my unix

In an about turn Microsoft have announced that they will be including ODF support in the next service pack for Microsoft Office. SP2 for Office 2007 is expected out in the first hald of 2009.

As opposed to previous efforts by Microsoft and Sun this is not an import/export filter, it is a native support which will enable a user to save and open ODF documents by default.

I know that there are three Microsofts. The good, the bad and the naughty. The good Microsoft, the company that supports ODF, is honorable and decent. But Microsoft you can’t bear the burden of being that company. Thus the bad Microsoft, which lays to waste everything in life that seems right. I do have intentions. My intentions are to get beyond the bad which I’ve tried to do again and again by appealing to the good. But it appears to me that perhaps I should be appealing to the naughty.

Kudos to whoever guesses where the above lines are from :)

For full coverage see: http://www.betanews.com/article/Next_Office_2007_service_pack_will_include_ODF_PDF_support_options/1211343807

The official Microsoft release can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/may08/05-21ExpandedFormatsPR.mspx

Update:

Simon Phipps adds some commentary here: http://blogs.sun.com/webmink/entry/microsoft_embraces_odf_at_last

Update 2:

Article at Slashdot indicates that Microsoft’s own OOXML will not be supported until Office 14! Whilst ODF is in the next service pack…