[sdw2003] Who woulda thunk it?? We'll see what timing they put on this project, though...

[Thaddeus Braun]

Microsoft to Open Outlook .PST Format
10.26.09

The Microsoft Office Interoperability team on Monday announced that it
would make the Outlook .PST file format - which stores email, calendar
entries, and contacts - accessible to third-party developers. The move
means that other software, both on the client and on servers, will be
able to access and manipulate the data using any programming language. 

Significantly, it will also mean that the actual Outlook program, part
of the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software, will not need to
be installed. The team intends to fully document how data is stored, how
to access it, and the actual structure of the PST file. 

It's worth noting, however, that Microsoft has merely stated its intent
to open the PST format, and not provided a timeframe in which it will do
so. 

"This documentation is still in its early stages and work is ongoing. We
are engaging directly with industry experts and interested customers to
gather feedback on the quality of the technical documentation to ensure
that it is clear and useful," Paul Lorimer, group manager of Microsoft
Office Interoperability wrote in a blog post. "When it is complete, it
will be released under our Open Specification Promise, which will allow
anyone to implement the .pst file format on any platform and in any
tool, without concerns about patents, and without the need to contact
Microsoft in any way." 

A result of Microsoft's Interoperability Principles, announced in early
2008, the move seems designed to broaden the audience for
Outlook/Exchange, though not requiring Outlook to be installed to use
the format would seem to reduce demand for purchased copies of the
software. 

This open-sourcing of the Outlook/Exchange infrastructure comes on the
heels of Apple's decision including support for Exchange/Outlook
accounts in its latest operating system version, Mac OS X 10.6, or "Snow
Leopard". On the other hand, opening up the format may lessen the appeal
of Snow Leopard's inclusion of the feature. Apple has made much of the
fact that you can access Exchange accounts in its OS without purchasing
extra software, while in Microsoft's own OS, Windows 7, you need to buy
a copy of Outlook to do so. Of course, any computer with a Web browser
can access Exchange accounts through Outlook Web Access, but this new
development and Apple's support mean that locally installed mail clients
other than Outlook will work with Exchange accounts.

Thaddeus Braun 
IT Manager
Taylor Guitars
p: 619.258.1207
e: thaddeus.braun at taylorguitars.com
w: www.taylorguitars.com
"Stay active, stay healthy, stay balanced..."