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Microsoft Matures
by Arie Slob
Hello Windows users,
 Ok, maybe not in the way you were thinking when reading the title, but the company is slowly moving from the so-called "New Economy" to the "Old Economy". This week Microsoft announced that it will terminate its once-lucrative stock option plan it used so successfully in the past to attract potential employees. Starting in September this year, Microsoft will offer a more viable compensation package, that include real stocks, rather then stock options that give employees the right to purchase stock at a set price.
In the stock market tech bubble of the 1990's, Microsoft lured top talent to the company with the promise of stock options that virtually insured they could strike it rich. Well over 1,000 of Microsoft employees did, and became millionaires at that time. But the burst of the tech-bubble at the end of the 1990's meant that Microsoft's earnings became to resemble more and more that of an "Old Economy" corporation, rather than the double-digit growth of the early years. Most of the stock options Microsoft issued beyond the late 1990's are "under water" or basically worthless because of it's sagging stock.
Microsoft also said it is working on a plan to enable employees to realize some value on the portion of their stock options that are currently "underwater," by selling their options to a third-party financial institution. If approved, the company expects to implement this plan by the end of 2003.
As part of the changes, the company announced that a significant portion of stock-based compensation for more than 600 of Microsoft's senior leaders will depend on growth in the number and satisfaction of Microsoft customers.
"Our compensation philosophy is simple," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "We want to be a magnet for the best people by paying smarter. We want to attract and retain employees by offering real ownership and great long-term financial incentives. And we want to ensure that our senior employees' total compensation is even more closely linked to growth in the number and satisfaction of our customers."
S P O N S O R
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Microsoft Security
Buffer Overrun In HTML Converter Could Allow Code Execution
Microsoft issued a patch for all versions of Microsoft Windows because they contain a flaw that could allow an attacker to execute code on your computer, for example after you viewed a Web page.
Severity Rating: Critical
Affected Software Versions
- Microsoft Windows 98 & 98 Second Edition
- Microsoft Windows Me
- Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server & Terminal Server Edition
- Microsoft Windows 2000
- Microsoft Windows XP
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003
More...
Flaw in Windows Message Handling through Utility Manager Could Enable Privilege Elevation
Microsoft issued a patch for Microsoft Windows 2000, fixing a flaw that could allow an attacker get elevated privileges, provided the attacker has the ability to interactively log on to the system.
Severity Rating: Important
Affected Software Versions
More...
Buffer Overrun in Windows Could Lead to Data Corruption
Microsoft issued a patch for Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 2000 (all versions) and Windows XP Professional, fixing a flaw that could allow an attacker to corrupt data on a system, cause a system failure, or—in the worst case—it could allow an attacker to run the code of their choice.
Severity Rating: Important
Affected Software Versions
- Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server & Terminal Server Edition
- Microsoft Windows 2000 (All versions)
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional
More...
Windows XP Update
Update For Windows Error Reporting
This update will enable you to automatically view responses to Windows error reports. After submitting an error report, if information relating to the crash event is available such as a fix, workaround, or other information, then the response may be viewed immediately and automatically. For more information about this issue, read Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 821558.
Download Patch:
Recent Support BBS Postings
Task Manager went KABLOOEY!!! - Windows XP
Send messages to computer on the network - Networking
Denial of Service in Opera - Security / Virus / Spyware
XP not running Logon scripts in NT domain - Networking
O.E.6 Removes Attachments! - Internet Explorer / Outlook Express
Web Site Updates
These pages were added/updated in the past week. Information on previously updated/added pages is available on the What's New? page for 1 month.
InfiniSource.com
Added: Browsing Smarter - Part II
Windows-Help.NET
Added: Microsoft Security: Buffer Overrun In HTML Converter Could Allow Code Execution
Windows 2000
Added: Microsoft Security: Flaw in Windows Message Handling through Utility Manager Could Enable Privilege Elevation
Added: Microsoft Security: Buffer Overrun in Windows Could Lead to Data Corruption
Windows XP
Added: Update For Windows XP Error Reporting
Added: Microsoft Security: Buffer Overrun in Windows Could Lead to Data Corruption
Added: Internet Explorer Cannot Connect to Secure Web Sites
Added: All Programs Menu Extends Off the Screen
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12 July 2003, Vol 6 No. 25
