Columnists' corner: By stating that it will make WinFS a part of SQL Server and ADO.Net, Microsoft has killed the unified file system dream, Oliver Rist writes. "As a stand-alone file system that would have dropped onto existing Longhorn installations, WinFS just did a face plant. Got snuffed. Pushed up a whole pile of daisies." That's not to say developers won't be happy, Rist adds in this week's installment of Enterprise Windows.

Security: EMC says it will buy RSA for $2.1 billion to obtain its information-centric security technologies. "Information security ... has become an inseparable attribute of information management," says EMC CEO Joe Tucci. But one analyst notes that until EMC articulates a security strategy, it's too early to tell whether the purchase was a good idea.

Storage: Gateway jumps into the enterprise storage game (or at least the mid-tier) with a SAN and two backup devices the company hopes will give it spring enough to rebound from a $5.2 million dollar loss last quarter.

The news beat: Microsoft delays Office 2007 by a few months, saying that the extra time will allow engineers to incorporate feedback from 2.5 million beta testers. Two U.S. men are sent to the slammer for software piracy; one for 12 months, the other 18. Microsoft general manager for platform evangelism Vic Gundrota defects to archrival Google.

Posted by Tom Sullivan on June 30, 2006 04:37 AM