Storage wide area networks (SWANs) will allow organisations to store backup data virtually anywhere on the globe, unlike fibre-channel SANs, which have distance limitations. Storage and networking vendors are rushing to market with products even before industry standards have been set.
During its antitrust wrangling, Microsoft maintained that it had much to fear from alternative operating systems, including the advanced but application-poor BeOS, Apple's Mac OS and the open-source-based Linux. A central tenet of Microsoft's emphasis on innovation has been that any kid in a garage could come along with software that will simply blow the company away.
