One point was made to me repeatedly while covering the HIMSS show for ZDNet Healthcare this week. All this “good Microsoft” stuff about supporting open source, abut placing code on Codeplex, and about keeping open source projects “in the loop” regarding format changes, is no head fake.

"...We're not here to solve Microsoft's problems. Microsoft's solution is for web standards developers to carry the burden of its browser failings. That is unacceptable for us, as web standards developers. Web standards development is browser agnostic. For open standard to flourish, we have to be independent of the browser vendors..."

I'm a blogger but I like to write about personal things that don't belong in a blog. I have been using a standard text editor to manage my personal writings but there are always shortcomings with standard editors when it comes to keeping a personal journal. I recently happened upon a very nice application tailored specifically for people who keep a personal journal.

In the last several days Microsoft has shown that despite claims of acquiring a newly found respect for open principles and technology, developers should be cautious in believing promises made by this “new” Microsoft.

Imagine a world without Linux. There'd be no cute Tux penguin or any notion of software freedom day. Netbooks would not have come about. But more strikingly, there wouldn't be the modern powerful tools that Windows systems administrators have come to love.

There’s a movement afoot in the web development community that says it’s time to move beyond standards and take the web to a new levels. Unhappy with the pace of innovation at the W3C, many developers are calling on browser manufacturers to go beyond supporting official W3C specifications and develop tools to support new features.

Since the time our first Web Browser Grand Prix debuted, the already-raging browser wars have become heated indeed. In case you haven't been keeping tabs on the browser news, let's begin by getting up to speed on the latest:

In addition to answering questions about how Microsoft plans to take on its rivals and capture the hearts and devices of consumers, Chairman Bill Gates spoke to CNET News.com on other topics, not all of which fit into Monday's Newsmaker piece. Here are a couple more questions and answers from Gates.

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