Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 23 May 2008 09:17
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
Microsoft is planning on releasing SP2 in 2009, with support to save
documents in ODF format as standard, in the name of ‘interoperability’,
while adding PDF and XPS save/export compatibility without requiring
any add-on software. The EU’s Commission has ‘taken note’ and welcomed
the decision, while promising to investigate it further. What does this
mean?
The European Commission is set to investigate whether Microsoft’s intention to support ODF in Office 2007’s upcoming SP2 (service pack 2) next year will truly “lead to better interoperability” or not, following Microsoft’s announcement on Wednesday.
The ODF (Open Document Format) is an attempt by Microsoft’s competitors, including IBM and Sun, to create an open document storage format that prevents individuals, companies and governments from being locked into Microsoft formats and thus forever buying Microsoft software.
The quality of Microsoft’s ODF compatibility will become a key question to as whether or not the EU will choose to impose new fines on Microsoft for flouting its interoperability rulings, something Microsoft has already been fined billions of dollars for in the past.
Microsoft recently won the right to have its OOXML ‘open document’ format become a recognised ISO standard, much to the chagrin of Microsoft’s competitors, many of whom say Microsoft’s claims to be open are but pure trickery which will never lead to Microsoft truly opening itself up to anyone.
Still, when massive organisations like the EU can impose multi-billion dollar fines, this kind of legal pressure is hard to resist, with Microsoft effectively saying it is now, er… “voluntarily” complying and really, really wants to be open… er… now.
It is no surprise that the EU Commission is skeptical, with their specific short and sweet statement
headlined as “Antitrust: Commission takes note of Microsoft's announcement on supporting ODF in Office”, with the statement itself saying: “The European Commission has taken note of Microsoft's announcement on 21st May concerning supporting ODF in Office. The Commission would welcome any step that Microsoft took towards genuine interoperability, more consumer choice and less vendor lock-in.”
The statement continues: “In its ongoing antitrust investigation concerning interoperability with Microsoft Office (see
MEMO/08/19), the Commission will investigate whether the announced support of ODF (OpenDocument format) in Office leads to better interoperability and allows consumers to process and exchange their documents with the software product of their choice.”
So, what does Microsoft’s recent statement say? Please read on to page 2.
