SOROSMAN here. Alot of talk about Longhorn/LaGrande..........
today. IMHO, Wave will be an integral part of Longhorn/LaGrande. In what fashion and to what degree is anyone's guess. MSFT does not have the best record in terms of "squeaky clean" new software platforms. In fact, MSFT's record is pretty weak. However, MSFT's monopoly makes their weak record sort of superfluous. Consumers are "forced" to buy MSFT's products because everyone uses WINDOWS (or just about anyway). In the case of digital security, Gates has made it known that he wants to really nail it down. So....I think Gates will incorporate EMBASSY in some fashion. I still believe that Intel conferred with Gates before they went ahead with Wave Systems. Gates gave Intel the green light and so now we are hooked up with Intel.
LaGrande will certainly utilize EMBASSY. It makes no sense to come out with Wave Systems now and then "turn the tables" around with Intel's customers with some different product a short time later. That is silly.
Everyone ought to understand that Wave is not going for the "whole enchilada" when it comes to the digital security realm. They want to be a major part of Web Services as it relates to digital security. They want a piece of every digital transaction out there via SignOnline (the SmartSafe, SmartSignature), DocumentManager or FINREAD related applets. Wave does not want to make the chips. Wave wants to make the chip more secure, more interoperable, more robust and more versatile. Intel will make the chip. Wave Systems will make Intel's chip better. Remember the BASF adage? "We don't make alot of the things you buy. We make alot of the things you buy BETTER!" IMO, this is what Wave Systems is about in a sense. Wave Systems will not make Longhorn or LaGrande or anything else per se. Wave Systems will make all the above work BETTER! And therein, we are ubiquitous.
So....don't worry about Longhorn. Longhorn is something I look forward to because I think we will be part of Longhorn. The same thing with LaGrande. The same thing with whatever NSM come out with and STMicroelectronics and Infineon and NEC and Samsung and so on. I look forward to DELL being in the picture and HWP and Sun Microsystems and even CISCO. I look forward to Nokia and Qualcomm being in the picture somehow. I look forward to Motorola and AMD and Siemens and Philips Electronics being part of the picture.
It is an interesting picture, I must say!!!
Tally Ho