Posts by Mark Blafkin

IBM raises standards bar, bitchslaps Microsoft

Or...IBM Loses Dominance, Wants to Change Rules

We can all agree that the world of Standards Organizations could use some updating...however, it is awfully naive to think that IBM is really interested in simply trying to give the world a "better" standards system that is more open and transparent. If they were, they wouldn't be writing up the new rules under the cover of darkness with a closed door meeting.

IBM has been trying to leverage its 50 year dominance over standards bodies into an effective business strategy. Standardize, Lobby for Mandates, Hand it Over to Government Sales. IBM wants to "improve" standards policies to benefit that business strategy.

http://blog.actonline.org/2008/09/only-ibm-would.html

EU may be lubricating IBM anti-trust probe

No Leg to Stand On...

@Kevin Johnson - If Microsoft failed to convince the EC that it had a right to protect its intellectual property in Windows Server, then IBM will have a similarly uphill battle.

First, the Mainframe market is dominated by IBM in the same way Microsoft dominates the desktop market - with a 90+ percent marketshare. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainframe_computer#Market

Second, they are making the same argument that Microsoft did: "We built this stuff. We have valuable IP in it. You can't just make us share it with our competitors!" The Commission didn't buy it with Microsoft, and I doubt they are going to give IBM special treatment.

With the air thick with hypocrisy, IBM is probably just now realizing they are on the other side of the antitrust game again. Perhaps IBM is finally regretting all that cheerleading they were doing for the Commission's case against Microsoft.

EC probes OOXML standards-setting process

IBM Restraint More Likely Out of Fear of Examination of its Own Standards Practices

As former Ecma president Jan van den Beld wrote in his blog, IBM has long dominated ISO and other standards processes and has used a lot of questionable tactics along the way, including in the OOXML debate. IBM doesn't want a full fledged investigation of standards processes, because it is IBM rather than MIcrosoft that will take the biggest lumps in that process. More importantly, it might lead to changes that will limit IBM's longtime ability to manipulate standards bodies.

http://janvandenbeld.blogspot.com/2008/04/hypocrisy.html