Microsoft's top executives have promised not to sue open source developers who create non-commercial software based on Microsoft's protocols, but skeptics say it's a ploy to soften its image before the upcoming OOXML vote.
Early reports indicate that Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) document format appears to have enough votes to be certified an ISO standard but complaints of irregularities and strong-arm tactics are rife.
Microsoft will add native support to Office 2007 for the OpenDocument Format (ODF) instead of OOXML because of compatibility issues but Microsoft refuses to admit that ODF has won the document format war.
Now that Office Open XML (OOXML) has been certified as an ISO standard, there is a possibility that the vote leading to that result will be challenged. It seems Microsoft is already counting on it.
Microsoft's Open Office XML specifications will be scrutinised by government technocrats in Geneva this week to determine if improvements Microsoft has made to it overcome technical problems noted by ISO members last September.
The software company has made a big show about opening up its APIs, but has it really changed its stance towards open source?
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