We've no way of knowing the source of the Microsoft documents ZD used for Friday's story on future versions of Windows (ZD Story). Maybe Microsoft leaked them deliberately to start the hype spinning again post Win2k, maybe they're real internal MS documents leaked without authorisation - but they seem to have had a bizarre effect. Microsoft historically has been a master of preannouncement, and whatever the provenance of the documents, their content wouldn't be out of place in a standard spin-heavy Microsoft presentation. It's all positive stuff giving a broad-brush and exciting picture of the road ahead, i.e. the material for a classic MS preannouncement. But humorously, down in the Talkback discussion section at the bottom of the ZD story, waves of apparently ordinary users are denouncing Microsoft; you have to get quite a way down the list before you get to a plaintive suggestion that maybe the story is on the receiving end of a coordinated attack by Linux hit-teams. For example: "Yawn. The hype is so thick..." "Here we go again..." "How much more Microsoft propaganda..." "Die Microsoft Die. Linux rules..." "Linux is the answer. Down with..." There's much, much more. Go have a look. Now, you can see a problem brewing here for MS spinmeisters. If they plant favourable stories (which they do) in the mags, these pesky discussion sections provide a handy interactive mechanism for the great unwashed to noisily voice their disbelief, thus undermining the favourable story through instant rebuttal. ®