FYI.
[ http://www.fsfe.org/fellows/greve/freedom_bits/microsoft_grateful_for_vienna... ]
Microsoft grateful for Vienna Manipulations?
greve
Friday 20 January 2006
Many of you read the GROKLAW article on how Microsoft manipulated the Vienna Conclusions of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Many people around the world spoke up against this form of political manipulation and control by joining the call to "Fellow Me: Say NO! to Vienna Manipulations"
Two months later, Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel has yet to answer the inquiries by the media about these outright manipulations of a United Nations event he himself opened and was patron of, and the results of which were distributed officially by the Austrian government at the summit in Tunis. I would not hold my breath, though: "Schweigekanzler" was selected as "word of the year 2005" in Austria. It could be translated to English as "silent chancellor", or maybe even "hush-up-chancellor".
Microsoft however seems to have loved so much discretion. At least that was my first thought when I read the article "Microsoft looks beyond Vista, sees Vienna" on CNET News.com:
"The 'Blackcomb' code name has been changed to 'Vienna,' but we do not have any other details to share on timing or focus," Microsoft said in a statement to CNET News.com. "This does not reflect a big change for us; we have used city code names in the past, which are derived from cities/locations in the world known for great 'vistas'--the kinds of places we all want to see, experience and that capture the imagination. Vienna fits with this concept."
Vienna fits the concept of a place that Microsoft likes to see, huh? Given the lack of response to such outright political manipulation at the highest levels, I'm not surprised.
Even for Microsoft it is rather obscene that they would so blatantly choose the name of a city where they were caught red-handed while manipulating the outcome of a United Nations conference. Apparently Microsoft feels like rubbing in their superiority to concepts like democracy.
Even though I had hoped this was public knowledge by now, it really seems that not enough people have heard about this. So please put something along these lines in as many places as possible:
Microsoft likes Vienna and what it stands for? I don't: Fellow Me: Say NO! to Vienna Manipulations
Here is the HTML blurb you could use for that: vienna_manipulations.html