European antitrust regulators are investigating whether Microsoft abused its desktop software market dominance in its effort to get the Office Open XML file formats standardised.
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.
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.
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.
The developer of XML and a former ISO committee chair have both claimed that Microsoft was interested in having Office Open XML accredited as an international standard in order to forward the company's wider interests.
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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