Despite the rather surprising news that Microsoft won't have a comprehensive open source strategy until 2015, there's increasing evidence that it has at least established its shorter-term tactic: to head off the growing use of GNU/Linux.

Publishers aim for OpenDocument Format (ODF) whilst OOXML faces a few new barriers, exploits tricks

Microsoft is the only sponsor and it implicitly warns that users can get sued on the face of it

Microsoft may be able to brow-beat the world into using Vista on fully functional PCs, but if they walk away from XP on simple, cheap computers and cede the market to Linux, they are a dead man walking.

The 20th February 2008 was one of those 'Microsoft moments', when suddenly, the world changed. Just like when they 'got' the network (and we got NT), or they 'got' the Internet (and we got 'Internet Explorer'). This time they 'got' Open Source and Open Standards and the company is about to make another of their legendary radical transformations... or so they would like you to believe.

It is no longer a secret that Microsoft’s brand is has slid down the gutter because various independent (and very recent) surveys were conducted to show this. Microsoft was seemingly the fastest-sinking brand and was also one of the fastest-sinking places to work for.

Advocating free and open source software often will go hand in hand with pointing out issues or problems with particular Microsoft strategies. Considering that FOSS is the only 'thing' left that competes with Microsoft on the same breadth of products and market places, it is no surprise that Microsoft sees the need to defend itself.

RMS: « 100,000 people's movements were tracked through their cell phones for a scientific study.

This is a reminder that Big Brother can track anyone's cell phone. Do you want all your movements to be tracked?

Remember that the only way to stop most cell phones from reporting their whereabous is to take the batteries out.» -- via RMS website