UPDATE: Microsoft's Bill is not in the mail

As noted a few days ago, Bill Gates gets things moving. His comments while at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, about quelling spam by a "postage" system that creates economic friction got the media in a flurry for sure. First, we heard about the rising tide. Then, as this piece in the Globe and Mail's technology section illustrates, the tide went out.

The well-justified, standard counter-responses have been trotted out: (1) It's all about Microsoft wanting to make more money [D'oh! No kidding . . . uh, and? . . . ed.]; (2) It's too hard to implement [Where there's a Will . . . there's money. And where there's money, there's always a way. ed. -- again]; (3) Spammers typically are "invisible," so how would you bill them? [They gotta get online somehow -- and get their money through the responses that do come in, sometime. See response to (2), above. ed. -- still going on]

Likely best interpretation: Bill was testing the "business" water. Microsoft (as others) is working out the technology. Based on the responses as presented in the Globe's item, the business solution is neither ready for prime time nor is the environment ready for the solution. So, one could expect the whole thing to go back below surface for a while again . . . waiting . . .

Posted by Grayson at February 9, 2004 07:50 AM