In a move that may prompt some to keep lookout for the signs of the Apocalypse, Microsoft admitted fault and apologized last Friday for breaking compatibility in Office 2003 and then slandering the competition while covering themselves.

We brought you the original story last week that Microsoft's Service Pack 3 for Office 2003 had severed user's ability to open a number of file formats, including past and present Word formats and those of several popular competitors. In an attempt to cover their actions, Microsoft announced the severed formats were "less secure" than the current Microsoft versions, and were blocked in the interests of user security. They've now backtracked, and announced — through the foot in their metaphorical mouth — that the formats aren't insecure, but rather the way Microsoft's products handle those formats.

In addition to apologizing to the slandered parties — which included long-time competitor Corel — and updating the inaccurate Knowledge Base materials, Microsoft released an easier workaround to the problem, eliminating the need for users to make registry edits. The new workaround is available in the revised documents from Microsoft.

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