Microsoft Office Formats Not Really Being Opened

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Tuesday February 1, 2005 @12:46AM from the keep-an-eye-on-the-birdie dept.

Contradicting this earlier article claiming otherwise, smith_barney writes "Contrary to reports, Microsoft is not opening up its proprietary Office XML schemas. Essentially, the state of Massachusetts is simply repositioning what it considers an 'open format.' According to a report in BetaNews, Microsoft told the state it would ease licensing restrictions, but only for 'end users who merely open and read government documents.' This hasn't stopped Microsoft from tooting its horn, but Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox says, 'Buzz about so-called open formats is little more than PR FUD.'"

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Brazil Makes Move to Open Source Software by Go_Ask_Alex · 2005-02-01 03:10 · Score: 5, Informative

From NPR...

"Morning Edition, January 31, 2005 The government of Brazil says it will switch 300,000 government computers from Microsoft's Windows operating system to open source software like Linux. Microsoft founder Bill Gates wants to meet with Brazil's president to discuss the change. Brazil is dropping all proprietary software."

Listen here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4471963

The Brazilians are just saying no!