Microsoft wants its Sender ID framework to be more popular to get back more revenue into its coffers and its willing to do that under its Open Specification Promise (OSP) program. Sender ID is an anti-spam technology born out of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which Microsoft participated in and holds a number of patents. Up until the OSP release, those patents made the Microsoft implementation of Sender ID incompatible with more relaxed, open licenses, such as the GNU General Public License.

According to Mac News :

However, intellectual property questions arose two years ago about possible patent claims Microsoft might be likely to make over the application. After that, the likelihood that Sender ID would provide the platform for an industrywide standard diminished amid fears by some developers that Microsoft would go after them for royalties.

“There have been lingering questions from some members of the development community about the licensing terms from Microsoft and how those terms may affect their ability to implement Sender ID,” said Brian Arbogast, corporate vice president of the Windows Live Platform Development Group at Microsoft. “By putting Sender ID under the Open Specification Promise, our goal is to put those questions to rest and advance interoperable efforts for online safety worldwide.”

Now’s the time to go on a trip to visit your old friends and Microsoft will pay for the trip too. They are having a promotion for users of Windows Live Messenger who add in their Yahoo Contacts.

Rules on the site say : Must be 18 year or older and a US resident. Trip awarded as a $3,000 travel voucher.

Win a Trip Using MSN Messenger site

The new Vista Build 5728 is out to beta testers. According to the Windows Vista Team Blog, the 57xx builds are reserved for Release-to-Manufacturing (RTM).

New Vista Build 5728 source

In a case of “too late and done that before”, the guys at Microsoft are coming up with some scaled down online versions of its Office suites. Big deal. With so many so called Web 2.0 services around, why should I even bother to wait for them ? They will have to give me free t-shirts before I use their site. Good thinking ?

techdigest says

Presumably in a bid to compete with the ever diversifying range of online products from Google, amongst others, there are reports emerging that Microsoft may consider releasing free, scaled-down web versions of its popular Office software.