Dutch ODF Plan Could Sideline Microsoft 168
Yeti7226 sends word of a discussion coming up Wednesday in the parliament of The Netherlands that could result in mandated use of Open Document Format at government agencies there. If the plan is enacted, public-sector organizations, as well as the government, would have to transition to using ODF by 2010. Microsoft Netherlands has lobbied hard against the provision. Backers say it doesn't exclude Microsoft, because ODF can be produced out of MS Office via the use of plugins. A funder of the OpenDoc Society invited Microsoft to join that organization, saying: "This plan is not about Microsoft, it's about ensuring the perpetual availability of data without any obstacles."
MSFT makes a counter offer (Score:5, Funny)
MSFT countered saying that it has nothing against its users ensuring perpetual availability of their data residing in their machines and it would gladly join the organization if Microsoft's right to perpetual profits could be guaranteed.
"Free!" (TM) (c) [Pat. Pend.] (Score:5, Funny)
See, that's the beauty of " Free! " (TM) (c) [Pat. Pend.] [All rights withheld by Microsoft, 2007] -- you can " Freely! " make anything equal anything else! What convenience, what ease of use, what utility! A few examples: Winter is the new summer, Stay the course, Up is down, Copyright is good for the consumer! Rinsema is simply worried that not enough people know about this Fantastic! New! Opportunity!, and is trying to make sure everyone knows that " Free! " is actually equal to $130 or whatever MS Office sells for.
It's all perfectly logical, really.
Re:Misleading Title on the Article (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Well no wonder (Score:5, Funny)
No, it's true... Microsoft did a proof: (Score:5, Funny)
* Step 1: Let a = b.
* Step 2: Then a^2 = ab ,
* Step 3: a^2 + a^2 = a^2 + ab ,
* Step 4: 2a^2 = a^2 + ab ,
* Step 5: 2a^2 - 2ab = a^2 + ab - 2ab ,
* Step 6: and 2a^2 - 2ab = a^2 - ab .
* Step 7: This can be written as 2(a^2 - ab) = 1(a^2 - ab) ,
* Step 8: and canceling the (a^2 - ab) from both sides gives 1=2.
* Step 9: We then subtract 1 from each side which gives us 0=1
* Step 8: then multiplying by x where x is the price of the Microsoft suite you are investing in... you will note that x=0 and thus Microsoft is completely free!
Microsoft whining in the press (Score:4, Funny)
Re:No, it's true... Microsoft did a proof: (Score:5, Funny)
This is Microsoft, there's no error!
Re:No, it's true... Microsoft did a proof: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Said another way, Re:lol. (Score:1, Funny)
Re:No, it's true... Microsoft did a proof: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:No, it's true... Microsoft did a proof: (Score:1, Funny)