OK – this isn’t news today. But this whole Microsoft dot-NET thing – uh, a bit behind, aren’t they? I think it’s bs masquerading as a strategy. Let me repeat – I think it’s total bs – everything about it. It’s ONLY there so that if the Supremes do break them up, they can “legitimately” say, “well, see, we had this whole revolutionary strategy, but you bastards in gov’t won’t let us do it so it’s all your fault”. They’re simply trying to up the ante a little bit – or a lot – to make it harder for the Supreme court to uphold Judge Jackson’s decision.

That might sound cynical, but it’s not – it’s simply realistic. Two things. One, if MS wanted to make this work in “the MS way”, even a little bit, their actions would make the stuff that’s already been ruled illegal look like jaywalking. That’s why everyone else is having so much trouble in this space – it’s a very delicate thing to get a system like dot-NET working. Second – everyone else is already there. Netscape/AOL – been there for a year or more. Sun – been there for years, spent hundreds of millions already (can you say ‘Jini’?). Nokia/Motorola/Ericsson/etc – they’re there already, taking baby steps. Apple is there, in a way. WAP is there. Userland (and particularly Dave Winer) is there, and has been for ages. IPv6 – something like dot-NET is precisely what it’s about – only more ambitious, more open, and maybe even more realistic. Oh – don’t forget Loudcloud, Andreeson’s new-ish project – which definitely treads on similar ground.