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What does this mean for IT? Pretty much nothing. And that is why states such as Massachusetts are not backing the deal.

Microsoft is still free to add anything they want to Windows. And even though OEMs are generally free to remove these items, they would be loath to get rid of something of value. In short, the agreement does not level the playing field for OS rivals, and only gives competitors in the add-on space a slight break.

The New EMC?

Sometimes companies are at their best when they are running scared. After a long, profitable and generally proprietary run, EMC has found interoperability religion. The proof is WideSky, the company's storage management platform that controls gear from Compaq, HP, Hitachi, IBM and Sun. If it works, and if EMC is serious about interoperability, this could be a watershed storage event. The result could be storage area networks built on different vendors' gear, all working as one.

But EMC's claims could be as believable as a Bill Clinton denial. SANs will probably never be this easy. Customers will ultimately determine how far EMC can go with this strategy. If they continue to shy away from multimillion-dollar Symmetrix installations, EMC may be forced to take interoperability software more seriously. EMC's fate is in the storage buyers' hands.

Cisco Is Back, Sort of...