This is an interesting move. MSFT, which owns the productivity market, is now opening itself up to an attack by releasing a translator that will convert documents from the Open XML format to the OpenDocument format. This is not a bad move since interoperability works both ways. One reason people switch products is due to direct network effects -- they want to be able to interoperate with others using the same software. With this convertor, Office users can continue to work with colleagues that use the OpenDocument format. While most users use a small percentage of the bloated functionality in Office, some users like the seamless interoperation between products within the Office suite and even the broader MSFT suite of enterprise applications. With this move, MSFT keeps the open format options alive for users and not making it a choice between independent stacks (MSFT vs. OpenSource or J2EE). Since Office users constitute the larger userbase and revenue source, any threat to this core group will have a big impact on other products and services. This move may help them solidify their user base!