Microsoft labs try to balance security, innovation

InfoWorld | at | by Mike

Projects with code-names such as "Sapphire" and "Sideshow" may not conjure up visions of futuristic technology, but they promise to deliver advancements in how computers process and secure information, the head of Microsoft's research division said during a visit to San Francisco last week. Armed with a long history in software development, engineers at Microsoft Research are working to invent new ways to secure PCs and digital content and create new applications that make computers easier to interact with, its senior vice president of research, Rick Rashid, said in an interview.

With a budget that the company estimates will top $5.2 billion during the 2003 fiscal year, Microsoft Research also is taking a look at devising new concepts for the user interface and file systems, which Rashid said probably will revolve around what he called "human context."
"Today it's all designed around what computers can do, not around people," he said. "We're looking at creating contextual user interfaces that really understand what a person is working on in the context of what they're doing."