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pseudosavantyesterday at 7:29 PM3 repliesview on HN

How did this make the HN homepage? There isn't even any news here. It is an argument about ~20-year-old XML file formats, at a time when file formats couldn't matter less?

On top of that, Office supports OpenDocument formats, just like LibreOffice supports Office formats.

Also, IME the Office XML file format is far better supported by third parties - countless apps read/write them. I have multiple apps installed that can read/write an Office file, but MS Office is the only app on my machine that opens OpenDocument.


Replies

magicalhippoyesterday at 8:41 PM

Microsoft Office isn't even compatible with itself, deapite its bespoke file format. For example formulas in Excel not being portable between different languages.

jajuukayesterday at 8:29 PM

Yeah this is basically just an ad for LibreOffice. To be complaining about XML in Office in 2025 is wild.

fsfloveryesterday at 8:53 PM

This is an old problem that is still harming the user freedom and hinders the adoption of LibreOffice today, due to Microsoft's anti-competitive practices. Are you saying it's not worth discussing?

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