The next version of Microsoft Office will be "dramatically better" as a platform for creating applications, according to Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect.
Standards body Ecma International has created a committee to standardise Microsoft Office document formats, handing the software giant a victory in an intensifying struggle over desktop software.
Having an open, stable document format is necessary to preserve the world's information, top Sun Microsystems executives said on Wednesday.
Microsoft's move to make its Open XML document format an international standard could hobble the uptake of OpenDocument, the OASIS-approved document format that is supported by Sun Microsystems.
The OpenDocument Format has been submitted to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), according to OASIS, the standards body that developed the format.
A distinction that Microsoft is making between professional and standard versions of Office 2003 means that many customers may not get all the features they've been expecting, including broad support for Web services.
Microsoft says it's opening its Office desktop software by adding support for XML--a move that should help companies free up access to shared information. But there's a catch: It has yet to disclose the underlying XML dialect.
Apple drops iPhone NDA
A little more than six months after Apple initially offered its software development kit for the iPhone, the c… Watch it now
StartupCamp Melbourne: The review
Google should come clean on datacentres
US shows what OPEL could have been
Broadband speedtest
How fast is your Internet connection?
Calculate the speed here.
Superguide: Printers -- all you need to know
Looking to buy a printer? Our superguide rates the latest printers and shines a light into the industry.
Click here for more.
Storage and server superguide
Over the last decade the art of maintaining the datacentre of a large organisation has evolved into an art form.
Click here for more.