Redmond, come down to earth

Will you trust Microsoft to put vital personal information, including

financial records, medical records, tax files and personal and business

correspondence on online servers hosted by the company?

That is essentially what Microsoft is asking customers interested in buying

into its new .Net product strategy for which it announced the first set of

products and services this week. Customers who trust Microsoft will be able to

enjoy access to their files from just about any devices that can connect to

the Internet. It is a service Microsoft believes is the next big market

opportunity in next generation Internet usage.

The problem is not the software and hardware that is needed to get the .Net

architecture in place and operating. The problem clearly is that Microsoft is

Microsoft and the company has simply not earned the necessary trust for

consumers and businesses to en masse put our most vital and private

information on Microsoft-controlled computers.

Oh sure, Microsoft is saying all the right things, such as putting encryption

and all sorts of access security procedures into place to protect the data

from overly eager Microsoft marketers. The company promises to never share any

of the information stored on the servers with any other company.

But that is clearly not enough. It takes but a simple court order for the FBI

and other authorities to open up any specific customer's files. Are you

comfortable with that? I didn't think so.

And Microsoft has shown time and again that it is good at promising and not

delivering. It also excels at producing buggy software and including major

security holes in its server software. And its own online Web sites have been

subject to many successful attacks, including being shut down. It all adds up

to a clear and simple conclusion.

However good an idea .Net may be, Microsoft is at least five years away from

achieving a level of trust in both its integrity as a partner and the

integrity of its products to withstand the undoubted onslaught of hackers

trying to break in and dealing the .Net business a black eye.