Best of the blogs: Team Redmond’s execs are beginning to understand the difference between a development and distribution methodology, namely open source, and a competitive technology, e.g. Linux. They’re also practicing a bit of humility, which may be one of the reasons some folks are saying that the Microsoft vs. Linux fire has calmed a bit. Apps: Oliver Rist reports on some rumors circulating that Microsoft might take the wraps off a new application, likely dubbed Business Scorecard Manager, come November. “Redmond has so many ways of doing ERP it isn’t even funny, and they’re still inventing new ones,” Rist writes in SMB IT. SOA: One way to get VC these days is to embrace the new service-oriented world, notes Dave Linthicum, who adds that he is back working with VC’s again and things have changed for the better. The smart money is flowing to a few areas, all of which are SOA-related, he states. Quoteworthy: I noticed there is a EULA associated with the containers of carbon dioxide. This licensing of everything has gone too far — when will it stop? — A reader quoted by Ed Foster in The Gripe Line. Columnists’ Corner: The secret to app dev projects: Make the end-users, not the high-level IT folks, happy. At least that’s what our anonymous IT Off the Record insider reveals. And avoid managerial turf wars while you’re at it. Software Development