Man, peer pressure's a pain, ain't it? We're sure it can't be easy being the Mac Business Unit at Microsoft, what with the rest of the company always pressuring it to try scary and potentially dangerous new things. You know that Windows crowd, always letting viruses in through gaping security holes because "all the cool kids are doing it"; well, this time they're trying to get the MacBU to commit to the company's next octopus arm in the Great Cephalopod of World Domination: .NET. So far the Mac-centric unit's response to embracing that architecture has pretty much been, well, ".NOT"-- an admirable position which would do any mother proud. But how firm is its resolve?

Faithful viewer Matt tells us of a Think Secret article which indicates that "the MacBU is not all that thrilled with the Mac doing .NET," but due to pressure from the bigger kids, so far the unit has tentatively committed to a compromise: two upcoming versions of Office for the Mac, with one hooked into .NET services, and one standing alone just like today's. But the "rest of Microsoft is pressuring the unit into a widespread adoption of .NET," even as the MacBU would apparently be happiest leaving it entirely alone. "Microsoft doesn't know where to go," claims "a source." Will they or won't they? Yeesh, it's like an ABC After School Special about the dangers of PCP, or maybe an episode of Degrassi Junior High. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

By the way, if you've been hearing about .NET for years now and you're still wondering just what in blue blazes it is in the first place, don't feel bad; you're not alone. According to Microsoft, it's a platform to "allow applications to communicate and share data over the Internet," which leads to "seamless, compelling experiences." A seamless and compelling experience from Microsoft? Whoa, someone is on PCP. Stick to your instincts, MacBU, because if exposure to .NET leads to blithely tossing around phrases like "seamless, compelling experiences," it's clearly something you want to think twice about putting in your system. (We don't even want to get into this business of "laying fat pipes"-- parents, lock up your kids after dark!)