Microsoft, Newspeak and Open XML

“One of the most chilling concepts of George Orwell’s novel
‘1984’ is ‘Newspeak.’ In Newspeak, the language is constantly being
cropped of words that might lead to ‘thoughtcrimes.’ If you control
the language, the logic goes, you control what people think.

“Microsoft is doing exactly this with its ‘Open XML.’ It’s meant
to remind you of open source–a term which is now fighting to
maintain its integrity–and, in particular, of open
standards…”

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