[hblug] The docx problem

[Perry Spiller]

There is another perspective, too.

Earlier, it was suggested that certain criticisms of MS
are unjustified, on the basis that it's just 'business.'

I demur.

For MS (like Telecon NZ) it's not just doing business
on the fabled level playing field." I.e. it's not anything
like offering products and services in an open-to-all
business environment, where all compete on a more
or less equal footing. No.

It's all about structuring and engineering things in any
way that locks out competitors from competing on the
basis of service, price and features. Would the act of
incorporating IE in the OS, (rather than an add-on, like
Word or Office), be an example?

It's called anti-competitive behaviour, in the same way
the Telecon NZ fought competition in the law courts,
rather than in the marketplace. That MS got whacked
with a hefty fine by the European Commission (play
lunch money, really, to MS) does seem to show that
the HBLUG list members' criticisms of MS have some
allies with a common perspective on such things.

Perry

----------------Earlier, you commented--------------------
>I guess some of the key things that come through this thread are the 
>following:
>
>- Love it or hate it, MS has the biggest slice of the office suite pie.
>- Vista with trial versions of Office/Word is a reality
>- Most C level execs or managers with their new laptops supplied by 
>the corner computer store don't understand that if they make a 
>document in Word 07 that Word 03 users wont be able to read it.
>- This incompatibility between versions floats to the top quickly in 
>an office environment with different OEM copies installed, but in a 
>single user environment sometimes only comes when the send files externally.
>- There is a compatibility toolkit from MS for this, you can find it here:
><http://www.microsoft.com/nz/office/preview/beta/converter.mspx>http://www.microsoft.com/nz/office/preview/beta/converter.mspx
>- It would be nice when this happens (as has happened before with MS 
>Office), that the version that makes the departure saves by default 
>using format n-1 (i.e. .doc) while making version n available for 
>selection (.docx)  Then in the next release, with the new format 
>being more widely adopted, perhaps then make it the default.
>
> >From a personal perspective, our business has been running on 
> staroffice and openoffice for the last 8 years, so it can be 
> done.  Some core MS functionality is missing from OOo that would be 
> nice (text to columns in OOo Calc anyone?), and some MS Word 
> formatting that doesn't always work out tight, but overall, a very 
> accomplished package.
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