EC to probe MS ODF announcement

The European Commission (EC) is to investigate Microsoft's announcement that it will build support for the OpenDocument Format (ODF) standard into a forthcoming update of Office 2007, reports VNUNet.com.

The EC said it had taken note of the proposals, and would monitor their progress as part of its ongoing anti-trust investigation into Microsoft and product interoperability.

"The commission would welcome any step that Microsoft took towards genuine interoperability, more consumer choice and less vendor lock-in," the EC said in a statement. "The commission will investigate whether the announced support of ODF in Office leads to better interoperability and allows consumers to process and exchange their documents with the software product of their choice."

Alcatel-Lucent, a company that deals in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, released a series of enhancements to its flagship product, Office Communication Solution (OCS), says TMCnet.

The improved portfolio, Office Communication Solutions 2008, is an open source platform designed exclusively to meet the requirements of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide.

OCS (not to be confused with Microsoft's Office Communications Server, also abbreviated OCS) is an open source software program built from the ground up for the SME market and is supported by many SME channel programmes. The software is used by more than 500 000 SMEs in different parts of the world.

Singapore has banned access to two pornographic Web sites in a "symbolic statement" of the country's societal values, its media regulator said today, according to Reuters.

The two sites, which the regulator declined to identify, but local media named as YouPorn and RedTube, work in a similar fashion to popular video-sharing Web site YouTube. The two Web sites allow users to add and download sex videos.

"It should be noted that the hardcore pornographic videos posted on these sites are very easily accessible by the young, as each video will start streaming for free once a user clicks on the related link," said Jason Hoong, an official from the Media Development Authority.

Advertising on mobile phones has enormous potential to become a significant platform for marketers, but any breakthrough is years away and major operators must work together to succeed, executives said.

Reuters reports that mobile operators increasingly see advertising as a powerful offering, given falling traditional voice revenue, as it allows brands to target consumers based on their location and at times of the day when they are otherwise hard to reach.

Executives from advertising and telecoms groups told the Reuters Technology, Media and Telecoms summit mobile advertising was inevitable and would become hard to resist.