Open document support on the way
Microsoft has promised to allow its ubiquitous Office suite of applications to work with an array of open source document formats by the middle of next year.
The move, which follows intense pressure from the European Commission, will make Word, Excel and Powerpoint amongst others compatible with the likes of the Open Document Format (ODF).
The Commission, which has already made Microsoft dig down the back of the sofa for US$1.42 billion in fines over its unfair practices, has said that it "will investigate whether the announced support of ODF in Office leads to better interoperability and allows consumers to process and exchange their documents with the software product of their choice."
Yahoo News reports that Thomas Vinje, a spokesman for the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS) - a rabble of Vole-bating companies including IBM, Nokia and Oracle - said that Microsoft's promises were seen as "steps in the right direction" but that they were "not nearly enough."
"A closer look at their substance," he continued, "suggests that Microsoft is still playing for time to further consolidate its super-dominant position, and that continued anti-trust vigilance will be necessary."
He also described Microsoft's target of supporting ODF by the first half of 2009 as "pretty underwhelming."