Rumored for some time, it appears Microsoft is well on it's way to delivering the next release of it's still predominant web browser, Internet Explorer.
Some new beta invites were received this past week, and this post Friday on MSDN makes it pretty clear, that Microsoft isn't sitting idly by as Firefox continues to gather market share.
We can say comfortably, at this stage, that Microsoft is literally firing on all cylinders (including the almost inevitable takeover of Yahoo), to position itself not only on the desktop, but on the Internet and as a total media player.
Time will tell whether or not (or which of) these initiatives are successful and/or cost effective.
The bottom line. Make no mistake. Redmond is going for Google, with everything they've got.
Update: A status report on the progress of IE8 with be given at MIX08
Staff edit 2 Feb 24