In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: Microsoft Windows Live? Not Yet--And Maybe Not Ever
2. Today's Top Story
    - Microsoft's Free Web-Based Virus Scanner Sends Data Back To Microsoft
    - Microsoft Intros Business Portal Lite Shared-Source Project
    - Bringing Peace To The Windows-Linux Front
    - Office 12 Preview Leaks To Web
    - Gates: Microsoft Making 'Sea Change' In Software Strategy
    - Microsoft To Offer Online Versions Of All Its Apps
3. Breaking News
    - Mozilla's Firefox 1.5 RC1 Rollout Sparks Complaints
    - Firefox Reportedly Breaks 10% Barrier Worldwide
    - IT Pros Bummed Out About Job Prospects, Survey Says
    - Solar Power Charges iPod
    - Nokia Launches Mobile-TV Phone
    - Symantec To Offer Single-License Enterprise Bundle
    - Startup Unveils Nanoscale Batteries
    - Startup Aims To Make Online Video Profitable
    - Sun Unveils Encrypted Tape But Remains Cryptic About Storage Future
4. In Depth: Business
5. Voice Of Authority: Competing With Emerging Economies
6. White Papers: Backup And Recovery
7. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
8. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription

And when Microsoft talks about its future plans, they're describing a change in business model so broad and sweeping that it's completely unprecedented. I suspect Microsoft has no idea what it's letting itself in for.

The Windows Live site is your basic customizable home page. It's got E-mail. It's got online bookmarks. You can do Windows Messenger instant-messaging from that page. You can search the Web. These technologies were fresh and innovative during the Clinton administration. Today? Not so much.

Live also includes OneCare online security services, which is pretty cool, but which was unveiled some time ago.

Microsoft's future plans involve online, hosted versions of all its applications, including subscription and advertiser-supported Office, and, possibly, hosted enterprise apps such as CRM.

If all of this sounds familiar, that's because it is. It sounds a lot like Microsoft's .Net initiative, which it revealed with a similar level of fanfare in 2000. Like Live, .Net involved Microsoft hosting a lot of applications, which would run across a range of devices, from smart phones to traditional PCs. That initiative fizzled, perhaps because it was simply too early. Or perhaps because customers simply aren't interested.

Read the rest and leave your $0.02 at the InformationWeek Weblog.

Mitch Wagner
mwagner@cmp.com
www.informationweek.com

Related Stories:
Microsoft Intros Business Portal Lite Shared-Source Project
Based on Microsoft Dynamics SL, the thin-client offering features time and expense reporting, approvals, Web project analysis, and communicator alert capabilities.

Bringing Peace To The Windows-Linux Front
Centeris management tools simplify administration of mixed Windows-Linux environments.

Office 12 Preview Leaks To Web
An early version of Office 12, Microsoft's next-generation application suite, appears to have been leaked and may be available from several sites.

Gates: Microsoft Making 'Sea Change' In Software Strategy
By developing new Windows Live and Office Live products and other online offerings, Microsoft is betting it can build a business on software supported by advertising instead of licensing and leverage the millions of programmers proficient in Microsoft technology to help the company go up against Google and other competitors.

Microsoft To Offer Online Versions Of All Its Apps
Over time, virtually every piece of Microsoft's software lineup will be offered as a server or a service, chairman Bill Gates said. He and CTO Ray Ozzie unveiled the company's new Windows Live and Office Live offerings Tuesday.

Firefox Reportedly Breaks 10% Barrier Worldwide
Although U.S. Web-measuring firms have recorded slipping market share for Firefox, a Dutch Web-metrics firm claims the alternative browser is now used by 11.5% of the world's users.

IT Pros Bummed Out About Job Prospects, Survey Says
Last month, health-care workers were the most optimistic, followed by accounting and financial-services pros. IT pros were less optimistic than workers in those other sectors.

Solar Power Charges iPod
Holland-based Soldius b.v. plans to sell its solar-powered charger for iPods, PDAs, and cellular phones to the U.S. market.

Nokia Launches Mobile-TV Phone
Available in mid-2006, the N92 offers a hinged, 2.8-inch display that lets the device sit on a table like a portable DVD player or twist into an LCD viewfinder like a handheld video camera.

Symantec To Offer Single-License Enterprise Bundle
The Mail Security Enterprise Edition, a single-licensed suite, lets customers choose between multiplatform software-based, appliance-based, and hosted service programs.

Startup Unveils Nanoscale Batteries
Startup A123Systems on Wednesday unveiled a line of nanoscale, lithium-based batteries said to deliver up to 10 times longer battery life and five times the power gains.

Startup Aims To Make Online Video Profitable
Revver is attaching ads to the videos submitted to its site, then splitting any ad revenue generated evenly with video creators.

Sun Unveils Encrypted Tape But Remains Cryptic About Storage Future
Although the T10000 enterprise tape drive is a follow-on to StorageTek's 9940B tape, Sun didn't elaborate further on its storage plans in the wake of its integration of StorageTek.

All our latest news

Sun's First-Quarter Loss Narrows Slightly
For the three months ended Sept. 25, Sun lost $123 million, compared with a loss of $133 million in the same quarter a year ago, but CEO Scott McNealy maintains the company's recovery is still on track.

Survey: Most Companies Are Dysfunctional
Healthy companies turn decisions into action--something many U.S. firms are unable to do, according to a survey by management consultancy Booz Allen.

SPSS 3Q Earnings More Than Quadruple
New customers for the analytic software firm include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FBI, Harley-Davidson, Humana, LexisNexis, and the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command.

Brief: Nortel 3Q Loss Narrows Despite Charges
The communications company posted a third-quarter loss of $105 million, or 2 cents per share, on sales of $2.66 billion, compared with a net loss of $259 million, or 6 cents per share, on sales of $2.18 billion in the year-ago quarter.

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