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Office Opens Up

The Buzz: Microsoft has spilled the beans on "Office 12," due out in the second half of 2006. Most significantly, the native file formats for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will now be XML--an open standard that creates smaller, more secure files (though .doc, .xls, and .ppt will still be supported). The XML format should also ease collaboration and make pulling dynamic info from a database simpler. Meanwhile, in an attempt to woo the Microsoft Office set, Sun is readying StarOffice 8, its bargain-priced multiplatform productivity suite. The big news: better importing and exporting of Microsoft Office file formats; improved PowerPoint interoperability, migration tools for converting Excel macros; and piles of usability improvements, like one-click PDF creation. Built on the open-source OpenOffice.org 2 code base, StarOffice 8 standard edition includes word processor, spreadsheet, database, drawing, and presentation apps. At $60 (as a download), this ultracompatible suite could tempt small businesses.

Bottom Line: Microsoft's long-overdue embrace of open industry standards will cheer big business and developers; consumers will likely greet the news with a big yawn.

The Sound of Radio

The Buzz: A raft of rockin' products is making Internet radio irresistible, while staying on the right side of the law. RadioTime ($39 to $59 a year for premium service) allows you to time-shift and record Internet programming TiVo-style. (You can also record local radio content using USB tuner hardware). Mercora ($48 a year) makes a huge and eclectic mix of programming drawn from users' "personal radio broadcasts" (more than 20,000 streams per day) available to subscribers' systems. Its new IM Radio Mobile brings Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs and Pocket PC phones into the mix. And for Windows users who have new SanDisk or IRiver MP3 players, AudioFeast's service ($36 a year) offers programs from thousands of content providers--all with industry-blessed digital rights management built in.

Bottom Line: Radio may be free, but these services are worth paying for.

A Motherboard Built for Two

The Buzz: Motherboards for current x86 systems come in two flavors: Intel and AMD. Or at least they did until ECS built the PF88 Extreme, a $95 hybrid board that handles AMD and Intel CPUs--including Pentium M chips and present and future dual-core chips. For the upgrade from P4 to Athlon 64, you'll need to add a $50 converter card. But the real story here is innovation, not raw performance.

Bottom Line: An odd duck. Still, future upgraders and system builders who just can't commit will be charmed.