WinInsider

In a lively online discussion Thursday, Microsoft engineers faced off with end users who lobbed irate questions, comments and a few tirades about its Internet Explorer browser. More than any topic, security reigned as the most pervasive theme during the online discussion, including when end users could see the next patch for vulnerabilities in IE.

Although Microsoft staffers picked the questions they wanted to answer, they did not shy away from the tough ones.

The Mozilla Foundation has confirmed findings that its Mozilla and Firefox browsers are vulnerable to attacks using the "shell:" scheme, which execute arbitrary code under Windows without the user having to click a link.

The reports indicate that links in a Web page using the "shell:" scheme can execute arbitrary programs on the user's system. The attacker would have to know the location in the file system of the program, but there are known programs in Windows with buffer overflows.

This means the attacker could create a link in a Web page that could execute arbitrary code under Windows. Through the use of an appropriate META tag, the attack could load without the user having to click a link explicitly.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's annual e-mail update to the Microsoft troops revealed much about the Redmond, Wash., giant's views on Linux and its other operating-system competition. In turn, we asked analysts and Linux leaders what they thought of Ballmer's latest Linux comments.

In the memo, Ballmer wrote, "We are effectively using independent studies by Forrester Research, the Yankee Group, IDC, Giga, BearingPoint and many others to change perceptions of the advantages of Windows over Linux when it comes to total cost of ownership [TCO], functionality and productivity advantages, support and security. We need to do work like this in every business to get customers to recognize our work and appreciate it fully."

It looks like Web Services are set to get a boost with the upcoming beta 1 release of the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. According to a spec sheet detailing the new beta on Microsoft's Web site, "the .NET Framework 2.0 Beta 1 release represents a significant milestone for the Web services and XML Serialization stack in the .NET Framework."

A number of different feature enhancements have been made to the framework in response to developer demands and needs. The new features include productivity enhancements, performance extensibility, and an explicit commitment to interoperability and standards.

Microsoft swapped geek for glitz on Thursday, rolling out a new collection of designer mice. The software company trotted out three mouse models--two wireless and one wired--with new features and such unusual colors as "cobalt basin," "crimson fire" and "mood ring." The wired model, in more modest blue and orange options, was created by famed industrial designer Philippe Starck.

Redmond launches a new matchmaker service, designed to connect Microsoft employees to software-vendor partners.

"He Ain't Kooky. He's My Buddy."

So say the posters adorning the Microsoft Redmond campus, announcing the launch of company's latest independent-software-vendor partner initiative. Microsoft quietly has taken the wraps off its "ISV Buddy Program," that is designed to match up Microsoft employees and software vendor partners.

"It's about putting a face to Microsoft and helping you get timely answers to your questions and requests. Through this 1-on-1 relationship, your Microsoft buddy will be able to guide you to resources and to help you succeed in building solutions on Microsoft platforms," according to information on the program that appears on the Microsoft Web site.

Just as there are theories about how the Earth will eventually meet its end, so there are theories about what will happen to Microsoft someday. Not that the death of a software company-even the software company-is very significant compared with the loss of one's planet, but whatever happens to Microsoft could actually happen in our lifetimes. Almost by definition, the end of the world will not.

I mention this upfront to demonstrate that there are worse things than a world without Microsoft. Some would say there are few better things than a Microsoft-free environment. I won't get into that discussion today, instead concentrating on the challenges Microsoft faces and how they play out over the long term.

Microsoft has partnered with Digital China, the nation's leading software vendor and systems integrator, to develop .NET-based enterprise and e-government packages for the Chinese market.

The deal comes less than a week after Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said the software giant would not sell cut-rate versions of Windows in China. The agreement is expected to help Digital China, which started off as a hardware distributor, take a step toward realizing its ambition of becoming a software development and IT services firm.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer yesterday portrayed the company as determined to stay atop its industry even as it deals with the realities of corporate middle age -- conscious of costs but still focused on technological advances.

In his annual memo to employees, the Microsoft CEO wrote about issues as diverse as the company's new business initiatives, its cash stockpile, its strategy for combating open-source software, its share price, and the future of its flagship Windows and Office products. He also expressed optimism about the company's prospects for growth, and he defended its effort to save nearly $1 billion in costs this fiscal year.

Microsoft officials are hoping that the company's long and winding road to legal victory in the US antitrust case will show European Union (EU) officials that Microsoft is curbing its abusive behavior. Although EU antitrust laws differ from US antitrust laws and the concerns raised in the EU antitrust case are different, Microsoft believes that both cases address the same questions.

"I do hope that people in Europe and around the world will pause and perhaps take a bit of time [to read the appellate court decision that ended the final legal challenge to the company's US case]," Microsoft Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary Bradford L. Smith said this weekend. "The decision addresses many of the precisely same questions that are front and center in Europe."