How high will Microsoft fly? Message Board

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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly?

MSFT 487.71

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Dec 26 9:30 AM EST

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To: alydar who wrote (61792)	10/20/2001 7:38:19 PM
From: dybdahl	Read Replies (1) of 74651

XML is a standard for making file formats. Most XML file formats are incompatible, but share the common basic structure. StarOffice 6 introduces a very well defined file format, based on zipping xml files. All StarOffice 6 files can be renamed to a .zip extension and then you can extract the XML with WinZIP. It's the well defined part that is interesting, because it also means that the written specification is what counts. If StarOffice 6 has implemented the specification wrong, StarOffice is changed - not the spec. With MS Word it's the other way round, making MS Word the only program that is capable to read and write it's own files perfectly. There is nothing to stop Microsoft from implemented then StarOffice file format, and it is a very natural move for governments to require compatibility with the StarOffice 6 file format, and base their file storage on that. The threat to Microsoft Office is that StarOffice 6 provides: - A MS Office look-a-like - It works, and works well - Has the about same features (some more, some less) - It's free (as in free beer) - It's free (as in free speech) - It reads and writes MS Office files so good that no other Office suite has done it that good before. Simply put: A kind of free version of MS Office. It makes many people think twice before actually paying for an office suite. Of those, who do pay for MS Office, my guess is that at least 90% will do it only because they are forced to, due to technical or organizational reasons (like having some 3rd party product that is based on Word). Lars.

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