I am among those who think that MS may be working not only on a version of Office for Linux but on a version of Linux itself.

As for Sun's Linux product that uses MS Office compatible formats, please remember that better marketing often wins out over a better product. As the MS Office standard would change in the future, Sun would find itself playing "catch up" repeatedly.

As IBM once was, Microsoft is now the standard setter in many areas. Despite the DOJ case and the emergence of various Linux powers, I expect that MS will continue to have great power to establish standards. A move by Microsoft into the Linux arena would shift the focus of many in both technical and marketing effort.