Will Bloat and Complexity Get the Best of Windows? Probably Not
by Alex Woodie

There's been a lot of discussion regarding a session two Gartner analysts presented at last week's Gartner conference titled 'Windows Is Collapsing: How What Comes Next Will Improve.' The analysts' view--that Windows Vista's failure stems from being a fat, bloated operating system, and that greater virtualization of Windows components is Microsoft's last and greatest hope for rescue--certainly sounds good. However, while these are certainly valid points, they fail to recognize that Windows has never been more successful than it is right now. READ MORE >

More Wheeling, But No Dealing in Micro-Hoo
by Alex Woodie

There have been talks aplenty in the last week over Microsoft's plan to buy Yahoo, but there are no solid deals, and the outcome is still far from clear. Yahoo's plan to explore outsourcing lucrative ad serving to Google irked Microsoft. Meanwhile, Yahoo continued talks with Time Warner's AOL unit that could stave off an acquisition by Microsoft. And in an unexpected twist, Microsoft is talking with News Corp. about a deal to join forces to buy Yahoo. READ MORE >

Microsoft Unveils New Security Vision as 'Stirling' Goes to Beta
by Alex Woodie

Microsoft unveiled a new 'vision' last week at the RSA Security conference called 'End to End Trust' that has the far-reaching goals of creating a trusted stack of software, from the hardware to the OS to the applications, while ensuring the privacy of individuals and engaging all parties in a new dialog on the meaning of security and privacy in our new Internet world. Meanwhile, the software company unveiled a new piece of software: the first beta of 'Stirling,' its integrated security management suite for Windows. READ MORE >

As I See It: Misera Plebs Contribuens
by Victor Rozek

Greetings, misera plebs contribuens! It's what the Hungarian people started calling themselves after King Andreas II exempted the nobility from taxation--an immunity which, like one, long, baronial happy meal, lasted from the 13th to the 19th century. It means 'miserable tax-paying people,' and if you've already prepared this year's return, you probably feel like one READ MORE >