Microsoft plans to open Office XML formats |
Loading ...Another one of those ‘it’s coming soon’ good news posts.
Joe Wilcox weighs today’s news that Microsoft plans to open up the Office file format and offer the technical specs to the ECMA early next month:
Just as OASIS polishes off OpenDocument v1 and some governments beat their desks for OpenOffice, open source and open standards, along comes Microsoft saying that it wants to establish its formats as legitimate standards. Kaboom.
Microsoft says this may take up to a year or more to get done which puts this on track with the Vista launch. Loren wonders if this will allow access to Word ink comments?
Don Dodge: “This is a major step for Microsoft. Opening Office documents to PDF and Open XML creates an open environment for competitors, partners, and users. This is a good thing. Moves like this usually stimulate innovation in new and existing products”
Is it just me or does Microsoft really, really want to appear more open and flexible today? Whatever the motives are, I’m happy to read both Microsoft announcements today.
Microsoft plans to open Office XML formats
Could it be that Microsoft is starting to open up a little? If you are taking in to account the ideas that they have with their Office XML formats, then yes. Yes they are……
Trackback by Lockergnome's Linux Fanatics — November 22, 2005 @ 2:12 am PST
I smell something fishy here. M$ doesn’t do anything unless it can turn it around later and grab you by the nether regions. They have opened standards before — you had to sign your life away and then couldn’t divulge anything why bother? You think that a company that made FUD a fine art will open up? Don’t think so, it is in the profile. This is just the opening salvo to the Open Document fiasco it suffered in Massachusetts. In fact, it may even be more FUD.
Comment by fandeboris — November 22, 2005 @ 2:19 pm PST
Interesting note: XML comes as a “native toungue” in the Visual Studio 2005
Comment by ^Lestat — November 22, 2005 @ 4:23 pm PST