The news beat: After remaining relatively quiet on the enterprise service bus front, Microsoft pitched an alternative to the ESB consisting of multiple products the company claims form a “significant superset of ESB functionality.” Microsoft was also busy building better content security into its forthcoming Vista OS. M&A: Sun closed its StorageTek acquisition with hopes of bolstering its storage and data management portfolio, while Microsoft said its purchase of FrontBridge is now official, and it intends to begin integrating the newly-acquired managed services for e-mail security, compliance and availability into Exchange. Columnists’ Corner: Oliver Rist details how Microsoft is using Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) to give its enterprise apps a facelift. The move would open doors for ISVs to build on the same platform, but Rist also raises the question of whether Microsoft can pull it off? Best of the blogs: In The Storage Network, Mario Apicella looks at a “micro-SAN” from startup Zetera, while Jack McCarthy reports on how Apple is acting as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator in Tech Watch. Technology Industry