Post navigation There's no question that Microsoft is a unique company. They're gigantic, and they have an incredible amount of resources at their disposal. The company spends billions on R&D every year too, so it should be no surprise that they are often ahead of the curve when it comes to technology innovations. I don't know what the problem is, but I continue to be amazed at how they can be so far ahead, and yet so far behind, all at the same time : Given Microsoft's statements about a hybrid approach, with online and offline products, the company should be ahead of the pack in delivering synchronization between the two modes... Yeah, you would think so! But no. It happened with Ajax, and it's going to happen again with offline apps. Microsoft developers will know that seamless offline access has been an important part of Microsoft's .NET message for years, yet it looks like it will be other companies stealing the spotlight. Just as Microsoft had the guts of Ajax in use long before it was known as Ajax, the same will happen with offline apps, especially when Firefox 3 ships. As a Microsoft developer, it saddens me. They have some amazing stuff going on, but they seem to get lost when it comes to making the new and interesting technologies front and centre in the industry. Is it just a marketing thing? I am not sure. I agree with u, Microsoft is the biggest company in the pc