Microsoft 'for no' Office 2007 interface

On November 21, Microsoft said it would allow software developers to get free applications of the Office 2007 application graphical interface into their own products.

This means developers can now apply the Office 2007 graphical interface to any application software, whether it's software running on Linux or Mac OS X. It is also allowed to create other "fake" software interfaces according to the interface of Office 2007.

Microsoft is committed to not collecting any license fees. The condition required for free use of the 2007 Office interface is that developers must be members of a free use license program from Microsoft.

Software developers need to visit the Office 2007 System Document website to download the license, complete the information and return it to Microsoft. After confirming Microsoft will provide a 120-page document set stating which part of the Office 2007 interface must be between the original and somewhat modifiable. Along with that is the 2007 Office suite.

Microsoft refuses to grant a license for developers who intend to build a software that is directly competitive with the key applications of the 2007 Office suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Access.

The world's No. 1 software firm said that with the "no" decision, the Office 2007 interface hopes to have more software with the same interface as the company's famous office suite.

However, Microsoft currently has not provided any code related to the Office 2007 interface. Everything has to wait until the office suite comes out early next year.

Hoang Dung