:Update: Microsoft Office 2007 to Support ODF--And Not OOXML
Update: Microsoft Office 2007 to Support ODF--And Not OOXML May 21, 2008, 19 :15 UTC (20 Talkback[s]) (8027 reads) (Other stories by Andy Updegrove)
"Microsoft today announced that it would update Office 2007 to natively support ODF 1.1, but not to implement its own OOXML format. Moreover, it would also join both the OASIS working group as well as the ISO/IEC JTC1 working group that has control of the ISO/IEC version of ODF. Implementation of DIS 29500, the ISO/IEC JTC 1 version of OOXML that has still not been publicly released will await the release of Office 14, the ship date of which remains unannounced.
"The same announcement reveals that Office 2007 will also support PDF 1.1, PDF/A and Microsoft's competing fixed-text format, called XML Paper Specification. XML Paper Specification is currently being prepared by Ecma for submission to ISO/IEC under the same PAS process by which OOXML had been submitted for consideration and approval..."
International Herald Tribune: Microsoft to Make Office Open to ODF Format
"The company, under pressure from European regulators, national standards organizations and its own government clients, said it planned to give customers the ability to open, edit and save documents in Open Document Format - the main competitor to Word - through a free update.
"By downloading the update, consumers will be able to save text documents in ODF format and adjust Office 2007 settings to automatically save documents in the rival format..."
