On Thursday 15 March 2007, Mikkel L. Ellertson wrote: >Paul Osunero wrote: >> Yes it's true, they changed the format in Office 2007. >> >> There are converters out for docx to doc/odf but that's about it... >> >> >> I don't think there are any linux office apps that can open mpp files >> unfortunately... >> >> By the way, the specifications are released for the new file format. >> Look up OpenXML specs in google and you'll find it. I don't think >> that MPP files were part of that though... > >>From what I gather from my reading, the OpenXML specs don't give you >all the information needed. References to unpublished formats and >things of that nature. You would think that with 6000 pages, they >could cover everything needed. There were also problems with the >converters for ODF working in the last beta, but not in the release >version. M$ really does not want people to use ODF... > >Mikkel I don't often try to get into these political debates unless someone pulls my trigger. And this last sentence really does say it all. My opinion is at the end of the day, that M$ will somehow be caught out, buying off the people that count in order to get this thing of theirs fast tracked and approved. AND that they will, by the time its approved, and enough docs leaked to allow ODF to play catchup if they indeed want to, they will have in hand submarine patents on all of it just to threaten the ODF people with. There have by now, been enough shots (state of MASS, NIST, army-navy dept, city of Atlanta, et all, the list is seemingly endless in the last year alone) fired across the M$ behemoths bow that folks on board it are getting wet, and not always from the splash of the shot either. But rather than compete on a level playing field on the excellence of their software, they will write lots of 6 or 7 digit checks to petty cash, with the proceeds dumped in briefcases that somehow got/will get lost in all sorts of odd places and wave lots of patent lawyers at anyone who has the cajones to try and compete with them on a "may the best man win" basis. Someone in a previous message here said the customer should have the right to decide. Wrong word, "should". It is "does" or "will", or maybe in some cases like here, "has". The rest of the "end of the day" story? That hopefully, both M$ and Monsanto will eventually be history, sued out of existence by those damaged by their actions. Monsantos' new GM corn is damaging livers and kidneys in the test rats but they dismissed the lab findings as not statisticly valid, and got it fast tracked to approval in the EU last spring. Now its being grown in the wild. Chuckle, I see that fortune has picked a suitable sig. :) -- Cheers, Gene "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) MS-DOS didn't get as bad as it is overnight -- it took over ten years of careful development
