Shenanigan in the Deals

Story: Xandros and Microsoft to build Open Source translatorTotal Replies: 7
Author Content
Abe

Jun 21, 2007
4:02 PM EDT
Well, well, well. What do you know!

How many companies has MS contracted with to develop ODF-OOXML translator? A company in France, another in WA, then Novell, now Xandros. It seems MS is employing quite a few outfits just to develop this translator. I guess it is just conducting normal business.
azerthoth

Jun 21, 2007
4:19 PM EDT
Did I read that right? That it will be open source and then only available through Xandros? Can someone tell me how that works?
dinotrac

Jun 21, 2007
4:27 PM EDT
>Can someone tell me how that works?

Badly is my guess.
azerthoth

Jun 21, 2007
5:45 PM EDT
oof I did kind of set myself up for that one.

Gotta love dino, runs screaming from the room when the bad puns start but he cant pass up a straight line to save his life.
NoDough

Jun 21, 2007
6:54 PM EDT
Quoting:That it will be open source and then only available through Xandros?


Open Source < FOSS.

I can make the source of something I write available, but under a non-free license.
dinotrac

Jun 21, 2007
7:30 PM EDT
>runs screaming from the room when the bad puns start

You got that wrong -- I pun from the bathroom when the runs start streaming.
kozmcrae

Jun 21, 2007
8:02 PM EDT
"It seems MS is employing quite a few outfits just to develop this translator."

That's four different translators. They'll all work a little differently. Then Microsoft will shout out to the world how much "work" they've accomplished and how much they've "contributed" to Open Source. In fact they will have helped to fracture the Open Source method. We may not know what their plans are but there is no doubt that their dream is to kill or neutralize Open Source.
Shagbag

Jun 22, 2007
1:20 AM EDT
This is bad news.

Allowing Open XML to become a standard is yet another way that M$ can cement its monopoly position - it will control the standard so any open source translator will always be playing catch-up.

It really is disheartening that M$, yet again, appears to wiggling out of having any sort of external control over it.

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