Evan,

>>Some would say "take the MS blinders off!" (hint=JN <bg>) but it would be great if my next VB app suddenly runs on Linux too!
>
>I am not so sure. I thought I read a news item recently indicating that Corel was on the verge of dumping their Linux distro. I wonder if the bail out comes with any deal attached? Could it be that Microsoft doesn't want WordPerfect to die?

They might want it to stay alive so that they can claim that Office is not a monopoly.

There are lots of other corollaries to this. Perhaps there are deals "under the table" where MS's cash infusion will cause Corel to go in a certain direction with products.

Could it even be a first step in MS buying Corel out? In light of all the folks already screaming MONOPOLY! they might not be looking for this, but then again you never know.

It is all very interesting...

JoeK