Slashdot Mirror
EU Calls For Use of Open Standards
fondacio writes "In a speech that is being reported as taking a swipe at Microsoft, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has called for businesses and governments to use software based on open standards. While not mentioning Microsoft by name, Ms. Kroes referred to the fact that '[t]he [European] Commission has never before had to issue two periodic penalty payments in a competition case' until this befell Microsoft. The things she told a conference in Brussels will not come as a surprise to Slashdot readers, but it's encouraging to hear the following quotes from someone in her position: 'Where interoperability information is protected as a trade secret, there may be a lot of truth in the saying that the information is valuable because it is secret, rather than being secret because it is valuable... we should only standardize when there are demonstrable benefits, and we should not rush to standardize on a particular technology too early... I fail to see the interest of customers in including proprietary technology in standards when there are no clear and demonstrable benefits over non-proprietary alternatives.'"
Neelie Kroes rules. She makes me proud to be Dutch. That does not happen too often. Soccer be damned.
should Microsoft decide to step straight into the fist as it's flying, that's their right. but then don't come whining about being decked by a girl.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Strict gun control & Hate Speech laws *ARE* bad things. If you can't see why, you are too far wrapped in the warm and fuzzy feel good of these do-nothing-but-make-you-a-victim laws. Otherwise you might have taken a look at the world around you and noticed how dangerous and cruel it actually is. Then at least you would be better prepared. Look at the world around you and decide if you'd rather have the option to defend your own life with your own tools, or wait for the police to come, clean up your body, and file a report. http://mwkworks.com/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html
Be Safe! Sleep with a Marine. Semper Fi!