Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Critics question motive by Microsoft

Critics question motive by Microsoft: "Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates won widespread applause in January when he trumpeted an agreement to give $1 billion in software and cash to the United Nations as part of a job-training program for the developing world.
But Microsoft did not seek any attention for a much smaller amount that it contributed earlier to pay some travel expenses for a U.N. business standards group.
That payment, critics say, had a much more opportunistic motive than the big donation.
Several software industry executives and technologists contend that Microsoft has been moving behind the scenes to undercut support for a set of business-to-business electronic transaction standards jointly developed by the United Nations and an industry-sponsored international standards group."

Not like the ebXML gang doesn't have its own agenda, of course...

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