Re: Micro$oft and Java

[leefi@microsoft.com]

| The interesting thing here is a plan to use digital signatures on 
| controls and scripts as a means of authentication.

There was a press release on this. The PR index on 
http://www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/pr.htm points to a few 
Internet-related announcements that were made on 12/7. A brief 
quote on these signatures:

"Microsoft plans to propose the Internet digital signature 
specifications to the W3C and the IETF as an open Internet standard. 
The technology will be an open, proposed specification available to 
the entire Internet community.  In addition, as part of the Open 
Process Design Review, Microsoft will host a digital signature design
preview in January to solicit feedback from the Internet community."

This week there was also another workshop for ~150 ISVs, and these 
signatures were one of the topics. The event was not under any NDA, 
so you should start seeing feedback once folks get home and they 
catch up with mail (at least two were on Cypherpunks). The folks 
putting on the event have put lots of docs on the "Sweeper" SDK, on 
the below-referenced web site. Honestly, I'm not sure if all the stuff
from the event this week is up there; if not now, most of it will get
added in the next week or so.

| Servers and some clients will support end-to-end encryption.  No 
details...

I believe SSL in current versions of the web browser and server, PCT 
around the corner (perhaps PCT is earlier than I'm thinking).

| Maybe I'll test the search capabilities of the MS Web site later tonight.

The clearinghouse for internet developer info (opened 12/7):
  http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/
It contains info on various VB Script, OLE Control, etc, as they refer to 
some of our Internet solutions.

A page related to this press briefing (I presume also opened 12/7):
  http://www.microsoft.com/internet/

Hope this helps,
Lee Fisher
(wondering if I really should've de-lurked)