Tasman, in my comments, says "I personally think you work in a very oppresive corporate environment and are not really as free as you would like to believe."

Ahh, but Tasman, I am free to say anything I want. I can even tell Bill Gates to split up Microsoft here. Now, Bill is free to fire me at any time, because of what I write, but that doesn't take away the fact that I'm free to write it. I just have to be willing to live with the consequences of what I write.

I note, however, that Tasman chooses to remain anonymous. You know, I really hate anonymity. If something is worth saying, it's worth signing your name to it. Otherwise, you're just a coward and telling the world that your thoughts are worthless and that we shouldn't pay any attention.

I'm proud to say I've never posted anonymously. I have a lot more support from Microsoft executives and my co-workers than I have had at any other corporation, by the way.

Not only am I posting with my real name, but you can call my cell phone (my number is 408-314-8233) and you can IM me at robertscoble@hotmail.com. (I've posted these several times before).

Oh, great, looks like blogrolling.com has been hijacked by some weasel named Adam.

Dave Winer: "what about me?"

Heh, my boss hinted that if I wanted review points that I better get his name into print.

The truth is, Dave's right. I shoulda mentioned my readers. Cause, I think about my readers just as much as I think about what Steve Ballmer is gonna think. Why? Cause if I try to give you a line, you all would just kick my behind.

But, in my defense, I was thinking about a question that Todd asked me, which was about Microsoft oversight of weblogs. I was trying to show that there isn't any, except in my own mind.

Don Park asks "will there be men's and women's versions of Longhorn?"

I wonder, what would the differences be?

Robert Levy told me about a SmartPhone site that he helps do, along with six others. I want one. A SmartPhone, that is, not a site about SmartPhones. Heh, I'm a SmartA##, does that make me SmartPhone compliant?

Oh, geez, now the article is starting to spread around the net like a virus. Here I am on MSNBC.

Tim Bourquin says I'm one of his favorites. Well, back at you Tim. I've learned a couple of things from your marketing-focused weblog today.

eWeek on .NET: "The end of last month marked the third anniversary of Microsoft's launch of its .Net strategy, which executives such as Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates said at the time was a "bet-the-company thing." But three years later, reactions are mixed as to whether that strategy, along with the vision that accompanied it, has played out as the Redmond, Wash., software developer had hoped."

Slashdot on .NET: "bla bla bla, Micro$oft sucks, bla bla bla."

.NET Weblogger Joshua Prismon on Slashdot. Heh.

Jeremy Helms converted his logo to ASCII. Cool!

Lora, at whatisnew.com, has a great article on using Tablets and Microsoft's new Reader.

Paul Vick: "I'm basically a semi-sellout who really enjoys working for the Man and everything that comes with it, but who nonetheless likes to pretend that he can also be his own man, with a little "m.""

Paul's blog looks to be interesting to Visual Basic types (he's a manager on that team). Subscribed!

Forbes on the new Microsoft stock plan.

Robert McLaws is talking about IE2, and it makes me wanna try it out.

My new-found fame has its distractions. Now people I don't know greet me in the halls saying "you're that BlogBoy." Heh. I think it was Don Box once that told me that fame is overrated. Gotta agree with him on that point.

Scott Johnson announced some changes to Feedster recently on his blog.

What a day. I thought the newspaper article would be hidden on page 5 of the business section, or something like that, where no one would see it. But, no, it was right there on the front page! Dang, I made it to the front page of a big-city newspaper and I wasn't shot, arrested, or caught doing something unethical. That is, unless you think weblogging is unethical. Well, weblogging is illegal in some countries.

Then I found out that the Associated Press would be syndicating the article, so my face might be in hundreds of newspapers in the morning. Luckily Steve Ballmer and the rest of Microsoft's execs tried to make sure that my face wouldn't be on the front page of your paper tomorrow. Yeah, they announced a new stock ownership plan.

Personal note to Steve Ballmer: the plan is awesome. I did not think I'd ever see a dime from the stock options (little known fact: every time Microsoft's stock goes up a dollar, that means Microsoft's value has gone up about the same amount as what Starbucks is worth in market terms -- translation: my small number of Microsoft stock options wouldn't have paid much back if the share price only doubled.) So, the new plan is a LOT nicer as an enticement for new employees (and for existing ones to stick around).

Speaking of which, there are still lots of Microsoft jobs open over at http://www.microsoft.com/careers -- why don't you apply?

Sean Alexander told me that hell froze over or something like that because his mom started a blog without his help.

It's weird for me to get quoted in the local newspaper. When I started weblogging, I never would have predicted I'd get attention for what I wrote on the Web. Yeah, it's a temporary fame. I'm riding off of the back of the hype that is weblogging. The press will soon pay attention to something and someone else. In the meantime, I'm off to buy a few copies of the PI to send to mom and dad. Oh, and thanks to Todd Bishop, the guy who wrote the article. He's a gentleman, and treated me fairly and was looking out for my interests, while trying to get a decent article too. Being a journalist often means getting a sensationalistic story angle, but that often means hurting your sources. Glad to see a journalist who cares about the people he's writing about.

Speaking of John Robb, I note his post is still cached in Feedster. Heh. The Webserver can be turned off, but if the RSS feed has been grabbed, there's nothing you can do to remove it from the Internet.

Hmm, are Chris Anderson and Sam Gentile the same person? One comes, one leaves. Hope things are going well Sam!

Speaking of changes in the Weblog world: John Robb, if you're out there, drop us a note. Hope you and your family are doing well.

Ray Ozzie talks about how mobile apps should act. Yeah! I know Chris Pirillo hates Outlook 2003, but the new Outlook is freaking awesome. It doesn't barf when you leave a wireless node. It doesn't slow you down. It doesn't crash. Why? Cause it pretends it's always offline. And wait until you see how it allows you to get your email without signing into a VPN anymore. It's the first Microsoft app that I've seen that really groks what Web Services are there for: to get through the firewall!

If I weren't working at Microsoft I'd be buying Office 2003 when it comes out just to get the new Outlook. It's that good. No matter what Chris Pirillo says about it. :-)

Loren is getting a little crazy with the Tablet PC. Cool blog post!

Chris Anderson is blogging again. He's one of the architects on Longhorn. He talks about liking Microsoft's Reader. I agree. He also talks about the role of artists vs. developers. Good stuff.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: "All the new kids on the blog: At tolerant Microsoft, some wonder when journals will cross line."