Plans to combat spam are in trouble because Microsoft wants too much power, argues technology analyst Bill Thompson. .......................................... snip .......................................... The idea of authenticating e-mail senders has been under discussion for several years, but it has only recently got close to becoming a standard. The current version combines two approaches to the problem, one called Sender Policy Framework and the other called Caller ID for E-mail. The fuss is about Caller ID, which was contributed to the standard by Microsoft. The company has said that anyone who wants to use Sender ID must take out a licence to use it, because it incorporates Microsoft's intellectual property. Full story over at The BBC