I happen to agree here. I've read zaine's reviews and posts on other websites and I see this same bias applied there as was in this review.
Open source should only be a consideration in choosing a product when the person/company has intent to modify it. Open source does not suddenly make a product that much better simply because of this fact.
Most of what I read that is negative against Microsoft and the major COMMERCIAL products in this review is opinion and not something that I, as a consumer, would base my purchase/use of a software program on. I am not going to choose a program just because it supports ODF, I am going to purchase and use a program because it supports the formats I require or my job requires. I am sorry but there aren't many major organizations which utilize ODF.
When I read the reviews of certain products in this Round up, I find more and more bias towards an open source solution rather than the commercial solutions. I also see the huge negative bias towards Microsoft and its products simply because, as said in the roundup, "They are microsoft".
When choosing a solution, I look for one that best suits my needs, not one that supports some format which is trying to make a standard. When the day comes that ODF actually makes a dent in the market-share of being a de-facto standard, I will re-evaluate my product choice and use it, but until then, while its nice to see a product support ODF, its not going to be, as I am sure others can agree, a major deciding factor or one that says "Oh, it supports ODF, forget these other products".
Usability is far more important to me, as is feature content.
Microsoft's format is not proprietary, and I would like to see documentation to prove otherwise since the claim has been made. The MS-OOXML format has such a large documentation set because every time they release something, some company sues them for lack of documentation. They are being proactive in this effort and trying to support OOXML as a legit format and one that anyone can adapt.
I like the reviews on DC, but I really hope that personal bias can be left to the side when they are written. I saw this same bias applied to the email review because the reviewer was a BAT user themselves.
