Tim Bray: Of course, if we need to do some extension work to fit this out for financial applications, that can be done, right? via [Sam Ruby]

RSS was, I think, the very first XML format I ever saw (I may be repressing VRML, but that's not surprising). And remember Active Desktop in Windows 98 (?). I guess if you're Microsoft, it isn't such a bitter pill to be ahead of the game, but wouldn't you hate to be a former PointCast employee? Here's a relevant link to Marc Canter's speech at Reboot, in which he says "Things need to be small and modular: programmers working nights, little companies. The VCs pushed us to head for IPO, so entire companies were based on one feature. " (link via Boing Boing)