Patrick E. Bennett, Jr., Computer Consultant ... computing support for small business

Microsoft has announced they plan to fully document the data structure used for its flagship email client, Outlook, and make it easily and freely available to developers.

This is a move that could result in huge improvements to interroperability between email programs and innovation in the communications and groupware suite (email, contacts, calendaring, tasks, etc.) software sector.  At the very least, it will mean that your email will no longer be locked up in an Outlook prison, but can be easily backed up and restored, read even if you do not have a working installation of Outlook, and even easily transported from one computer to another.

In a stunning revelation of the obvious, Microsoft seems to have had the profound insight that "data portability was becoming increasingly important to customers and clients."  Maybe they're finally getting it.