Thanks Primortal for posting this in the BPN forum. Looks like Microsoft is looking for ways to increase their popularity with the government... or are they? :paranoid:
Microsoft to Bundle AV Software with Windows
Given all the fluff that gets thrown into Windows these days, I"ve been wondering for a long time why Microsoft doesn"t bundle technology everyone actually needs, like Anti-Virus (AV) software. Well, the wondering is over. According to a report in TheStreet.com this week, everyone"s favorite software monopolist is striking an exclusive deal with McAfee.com to bundle, integrate and otherwise commingle AV software in future Windows versions. What"s most exciting about this news (for me, anyway) is that they"re doing it exactly the way I suggested last summer: Via an AV plug-in engine in Windows, similar to that used by XP"s Internet Connection Firewall (ICF). The idea is that Windows will ship with only the barest of functionality (again, ala ICF) and provide third parties with an opportunity to plug their technology into the OS (again, ala ICF as ZoneAlarm has done). Anyway, this is good stuff, and certainly more useful to the average Windows user than Windows Movie Maker or Windows Messenger.