EU to investigate Microsoft file format support
A new plan by Microsoft to allow its Office software to save and edit files in a rival format will face a probe by the European Commission.
The Commission said late Wednesday that it will investigate whether Microsoft's decision to add support for the Open Document Format to Office will result in greater consumer choice.
Microsoft's move, also announced Wednesday, is seen as a concession to regulators concerned about competition and to customers, mainly governments, worried about product lock-in.
"The Commission will investigate whether the announced support of Open Document Format in Office leads to better interoperability and allows consumers to process and exchange their documents with the software product of their choice," the commission said in a statement reported by Dow Jones.
A Microsoft product manager told CNET News.com on Wednesday that the company plans to discuss its move with the Commission. "We have ongoing dialogue with the EC, so we will absolutely have a discussion with them about these steps and get whatever feedback they may have on it," said Tom Robertson, general manager of Interoperability and Standards at Microsoft.
Starting sometime in the first half of next year, Office 2007 will support ODF as a native file format alongside Microsoft's own Office Open XML. Customers will be able to choose one or the other as the default format.
For roughly two years, Microsoft has made available translators that let Office work with ODF documents. The company plans to continue to do that for older versions of Office. Support for ODF, along with the Portable Document Format and the XML Paper Specification, will be built into the next version of Office, code named Office 14.
Mike Ricciuti joined CNET in 1996. He is now CNET News' Boston-based executive editor and east coast bureau chief, serving as department editor for business technology and software covered by CNET News, Reviews, and Download.com. E-mail Mike.
- Topics:
-
Windows,
-
Microsoft,
-
Open source
- Share:
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
Just because they got away with a slap on their wrist from the US doesn't mean they will do the same everywhere.
The EU looks after the interests of EU citizens and American tech companies will just have to do what we want or leave.
Microsoft finally gives in and adds support for competing, non-Microsoft formats: Microsoft is hurting consumer choices.
Microsoft sticks to its guns and does not add support for competing, non-Microsoft formats: Microsoft is hurting consumer choices.
The Europeans eat too many sour grapes.
Right now, Microsoft is going to live with the same headaches as anyone with a criminal record does.
That, "A Microsoft product manager told CNET News.com on Wednesday that the company plans to discuss its move with the Commission. "We have ongoing dialogue with the EC, so we will absolutely have a discussion with them about these steps and get whatever feedback they may have on it," said Tom Robertson, general manager of Interoperability and Standards at Microsoft.
Starting sometime in the first half of next year, Office 2007 will support ODF as a native file format alongside Microsoft's own Office Open XML. Customers will be able to choose one or the other as the default format..." So, what is it going to be for the "crunching of the numbers" to determine how economically it will be from a "standards perspective" to fly AIRBUS, "The CONCORDE", The DreamLiner..... is it going to be "Office 14" on Windows; or, is it going to be OpenOffice, Notes, Symphony.... on eComStation. Perhaps, we all will get the answers we are seeking - When The "Fat Lady" Sings the "Interoperability" Tune!
It is really very simple.
It seems to me the EU has far too much authority to be able to and following through with bullying international corporations for their lunch money. "You're doing the right thing, but your STILL evil!"
Yet they'll probably continue to turn a blind eye to Apple's monopolistic and extremely closed system tactics for years to come. It blows my mind how a group constituted of world leaders, can be so nausiatingly biased.
The world is seriously, spiraling to hell.
And Microsoft has to support ODF as it is a standard and Microsoft is commited to support standards. :-)
And EU is for sure not investigating THAT they implement the format, but if the way to implement it is intended for getting competition out of business. As they have a long record of pushing competitors, they cannot control, out of business, it is for sure a wise move to investigate at the very beginning. And the EU has some funds to use for that task, as Microsoft has to pay big money...
The EU is really getting on my nerves. Why? Because MS has to pay EU Lawyers to represent them in EU courts for all of this EU nonsense and where do you think MS is getting that money...out of the pockets of their American customers.
What MS should do is add the cost of EU litigation and fines ONLY to those products sold in the EU.
It just seems like the EU doesn't have anything else to do. As was mentioned above why don't they go after Apple and their closed OS+Hardware platform? I'll tell you why, because they know that they can't pinch as much out of Apple so it won't "pay off".
Microsoft get their money from all OUR pockets. Do you know how much Office costs in England, Belgium, Italy, Australia, Korea? The huge difference in price is not only because of exchange rate...
By asking 'the EU" to go after Apple, you're showing:
1. You don't know what is happening around you (Apple did have run-ins with the EU over their pricing)
2. You are just a defender of all-things-Microsoft.
3. You seem to forget that the USA spent millions in a case where Microsoft was proved to be GUILTY in all cases (but they did nothing about it), the Microsoft spent billions in the past 5 years in litigation with American companies over their business practice (and nothing with European companies because they don't have a litigation culture)
Please don't sell in Europe if you don't want to play by our rules. You are free to take your products elsewhere.
We really don't want monopolist companies who imagine they can flout our laws with impunity. Congratulations to the EU.
PS It is the EU not the EC. It seems that senior Microsoft executives don't even know the name of the market they are trying to sell into and can't be bothered to find out.
As an American, its just not that natural to care about the EU dealings with a foreign company. And this debate is not even about the past monopoly. MS is getting what's coming their way on that front. The concern is that EU seems hell bent on investigating Microsoft's every move. The EU would be pissed if the US started investigating every new phone model that Nokia shipped to the US or if we started building random cases against SAP.
The author of the news story rightly assumed that most people have no idea what the EC is and had he used those initial as the Microsoft exec did, it would have confused many.
What this simply says is that they want to make sure that:
1. Microsoft does what the company says it would do.
2. The 'new' 'native' formats are actually inter-operable with the competition and vice-versa
It's a GOOD THING for Microsoft, if they are, because they can win market that are closed today, on the basis that Office document are completely inter-operable and open standards (in use in local governments across the globe, administrations, education, etc.)
Either way I do fully agree that all the costs of the lawsuits and probes in the EU should be carried directly to EU customers and it should be made clear why it is happening. Microsoft is obviously not hurting either with nearly 40 billion USD in the bank, but that's no reason to harass them. Go after Apple or a real monopolistic company or something....
Microsoft will just have to like it or lump it.
It really is very simple - if Microsoft or any foreign body does not wish to obey EU laws they can take their products out of our markets.
Yep.. its called calc.exe - gotta be worth a few $billion surely? Can I get a cut?
-
by pc_control
May 23, 2008 10:55 AM PDT
- It's all about choice.
-
Reply to this comment
-
See all 40 Comments >>...
Microsoft has had the choice to support ISO-ODF on all its office platforms (XP, 2003, 2007) for as long as those products and ODF have existed (ODF was ratified as an ISO standard early in 2006, and was approved an an OASIS standard early in 2005).
...
Microsoft now chooses to support ODF *sometime next year*, but ONLY if people pay to *upgrade* to their latest and most expensive MSOffice 2007. Keeping in mind here that this is the SAME company which issues monthly patches to try and keep all the many holes in Windows and Office closed (ALL supported versions). So this is all nothing more than a manipulative money grab - there is no reason at all for not supporting ISO-ODF in Office 2003 or previous versions of MSOffice. Right now.
...
Of course, you do have a choice as well. You can choose to download and use OpenOffice, which uses ODF as its default file format (while also supporting all MSOffice formats and .pdf) for free from www.openoffice.org, or IBM Lotus Symphony (again, free) from symphony.lotus.com. Or you can choose to pay Microsoft's hundreds of dollars of ransom for the right to run (but not own) MSOffice 2007, and perhaps get ODF support *sometime next year*. Maybe. The choice is ultimately up to you, and to the recommendations you make to your employers.
...
I for one choose not to be a part of Microsoft's food chain any longer.