As laws are reformed, Microsoft is misusing the "open source" buzz (formerly Free software) to take over government contracts

The leader of Microsoft’s integration efforts around open source software and its proprietary technologies is expanding his role by adding the title "general manager of Windows server marketing," further indication that Microsoft plans to crank up the volume on its Windows/Linux story.

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EuroparlTV seems to work only for users of either Adobe’s proprietary Flash player (via the proprietary Adobe Flash file format) or users of Microsoft’s Windows Media Player (via the proprietary WMV file format).

What this means to an open web, that is usable for everyone should be clear.

There is power in authority. Microsoft's strategy against open source uses authority. It ties up institutions that are authoritative, that have power over professions, creating a benefit for the institution that ties its members to proprietary Microsoft tools....To Microsoft open source is not an end in itself. It is a marketing tool. It is a way to gain lock-in with important customer sets.

In a resounding victory for Microsoft Corp., bills seeking to mandate the use of open document formats by government agencies have been defeated in five states, and only a much-watered-down version of such legislation was signed into law in a sixth state.

New heights for Microsoft's spin and lies; the latest wave of GPL smears arrives from friends of Microsoft and former employees

Should European governments favor open-source software when they hold tenders for public contracts? Economists and policy-makers appear to think so, but industry giants, including Microsoft Corp., argue that this would be discriminatory and are considering legal action to prevent this from happening.

In his rationalization about why government-mandated open source software deployment is not a good idea, Microsoft's Director of Standards made some assumptions about what the real value of open source software (OSS) is for governments.

The Liberal Democrats have hit out at the government's failure to use more open source software, three years after it pledged to avoid 'lock-in' to proprietary systems. The government published a policy document, 'Open Source Software: use within UK government' in 2004, promising to consider open source alongside proprietary products in IT procurements...