Stop kissing up, Microsoft.

[SZF2001]

http://www.techworld.com/applications/news/index.cfm?newsID=8886&pagtype=all


Software Applications News, 21 May 2007
Microsoft praises ODF format
By Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service

Microsoft come out in favour of ODF, the document file format used widely in open-source alternatives to Microsoft Office - to allow "choice" in business standards.

The company has backed the inclusion of ODF in a list of standards maintained by The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) - as well as backing Microsoft's own OpenXML format, used in Office 2007, for inclusion in the list.

The company said it supports Open Document Format (ODF) for XML because businesses want choice and interoperability for software they deploy. ANSI recommends business best practices, standards and guidelines to a range of industries in the US.

However, there may be other reasons for the move. Days ago, Microsoft slapped the open-source community with litigation threats if distributors and users do not strike deals with the vendor to pay for patents Microsoft allegedly holds for technology in Linux and other open-source software. OpenOffice.org, an open-source alternative to Office that supports ODF, contains 45 of Microsoft's patents, the company claimed in the Fortune article where it laid out its aggressive stance.

"On the one hand, Microsoft is saying 'Nice standard you've got there', while on the other hand, warning 'implement it if you dare, but only for a price'," noted Andrew Updegrove, an advocate for open technology standards and attorney with Gesmer Updegrove.

Updegrove has said that by supporting ODF as an ANSI standard, Microsoft is "making it appear it is rising above the squabble to do the right thing". Insead, he thinks the move serves as a challenge to vocal ODF supporters to support approval of Open XML as a global standard when a final vote for the draft specification comes before the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

To its credit, Microsoft voted for ODF when it came before the ISO, while IBM cast the only negative vote for Open XML when it was up for approval by standards organisation Ecma International, Updegrove added.
Battle lines between Microsoft and ODF supporters such as IBM and Sun Microsystems have been drawn for some time, and ODF and Open XML have emerged as the key rival standards for documents. Some government agencies in the US and abroad have said they will support ODF as the standard format for documents, a decision that may require them to stop using Office in favor of OpenOffice.org, or similar ODF-supported offerings from Sun, IBM and Google.

ODF has already been approved by ISO, while Open XML will be up for an approval vote late this year


First they tell us how awful we are for patent infringment, now they are giving us a pat on the back?

WTF mate.

[samjh]

It's business.

Microsoft doesn't claim patent infringement over ODF. If they see it as a good thing, then they are free to say so. Of course, behind their words they will be hoping their own format wins market share.

[jiminycricket]

Microsoft doesn't see ODF as a good thing because it undermines their power (and monopoly power) in Office. What's good for a customer isn't good for a monopolist.

http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62014733,00.htm


Microsoft has no plans to support OpenDocument Format in its own applications by default, despite the fact it has backed the ODF for ANSI (American National Standards Institute) accreditation.

Nick McGrath, director of platform strategy for Microsoft UK, told ZDNet UK last week: "In a nutshell, ODF doesn't meet the needs of Microsoft applications."
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McGrath said that applications such as OpenOffice, which runs on ODF, would not fully support documents created in Microsoft applications such as Office 2007, which runs on the rival Open XML standard (OXML). This echoed a comment made earlier this month by Microsoft, where the software giant criticized IBM over its support for ODF.

"The functionality of Office and the functionality of OpenOffice--it's like chalk and cheese," said McGrath.

However, John McCreesh, OpenOffice.org marketing project lead, firmly rebuked McGrath's comments.

"That's patently untrue because millions of people create a document in Word and open it in Writer [the OpenOffice equivalent]," McCreesh told ZDNet UK. "To say the file format can't be used in both applications is nonsense. Microsoft doesn't support ODF because it doesn't control it. There's no technical reason why it couldn't. Having launched OXML, Microsoft would find it very difficult to support ODF. It has backed itself into a corner we hope market pressure will back it out of."

[Adamant1988]

Microsoft doesn't see ODF as a good thing because it undermines their power (and monopoly power) in Office. What's good for a customer isn't good for a monopolist.

http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62014733,00.htm

The unfortunate reality of the situation is that because of Microsoft's status as *just* below a pure monopoly, they are still subject (to an extent) to customer demand. This is what happened with Novell as well, customers told Microsoft that they were going to be running Linux whether they liked it or not, and Microsoft was powerless to do anything about that, so they played nice and struck and interoperability agreement.

The other Fortune 500 companies out there control Microsoft's stock, and if Microsoft angered those customers Microsoft would find itself in a world of financial hurt. Even though they are a monopoly, they must still walk a very thin line in how they exercise that power.