Allegations of Microsoft Influencing Vote on OpenXML in Sweden
The Swedish Standards Institute (SiS) has approved the inclusion of Microsoft's Office OpenXML as an ISO standard. The Swedish Society for Free Information Culture (Förening för en fri informationsinfrastruktur), FFII, alleges that Microsoft influenced the vote via its Swedish partner corporations.
The report by the FFII states that, shortly before the vote, 23 new members appeared at an SiS meeting. Around 20 of them were Microsoft partners, says FFII. Whereas the mood among members had previously been dismissive, the result of the subsequent vote was a clear "Yes". As a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Sweden thus recommends the adoption of Office OpenXML as an ISO standard.
The new members had not participated in a single session of the committee responsible for the decision, says the FFII. Of the 23 new members, 19 had applied for membership after August 23, FFII member David Vuorio writes in his blog.
ISO members are currently voting on the adoption of Office OpenXML into the standard.
Issue 248/2021
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
Nvidia and Valve Collaborate to Bring DLSS to Linux
Both powerhouses in the gaming industry are trying to make the experience on Linux much improved, by way of DLSS.
-
Kali Linux 2021.2 Official Release Now Available
The latest iteration of security fan-favorite Kali Linux has been released with new tools, themes, and plenty of improvements.
-
Entroware Unleashes a Beast of a Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a portable workhorse, look no further than the Entroware Proteus laptop.
-
System76 Unveils its “Launch” Keyboard
The open-source darling, System76, is about to launch the Launch keyboard and you can pre-order yours now.
-
Armbian 21.05 Now Available
The Armbian developers have released the latest update to the Debian-based Linux distribution geared for ARM and embedded devices.
-
StarLabs has Released Another Linux Laptop
A new 14" Linux laptop has been released by the company that created the 11" Star Lite and can be purchased with your choice of Linux distribution.
-
Ubuntu 21.04 Adds Support for Active Directory and Other Major Changes
In a bid to help make Linux more viable for the business desktop, Canonical adds support for Active Directory and a few other notable changes.
-
GNOME 40 Available on openSUSE
The rolling release edition of openSUSE, Tumbleweed, now offers the latest version of the GNOME desktop.
-
Apple M1 Hardware Support to be Merged into Linux Kernel 5.13
Linux users will be able to install their favorite distribution on Apple’s M1-based hardware.
-
KDE Launches the Qt 5 Patch Collection
To support and maintain a stable Qt 5 for KDE Gears and Frameworks, KDE will maintain a patch collection.