

Microsoft didn't take kindly to Apple's recent digs


I. Flame On

Not surprisingly Mr. Shaw wasn't overly impressed, commenting:








Frank Shaw


II. ... But he has some points


Surface 2 (L) and Surface Pro 2 (R)


Google Docs
Google Docs is more compatible than iWork and also free.




Tim Cook snickering
Apple CEO Tim Cook [Image Source: Reuters]


Source: Microsoft [TechNet]

Comments     Threshold


RE: Not Surprising
By OttoResponder on 10/24/2013 3:31:16 PM , Rating: 3
Funny you should mention OOXML... because it's a perfect example.


RE: Not Surprising
By flatrock on 10/24/2013 3:50:15 PM , Rating: 4
The problem with quoting Richard Stallman is that anyone who might consider him to be providing an unbiased opinion already agrees that Microsoft is the embodiment of evil.

Stallman is brilliant and talented. He's also extremely opinionated.

If you think that standards, or at least large parts of standards being submitted by a single company is something new, then you really haven't had much experience working with standards organizations.

Microsoft and those that work with them and create compatible products represent a huge percentage of the business software market. Why is it surprising that they are able to push their implementation through the standards process without having a lot of changes forced on them? Standardization still provides benefits to consumers and other companies, but complaining that the majority of the standards group sided with Microsoft just makes some other people bad losers.

Microsoft in the past was able to push their products as a defacto standard. People complained about needing to have more open standards, but apparently didn't realize that most companies and even individuals have a vested interest in Microsoft Office as a Standard, and it shouldn't be that surprising that Microsoft was able to get enough support to push though a standard.

RE: Not Surprising
By Mitch101 on 10/24/2013 5:15:39 PM , Rating: 2
The problem when discussing Microsoft Office is people look at it from just Writing a document, sending an e-mail, and doing a simple Excel spreadsheet when Office is a portion of a much larger Eco system.

Where Microsoft Office destroys any competition from remotely coming close is when you add in Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Project Server then its like bringing a water balloon to fight the entire US Military. Nothing come remotely close to Office in the corporate world.

RE: Not Surprising
By Varun on 10/25/2013 10:10:05 AM , Rating: 4
This is so true. If you look at the whole package, they are literally years ahead.

It's not just Word, Excel, Powerpoint. OneNote is amazing. Outlook is the benchmark email client. Lync is mindblowing on what you can do with it.

Access. Project. Publisher.

It's no wonder business uses Office.

RE: Not Surprising
By Krioni on 10/25/2013 10:22:05 AM , Rating: 2

Say what you want about MS and their products. MS has PLENTY of flaws. However, It cannot be denied that they have the most fully integrated ecosystem out there when it comes to what a corporate environment needs. From excel to sql server to sharepoint, etc. This stuff really, really plays well together.

Also, I want to see anyone do some REALLY complex stuff in spreadsheets other than Excel. Not just making a list or creating a budget, etc. But something truly complex (think tens of thousands of advanced financial calculations). That's the sort of stuff I do at work, so I NEED excel. Now, for home stuff... I use google docs because it's sufficient for my home needs.

RE: Not Surprising
By TakinYourPoints on 10/24/2013 5:55:06 PM , Rating: 3
Stallman is brilliant and talented. He's also extremely opinionated.

Exactly. He's the last place you go for an unbiased or rational opinion

RE: Not Surprising
By sprockkets on 10/25/2013 12:51:36 PM , Rating: 2

Logical fallacy - Poisoning the well.

He is biased but his ill will against MS isn't unjustified by any means. You haven't offered any real proof otherwise.

But I will!

1. Those so called XML office formats are just xml wrappers around the same old binary formats.
2. Documentation is incomplete to flat out wrong on the format itself.
3. Ignoring all the problems with the format, MS lobbied and shoved the approval of the format on fast track, which it never should have for such a format.

RE: Not Surprising
By chripuck on 10/25/2013 1:23:29 PM , Rating: 4
No, the XML files are not binary files, they are zip files containing full XML. The ridiculously obvious example is the fact that you can save an Excel spreadsheet as xlsm (XML based) or xlsb (binary based) with the binary version significantly smaller and faster to open.

RE: Not Surprising
By sprockkets on 10/25/13, Rating: 0
