Microsoft to Issue Office 2007 File Converters for Mac--3 Months Late

While we are on the topic of Microsoft Word, the new Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows produces documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) that are in Microsoft's new XML format by default. Until Microsoft issues Mac read and write converters, and its Mac Business Unit promises to do so within about 3 months of the official release of Office 2007 in January, the default files will be problematic for users of Office 2004 for Mac and earlier.

Even after reading a well-written explanation, we really don't understand why Microsoft couldn't have issued Mac converters simultaneously with Office 2007, especially since they already have issued beta converters for Office 2003 for Windows which uses the same formats as Mac Office 2004 and v.X.

The specifications of the new XML files are open and available here for an enterprising Mac developer. [Bill Fox]