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.
IBM has announced an upgrade to Lotus Notes that will include access to office productivity applications and support for the OpenDocument format.
Massachusetts will begin using OpenDocument as the default document format later this year as planned, but it will be sticking with Microsoft Office in the near term, the state's top technology executive said.
The International Organisation for Standardisation is unlikely to adopt Microsoft Office Open XML format, now that it has approved the OpenDocument Format, according to analyst group Gartner.
Open Source Industry Australia Limited (OSIA) has welcomed Microsoft's move to create a "translator" that will allow people to use Office to open and save documents in the OpenDocument, or ODF, format.
What is it about Microsoft's proposed OOXML standard that has boffins hurling death threats at each other?
Michael Meeks is a distinguished engineer at Novell. But his current project may be his toughest yet. He is in charge of tackling interoperability between Novell's OpenOffice.org productivity suite and Microsoft Office. And as with anything relating to Microsoft, this involves more than just technology.
The software company has made a big show about opening up its APIs, but has it really changed its stance towards open source?
While the interface of IBM's free office suite is sexy, its hunger for system resources and lack of features mean that OpenOffice.org 3 is still the best free office suite. Also, watch out for Symphony's lack of OOXML support.
OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 is a free, open source alternative to Microsoft's Office application suite. It is fantastic if you need basic office applications such as a word processor or spreadsheet at no cost. However, large organisations and power users may be disappointed by its lack of features and support.
Many free and inexpensive office suites are available for download or for use in a web browser. So what's the advantage of paying a pretty penny for a desktop office suite? Corel's WordPerfect Office X4 offers a strong software package that comes closest to the breadth and depth of features found in Microsoft Office.
OpenOffice.org 2.0, the freeware version of Sun's StarOffice 8, is a great deal for small-business users who don't mind browsing online forums for technical support. But enterprises are better served by StarOffice 8.
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