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Microsoft's parasitical hold is so complete that even what few competitors still exist are forced to support Microsoft's file formats in order to survive. Any program that can't open and save MS Word files is doomed, no matter how well-written or beautiful it is. There are any number of free programs out there that chew bites out of Word, and they're FREE too! But, any problems these may have translating Word documents reduces the chance of anyone taking a risk on a third-party product. So now, Microsoft even has control over the viability of their competition. All they need to do now is change the document's format - the way it saves files - enough so any previous version won't open it, and the competition is locked out until the changes can be incorporated into their programs. This puts a financial burdon on smaller companies (remember - everyone else is smaller) who are forced to distibute software updates at the whim of Microsoft. Even legitimate users of previous Microsoft applications are forced to buy upgrades or struggle with incompatibilities. The punch line is that this is exactly how it works! Each version of MSWhatever saves files in a manner that is somehow different from the previous version. Now you know why. But at last a shot has been fired across the bows of the behemoth. Apple now makes direct competitors to both PowerPoint and Word from a company that can actually write, ship and support great software. Last January the iWorks programs; KeyNote and Pages were announced. Where the popular iLife series contains beefed-up versions of iPhoto, iTunes GarageBand and other programs that appeal to the home and small business user, 'iWork" currently has only two parts: Keynote and Pages. Keynote is a presentation program that will frankly eat PowerPoint for lunch, it even imports and exports Microsoft compatible presentations. Exported Keynote documents are constrained by the limitations of PowerPoint - which is after all - older than many of the people now using it. But let's not bother with the Keynote right now because the real power of iWork lurks in Pages. ...to be continued 9:31:22 AM
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Microsoft not only enjoys a rigid monopoly on computer operating systems, they have managed to leverage that dominance to push every other word processor, spreadsheet and presentation program right off the table. Now, and for few good reasons, Microsoft Office dominates the basic software application categories of word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs. It's interesting that they can't seem to buy or build a good data base or a graphics application. Perhaps Redmondo's pathologically left-brain orientation makes them incapable of understanding half of their user's experience. About that percentage of Microsoft's enterprises are failures in the market. 
