Microsoft announces changes to promote interoperability

This is good news. Microsoft hasn't changed its policy on patent licensing, but that shouldn't
obscure the big shift in its attitude to documentation and openness. OpenOffice and AbiWord
and the rest are infringing no more patents today than they were yesterday.

This is a huge win for the activists who have long argued that closed formats are bad for
users. Microsoft's government and corporate customers are starting to listen to this argument,
and Microsoft clearly thinks there's a risk that it will lose market share as a result.

These formats were never intended to be documented - they've evolved organically over many
years. To document them now must be hugely costly (and tedious). Microsoft would only consider
such an expense if they really felt that their business position were threatened.