Quick summary:
1. New Office file format will be pure XML streams compressed in a single file ZIP archive. Embeded OLE objects will now be represented in their native XML format vs. sealed binary streams. (BTW: This is the same technique used by Open Office)
2. New file extensions will be old extensions + "X", DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, etc.
3. New Office file formats apply to all Office apps (including InfoPath and Visio) except Access, Outlook and Publisher.
4. New Office file formats will be available to both Windows and Mac users.
5. Microsoft will ship software upgrades so new format is fully usable for Office 2000, XP, and 2003 users. WOW! :)
6. New file formats can be licensed without fee.
All in all, a very impressive annoucement. Great stuff!
Details can be found at:
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=73329http://www.microsoft.com/office/xml/default.mspxMalcolm
