Microsoft has halted development of Outlook Express, and has announced that future versions of IE will be tied to the particular version of windows the system is running. The express project manager said that they were hoping that business managers and end users would upgrade to, and pay for, Outlook, the mail client that comes with Office, or switch to Hotmail.

What does this mean? Microsoft's freebies are being pulled.. I suspect it means that they're declaring that their war to put an end to their competitors in the Email and Browser market is won, and now they're ready to squeeze a captive market to make some money. What's left? Netscape is truly dead, and Mozilla has joined the open source movement, with whatever future we can offer them.. We have no corporation left that can make bundling deals though, so apart from enthusiastic users who know about Mozilla, there's nothing left on windows to stand in their way. Email? Well, there's Eudora, and that's pretty much it. I do feel obliged, thanks to their threatening me with a lawsuit some time back, to say here that the developers of Pegasus, should there still be any, suck, and that I wish nothing but ill on them and their product. But anyhow, it doesn't really matter anymore. Microsoft Office is at least initially installed on most PCs, Microsoft recieving money from the manufacturer, and then from later upgrades. It's hard to migrate from Microsoft Office because they use incompatible formats for Email. Microsoft's stranglehold wins on PCs running windows. And the DOJ, in its antitrust trials, has completely dropped the ball, and has even allowed the settlements to be another way for Microsoft to extend its dominance. Open Source is a last refuge of freedom.. will it survive? Microsoft has already manipulated the legal/political system so adeptly... Monopoly...

I just got back from PerlMongers.. it went well, and I had some good conversations... it's very different from Zets. I'll need to think before I decide if I want to give up on Zets meetings once a month for it.

I was reading up on a controversy on Mel Gibson's new christian movie.. Every time I read the word 'deicide', I have trouble avoiding laughing out loud... Of course, it's one of the sillier things in christian theology.. god can die, at least in a form. And there's that weird 'is it a good thing' question there, and 'what does it do'.. It's so bizarre that going through with an execution is supposed to somehow make all the bad things that people do suddenly be forgiven. That entire thing just makes you go 'Huh?'

Anyhow, I'm sleepy. But ... I hate giving up the little free time I have left again before I go back to work to sleep. Hmmmm