Microsoft's not picking on Mac users only

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It's all about the upgrade

This is an attempt to drive the upgrade cycle. The problem is, file format
compatibility has been one of the selling points of Office. The completely
revamped interface and incompatible file format undercuts two of Microsoft's
biggest arguments against competing Office suites. It also, interestingly enough,
undercuts the very thing that made Office a cash-cow for Microsoft: product lock-
in. You see, it wasn't that everyone else was using Office, it was that everyone else
was sending documents in OFFICE Format. It was the file format that had 95%
market share. The actual product itself was irrelevant, it was the file format that
was all-important.

That means there will be a compelling reason NOT to upgrade to Office 2007, and
when support ends for the current version of Office, it will make more sense to
upgrade to Open Office, especially if Doc compatibility in Office 2007 is worse
than in Open Office.

I expect Microsoft's Office marketshare to begin dropping over the next couple of
years. Unless, of course, they update Office 2007 to allow it to read and write the
current Office file formats seamlessly.

Posted by: frgough   Posted on: 12/07/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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