News

Dust Swirls Over Office Open XML Complaints

Mom, they're arguing again.

Who? Microsoft and IBM, of course.

The latest dust up swirls around a Microsoft four-page open letter published on the Web on Valentine's Day that accuses IBM of trying to block users' choice when it comes to document formats.

Indeed, Microsoft lashed out in response to IBM's efforts to scuttle progress of its Office Open XML (OOXML) formats in a key European standards body.

"A lot of hype -- and smoke and mirrors obfuscation -- surrounds interoperability these days," Microsoft's letter begins.

The spat is just the latest development in a continuing fracas between Microsoft and its rivals over formats for office applications. IBM, as well as Sun Microsystems, have argued that the proprietary nature of Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) long term threatens users' access to their own documents and that constitutes a threat to open access.

Microsoft has, in fact, been working towards greater interoperability between its OOXML formats and OpenDocument Format (ODF) that IBM and other leading Redmond competitors have been sponsoring. Just last week, it announced availability of an open source ODF translator add-in for Word 2007 that it sponsored through SourceForge, with plans to implement Excel and PowerPoint add-ins by the end of November.

Sun took the wraps off its own ODF to Word translator last week.

About the Author

Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.

Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.