] Edwards said that Office 2003 beta's handling of the XML
] file format means that firms will not be able to tap the
] rich collaborative features of Open Office 2003 without
] resorting to proprietary Microsoft file formats. And to
] truly unlock its collaborative potential, firms will have
] to standardize on the Windows XP operating system (Office
] 2003 won't run on Windows 9x), as well as Windows 2003
] Server, SharePoint Server, Exchange Server, etc. As for
] the file formats, he called Office 2003's XML "crippled,"
] because it strips XML files of all presentation and
] formatting information when saving them in the XML file
] format. It does not do this when saving files in
] Microsoft's proprietary file formats.

Hardly surprising but anyway...

Will Office 2003 Lead to Lock-in?