and other countries) b) If that doesn't work and the committee says NO to OOXML then c) Complain to the ministries under which the committee works, threaten to withdraw investment, get proxies to file complaints etc. In India, I hear that they raised the issue with the Prime Minister's Office and the PM called for a meeting on this issue on Thursday. Apparently, the head of one of the software export houses (a VERY respected person) also sent a fax supporting OOXML *after* the committee had given its decision, trying to overturn India's NO vote.
Probably the same one who said that multiple standards are good for the public and promotes competition. I wonder if he is getting senile.
Someone should ask whether these companies represent India's interests on the BIS committee or are they protecting their dollar revenues?
The $ countries have already voted yes. It is local competition for big central / state government contracts that specify iso standards WITHOUT M$ patented DIS(functional)25000.
The final outcome is likely to be yes in the ISO, given corrupt M$ practices.
And the public will be fattening the beast for the next 15 years, like they did for the last 15, with their hard earned money.