a couple of links i think are interesting

[dep]

first, looks as if maybe the lately troublesome zlib was scooped up 
and used by msft:

Microsoft's borrowed code may pose risk

By Robert Lemos
	   
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 14, 2002, 12:05 PM PT
A security flaw in open-source software used by Linux and Unix systems 
for compression may affect some Microsoft products that also use the 
code.
As reported earlier this week by CNET News.com, a flaw in the zlib 
software-compression library could leave much of the systems based on 
the open-source operating system Linux open to attack.
On Thursday, researchers reported that at least nine of Microsoft's 
major applications--including Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, 
DirectX, Messenger and Front Page--appear to incorporate borrowed 
code from the compression library and could be vulnerable to a 
similar attack. . . .

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-860328.html

second, and this is a shameless plug but i think it's of interest 
also, esr's wife has had a running discussion with the kde developers 
over the last month, seeking ease-of-use features:

ESR's wife, Cathy, becomes de facto KDE User Advocate

What began as comments made by Linux luminary
      Eric S. Raymond about KOffice's KPresenter
      program has blossomed into a lengthy exchange
      that addresses fundamental issues that participants
      say must be resolved if Linux is to become
      a mainstream desktop operating system.
Spanning multiple KDE mailing lists, the
      discussion has at its center Raymond's wife,
      Catherine Olanich Raymond, a lawyer in a
      Philadelphia firm, who emerged a strong voice
      for users seeking to adopt Linux and KDE.
      She was joined in her advocacy by Rob Landley,
      a developer well known in Linux circles and
      beyond. . . .

http://www.linuxandmain.com/news/raymond.html
-- 
dep
--
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts.
                                    -- Daniel Patrick Moynahan