Microsoft Prepares Office Lock-in

An anonymous reader writes "NEWS.COM has an article describing Office 2003's DRM features for documents. This will not only coerce those running older versions of Office to upgrade, which has been a problem for MS in the last few years, but it will also shut out competing software, such as OpenOffice. Now think about this for a second. Even if the developers of a competing office suite could figure out how to get their software to open an Office 2003 document, doing so would be a DMCA violation, since they'd be bypassing an anti-circumvention device. I certainly hope the OpenOffice team will kick development into high gear. If there was a time we need a viable competitor to Office, it's now."

Hmph!

[Talia Starhawke]

That's it, I'm getting out my typewriter. I'll pound out my reports old school, like Hunter S. Thompson still does.

Who's with me?

Anyone?

Office lock-in?

[AtariAmarok]

As long as there is enough room under the door to shove a thin-crust pizza under it, I'm game.

I swear...

[DeathPenguin]

Next person to say something like "They made very sure that Office has these features that nobody else has" without specifying a single damn feature is getting slapped upside the head with a wet trout.

Whenever I ask people why they choose MSWord over a competing product, I always get the same answer: "It has more features." Feature like what? Ten different versions of "Clippy?" No wonder MS has the word procsessing industry in a kung-fu grip.

Re:The straw that broke the PHB's back?

[peterprior]

I'm stupid..

whats a PHB?... seen it a lot and have no idea what one is..

Re:The straw that broke the PHB's back?

[albalbo]

Pretty Hot Babe.

It's a cute name for your manager.

Re:The straw that broke the PHB's back?

[Brendan Byrd]

Point-Haired Boss. For reference, see Dilbert's comics.

"Problem?"

[schon]

coerce those running older versions of Office to upgrade, which has been a problem for MS in the last few years

Yeah, it's so damn irritating when your customers pay you for something, and then expect to continue using it.

Re:I swear...

[Bingo Foo]

All web forms get automatic spell checking under OS X, with no third party app required.

Grammar the other hand is no proper checking way.

Re:Hmph!

[Gr33nNight]

What are these 'type writers' you speak of? Are they like mini laptops?

Luddite power!

[snooo53]

I am! Just the other day I found a perfectly working Smith Corona in the dumpster. It's awesome! I can't imagine why anyone would throw it out.

It's even got a 1 line digital display on it; makes me want to figure out how to mod it to use that digital signal as an input for my computer. Imagine having a Typewriter in front of your computer! Okay well maybe that sort of defeats the purpose of having a typewriter in the first place...

Re:Office lock-in?

[kfg]

You'll also have to convice Jolt to package in a handy pouch, or cut a three inch hole in the door.

KFG

Re:Very stupid

[menasius]

Ah but you are naturally forgetting that Microsoft puts out tightly secure software, with no holes for a worm or virus to get in. Naturally, the server will be secure as there is a proven track record of Microsoft's superior securi... no, wait that's not right at all.

It would have been satire but I couldn't keep up the facade.

-bort

Notes has done this for a DECADE

[gelfling]

Looks to me like the 'next' 'version' of Office will vaguely lash Office DRM with Outlook to provide something like Notes 2 circa 1995.

Re:OT what does Esquire mean?

[Xerithane]

The dictionary is your friend, and it doesn't make you wait 20 seconds to see your result.

Re:DRM will be the exception, not the default

[zarniwhoop]

I tried your bloody chmod and this is what i got...

C:\>chmod -R 777 /
'chmod' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

C:\>

be a bit more helpful next time.

that's a good idea!

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're a senior executive and you're carrying around your five-year business plan, you probably want to have that information secured so only you can read it," he said.

So you turn to Microsoft to secure it????

Re:Mostly FUD

[rifter]

Yes, dumbass, and this isn't Palladium. Unless you see demons lurking in every conceivable manifestation of client-server computing, there's no problem here.

Well, in the case of unix, daemons are generally lurking in most manifstations of client-server computing, and it is a good thing to kill as many of them as you can and ensure they are not resurrected by init. :)

Re:I swear...

[lymond01]

An important feature is the VB scripting in Excel, at least for me, and being able to issue commands to other applications from within these scripts.

You and all the other hackers, bub. ;-)

Re:I don't see the problem here.

[Trailer Trash]

You'd have to cripple the entire operating system while the document is open.

Now that would be a tough one for Microsoft to pull off...

Re:I don't see the problem here.

[weeboo0104]

You'd have to cripple the entire operating system while the document is open.

Isn't crippling Windows redundant?

Re:Mostly FUD

[GMFTatsujin]

Employees may not be able to work from home or in the evening for the same reason

You mean my evenings and weekends are ALL MINE AGAIN? Praise be to Microsoft! Where do I sign up?????

Re:Prohibited by law from accessing your own docum

[TopShelf]

Boo... hisss.... You're such a party-pooper.

How else are we supposed to get the week going without an anti-Microsoft group tirade?

Re:OT what does Esquire mean?

[hagardtroll]

Esquire generally just means "Gentleman." That is, I am a gentleman. Versus being a crass slob or something. Attorneys use it because they have such a bad reputation in this world, adding Esq to their name tries to cover that up. Just like when a news channel says "Fair & Balanced." you know that they are trying to cover something up.

Re:They can do this now...

[Frogg]

Today a technically competent corporation can secure documents using certificates, PGP, etc. If they really want to cover their tracks they can do so.

..only now it'll be as easy as clicking a checkbox -- or perhaps:

Clippy: Hi, I can see you're trying to [take over the world] -- would you like me to enable DRM?

Re:I swear...

[blibbleblobble]

"An important feature is the VB scripting in Excel, at least for me, and being able to issue commands to other applications from within these scripts."

Who would contemplate a spreadsheet whose [autoexecutable] macro language doesn't include a function to restart the computer without saving data?

Re:Analog my friend...

[mpcooke3]

Yes it's important not to have any weak points in the scheme where unencrypted documents could be viewed. I expect they've already discovered this major flaw in the Longhorn DRM.

I've been lobbying Microsoft to include .NET DRM implants in my brain where documents and music can be decrypted safely. The .NET implant will also have a remote access function like XP so that a Microsoft support technician can help me read documents, listen to music, go to the toilet, etc.

Then I won't be able to do anything without paying Microsoft first. This will finally make the world a safe and secure place.

Matt.

Re:Office lock-in?

[Crispy Critters]

"You'll also have to convice Jolt to package in a handy pouch, or cut a three inch hole in the door."

If you're drinking all that Jolt, you might want to make that two three-inch holes.

Lock-in? FUN!

[tarsi210]

Man, I remember some of the lock-ins I used to participate in...youth group, high school, clubs, etc....they were always a time for extreme mayhem performed by sleep-deprived youth high on every type of sugar imaginable. You always went with a sense that if you didn't outright get laid, you'd at least be able to cop a feel during the 3:30am game of Twister.

A Microsoft office lock-in sounds kinda ok, but I'll bet Windows engineers aren't nearly as flexible as Linux engineers.

Microsoft Needs DRM for...

[KaosConMan]

Their real reason for DRM in Office...

To stop the Halloween Documents [opensource.org] from leaking year after year!

And in recent news...

[ReNeGaDe75]

General Electric has announced that they will begin producing bread. This bread will have special ingrediants so that it only works in GE toasters.

If you use non-GE bread, your toast will come out over-cooked, so it is highly recommended that you buy the new bread from GE, which costs $30 a loaf.

If you attempt to mix a slice of their bread with a slice of Wonder bread (such as you only have 1 slice of GE bread left), you will be in violation of the Gormet Millenium Copyright Act of 2010, and could be fined up to $30,000.

General Electic will also be shipping all new toasters with titanium alloys. This innovative feature ensures safety by preventing people from trying to open their toaster when it stops working. To improve user friendliness, the toasters will lock onto the power cords and secure them, so users will be unable to accidently unplug their toasters and become confused about why it isn't toasting.

Re:Illegal only in the US.

[lamename]

"Microsoft has lost most of its major court cases."

I would like to take this as a sign that Microsoft was guilty, and our justice system actually works as intended (at least once in a while).

Re:Analog my friend...

[Linker3000]

What monitor?

You obviously haven't read the follow up article relating to the planned compulsory DCI display technology...Can't find the link at the moment, I'll post it later...

"Direct Cortex Injection will enable a high resolution 'display' image to be transmitted directly to the recipient's visual cortex where decoding of the encrypted data stream will be carried out by a pair of transceiver chips attached to the user's optic nerves. Several levels of public and private key encryption, coupled with authentication by the recipient's DNA signature will make the transmitted signal impossible to intercept.

Multicast modes will allow meetings and conferences to be 'viewed' by multiple recipients, provided that they accept the transmission using the appropriate sequence of evey movements against the virtual control interface.

Initial plans specify a low-power interface with an intended reception range of 30m, but wide-area use, such as real-time news broadcasts and opt-in advertising (rewarded by credits posted direcly to the receipient's bank), are planned for phase II roll out.

Power for the transceivers will be made by the innovative bio-glucose process recently unveiled.

Other uses for the technology include education during sleep, remote projection of images between persons (imagine 'being' at the party you're not 'at'!!). DMCA control will prevent one host from retransmitting copyright images, such as films, live concerts and corporate sensitive documents. One further development envisages an in-built cache to store several minutes of recent events as viewed by the host, with the images being retrievable by law enforcement agencies in the event of a fatality or accident (bio-glucose power being available for roughly 18 hours after the death of the host) A decision whether the implantation of DCI transceivers should be made compulsory has not yet been made although several organisations are believed to be pursuing this issue through various lobbying groups."

Re:The straw that broke the PHB's back?

[override11]

On some of the users, I just replaced the OOo icons with their old MS Word and MW Excel icons, and told them they got a new 'updated' version. Most didnt even notice, and if you go into Options and under load/save, choose 'always save as MS Word 97/2000', they will never even know the difference. Never say free tho, or they will think they are getting gyped. :)

Re:The Caching Issue

[KillerLoop]

... and thank God that Enigma was compromised, otherwise chances are good that you would be toast by now. Bretzel toast.

ROT13

[AlgUSF]

They will probably call ROT13 an encryption algorithm and sue anyone who discovers it. :-)