I'm having the same problems with both Sony Ericsson who have not updated thier software for OL2007 and also Motorola who are in the same boat.

Very poor all around...

I'm shocked. Microsoft change a format? It is only accepted by the new version of the software? It forces others to upgrade to the latest version to stay compatible?

I'm shocked!!

Has this happened before?

Sean: You've got the cart before the horse here. If a company (in this case, Microsoft) is going to change their file formats, it's _that company's_ responsibility to ensure backward compatibility.

Sure, sometimes backward compatibility isn't possible...but in the instances where it's not, it sure isn't the fault of third-party vendors (in this case, Sony Ericsson and Motorola).

John:

Microsoft is obligated to contact every third-party developer every time they change file formats? What if the developer in question only sold 15 copies of their add-on? What if they went out of business?

Come on people, do not be ridiculous!

I have suffered for years from the ineptitude of mobile phone software programmers.

First there was no support for office 2000, then 2003, now 2007.

Everybody knows that Microsoft will release a new office product every few years, every developer worth any professionalism has MSDN subscription, that subscription entitles you to beta versions of upcoming products, and as much documentation as you could possibly ever need.

It makes me laugh, when big companies cannot provide support for current market-leader software, when, one-man “3rd world” developers support everything long before it hits the shelves.

Examples are numerous, - most amusing is Sage – most of their crap is not working with Vista. Apparently, speaking to Sage support, it came as a surprise to them...

Those questioning whether it's MS's problem might like to know the likely actual issue here and then maybe they'd understand. Outlook 2007 uses, to use layman's terms that won't cause "whooshing", MS Word XML-style HTML, instead of IE-style. If you've ever looked at Word's HTML output you either now understand why this decision is MS's responsibility, or you really ought to go and find a site to comment on whose subject matter you comprehend.

Microsoft, for all their faults, are upfront about their development plans, make beta software and documentation available to third party developers and are usually a bit late in releasing new software giving everybody a bit of breathing space.

There is no excuse for any third party developer, especially the size of RIM, to not be upto speed. Nobody likes to be forced into a development cycle by anybody, but when you operate in a free market you need to provide for the needs of the market. Whether RIM likes it or not Vista and Office 2007 have happened and the fact that they are not upto speed casts them in a bad light not Microsoft.

Contrast this with the situation that companies developing for the Apple platform found themselves in early 2006 when Apple released the Intel Mac platform 6 months ahead of previously published schedules? Ok for the home market that Apple were targeting it made no difference, they were happy with iLife. For business professionals it was a problem as software companies were still coding for the swap from the PowerPC platform to Intel and were anything upto 6 months away from releasing Intel Mac compatible software.