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innocents abroad
Geez, that was a long article. And at the end of it I can't avoid the conclusion that, at least in some ways, Microsoft WAS railroaded by a process that appeared on the surface to be friendly, but underneath was dead set on changing the nature of standards licensing.

It would be reasonable for Microsoft to assume, based on the early discussions you describe in detail, that Massachusetts wanted a specific level of openness in their license and negotiated it, apparently to both sides' satisfaction, only to have the line shift much farther toward the "totally open" end of the spectrum later.

This problem is very clearly seen in MA IT general counsel Linda Hamel's comments quoted in the second page of your article. A reasonable summary of her comments is, "we moved the line later in the process due to criticism from the public."

I think the thing most people should worry about is not that Massachusetts schemed to somehow lock out Microsoft as a vendor. You should worry that IT bumpkins like the MA IT division would be able to create ANY process that, in the end, could determine standards processes for an entire industry. In the end it seems clear that THEY are the group that got railroaded because they let so many anti-Microsoft forces control the process.
Posted by: GDF   Posted on: 10/17/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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Deja vue all over again  garyedwards@... | 10/14/05
Ouch that's ughly  garyedwards@... | 10/14/05
Don't feel bad  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/14/05
Just one quibble  Mark Miller | 10/14/05
Quible Correction  garyedwards@... | 10/15/05
Supplementing your research  Andy Updegrove | 10/14/05
More Details  Andy Updegrove | 10/14/05
Good article  Mark Miller | 10/14/05
You're welcome Mark and...  dberlind | 10/14/05
innocents abroad  GDF | 10/17/05
Massachusetts FAQ is Highly Recommended  Andy Updegrove | 10/14/05
By the way, they are running Linux/Apache/Tomcat, and probably other open  DonnieBoy | 10/15/05
devil in the details  GDF | 10/18/05
save ODF by default  Eduardo_z | 10/15/05
Not just licensing  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/14/05
A lawyer's analysis of Microsoft's license  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/14/05
So the MA officials admit they railroaded Microsoft.  Anton Philidor | 10/14/05
Yes and no  Mark Miller | 10/14/05
Nice try, needs more work  garyedwards@... | 10/15/05
Let's say the choice is either/or.  Anton Philidor | 10/15/05
Prima dona  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/15/05
If it's true this "fork" exists...  Anton Philidor | 10/15/05
How do you figure?  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/15/05
Yes, Microsoft wants to be paid...  Anton Philidor | 10/15/05
Yes, and Massachusetts wants an open format.  DonnieBoy | 10/15/05
Re: Yes, Microsoft wants to be paid...  none none | 10/15/05
No, the Open Document format can be read and written from proprietary  DonnieBoy | 10/15/05
The right to mess up a format.  Anton Philidor | 10/15/05
Read again, the MS license is NOT compatible with most open source licenses  DonnieBoy | 10/15/05
Not so, Anton  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/15/05
Open source developer veto over licenses.  Anton Philidor | 10/15/05
Well, Massechusettes CAN come up with a standard all can read and write.  DonnieBoy | 10/15/05
Its not "Microsoft or the open source developers"  Andrew Langmead | 10/15/05
Yes!  Mark Miller | 10/15/05
SOA is the key  Eduardo_z | 10/15/05
Still missing the point...  rkhalloran | 10/17/05
Please expand on that for DB  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/15/05
Joint stewardship, binary keys, etc.  dberlind | 10/15/05
Microsoft was given many chances to come into compliance with their license  DonnieBoy | 10/15/05
Sacrificing IP or sacrificing vendor lock in  nhussein | 10/15/05
Re:So the MA officials admit they railroaded Microsoft.  bugmenotznet | 10/15/05
You misunderstood  Henaway | 10/17/05
"the proverbial executive decision"  thirtyeast | 10/15/05
agree  Eduardo_z | 10/16/05
Bad handling  Chad_z | 10/15/05
A dodge?  Andrew Langmead | 10/15/05
A simple question for MS supporters  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/15/05
Journalism with honor  Scottman_z | 10/15/05
Very much appreciated Scott  dberlind | 10/15/05
Excellent article  rhricik@... | 10/16/05
Tip for David  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/16/05
That's Federal, not Massachusetts, and its contracts...  dberlind | 10/17/05
Note that  Yagotta B. Kidding | 10/17/05
Microsoft controls Government officals and the media  IT-sys | 10/16/05
Democracy?  MWSherman | 10/17/05
Psssstt...Sherman....  techboy_z | 10/17/05
Appreciate that  MWSherman | 10/17/05
You're wrong.  Henaway | 10/17/05
That's one  MWSherman | 10/17/05
ODF users  JDThompson | 10/17/05
Lowest Common Denominator is a *good* thing  jbm_z | 10/17/05
Pssst  lengua99 | 10/26/05
Informed democracy  rsawoseyin | 10/17/05
Save us from ourselves?  MWSherman | 10/17/05
Wow.  Henaway | 10/17/05
A modest suggestion  LGLisle | 10/17/05
Great idea!  JDThompson | 10/17/05
To M$: Ain't Karma a Biatch?  John_inSeattle@... | 10/17/05
MS is out of touch with reality  glocks out | 10/17/05
Excellent Job, Berlind!  evangelinux | 10/17/05
Interesting, Factual, Superb Journalism  SandyMak | 10/17/05
Small Fish  Sheeva | 10/18/05
reality show of the near future  GDF | 10/18/05
Dude ...  Henaway | 10/18/05
Jones on Jones  interoperate | 10/18/05
Format for Print/Forward in email  BobT_z | 10/19/05
ODF v XML - Nothing Changes  SandyMak | 10/19/05
Microsoft love/hate .... you all miss the point  Castanet | 10/21/05

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