Microsoft's Lobbying In Massachusetts

Andy Updegrove writes "Carol Sliwa at ComputerWorld has posted two excellent stories just now on ODF in Massachusetts, based on over 300 emails secured under the Massachusetts Public Records Law (the local analogue of the Federal Freedom of Information Act). The longer and more intriguing article focuses on Microsoft's lobbying efforts in Massachusetts, and confirms, as I reported last week, that Microsoft lobbyist Brian Burke was spearheading an effort to bring pressure on the state's Information Technology Division (ITD) by promoting an amendment that would have taken away much of the ITD's power to make technology policy. The article goes on to describe the back-channel negotiations between State CIO Louis Gutierrez and Microsoft's Alan Yates, and the way that Microsoft played the lobbying card throughout those discussions in an effort to protect its wildly profitable Office software franchise against potential erosion by competing products that support ODF." Andy has a blog entry on the lobbying effort.

Comments

Be careful what you wish for....

[PHAEDRU5]

Long ago I remember a Microsoft that had nothing but contempt for the political process. A Microsoft that intended to dominate the market through mass, vendor lockout, FUD, giving stuff away, etc.

You know, the Microsoft that got sued.

Having learned the lesson that ignoring politicians is not good for your health, is it any wonder that Microsoft is lobbying as hard as it can?

Good luck to them. I'll be happy to see them take their lumps when they screw up their technology badly enough that the world moves en masse to something better. Meanwhile, I'm smirking at the do-gooders and busybodies who are being hoisted on their own petards.

Re:Be careful what you wish for....

[cptgrudge]

Meanwhile, I'm smirking at the do-gooders and busybodies who are being hoisted on their own petards.

And ultimately, the taxpayers of Massachusetts may be hoisted along with them.

Please submit resume in ODF format.

[arthurpaliden]

Why do tech companies that work with OSS not insist on resumes only in ODF. Gently force the issue. After all other companies only accept DOC.

Re:Please submit resume in ODF format.

[Aadain2001]

Why not skip all this formatting crud and simply ask for ASCII. That way, the document is already in an easily parsed format and allows the employer to use search functions and keywords to identify potential interviewees.

Re:Microsoft used to be almost the model corporati

[nine-times]

The model corporation for leftists? It seems to me that they might have been considered a triumph of capitalism and the free market before all these anti-trust issues. Now they're a perfect case for people who want government intervention in the market.

The unfortunate thing is that, whenever the current US government gets into managing things, they seem to go wherever the money is. Lobbyists have too much influence, and they're good at what they do, so whoever is paying the most for lobbyists is likely to come out on top. Therefore, government intervention tends to take the form of things like the DMCA instead of meaningful anti-trust actions.

ODF in Saugus, MA

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd read before here and there that Saugus, MA has been experimenting with the OpenDocument format for a (relative) long time. Does anyone know what the outcome there was? Is ODF still being used in Saugus?

It's all bloatware

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft's shenanigans appalls. But the sad thing is all this stuff is bloatware. Oo.org is even more bloated, and rather slower, than Office. And way back when it was Wordperfect started the rot.

Take wp programs. *Most* people could do all the word-processing they need in a lightweight application that uses rft format. Software sellers have relied on adding "features" - features that most of their customers don't understand and don't need - to keep selling "upgraded" versions of their software. And with the added complexity come sluggishness, the need for ever-more powerful hardware, insecurity - Office macros, anyone? - and instability. Heck, MS did a survey asking people what new features they'd like to see in Office, and the amusing thing is that all the top answers were *already* in it; the customers simply didn't know they were there.

All Microsoft's products are like this - feature-driven. That's why there are more holes in Windows than in OpenBSD, which is quality-driven. But MS are not the only offenders here by any means.

Corporate PETITION -- Re:Call a spade a spade

[gaspar ilom]

I work at a tech company in Massachusetts.

MSFT has obviously monopoly leveraged *huge* extra costs on virtually all businesses in this state and others.

Does anyon know if there's any such thing as a "corporate petition" that I could pesuade my company to join?

Damn Straight

[Greyfox]

Companies lobbying the government subvert democracy. That works when the taxpayers aren't paying attention but the country seems to be getting irritable about all the corruption at this point. I'm thinking news story about any law being made should mention how much money the sponsoring Congessmen get from the industry lobbies the bill helps out. Then you could say something like "Ted Stevens tried to attach a rider to the budget bill to the budget proposal again. Sen. Stevens has received $372,140 from oil and gas companies over the course of his career (According to opensecrets.org.)" I think there'd be far fewer shennanigans if news stories took that tone. I think it'd be better still if lobbying and riders were outlawed outright but then Congress wouldn't be able to get their piggy fingers on any of that pie. And Congress does like their pie...