The USA Today story on SimDesk vs. Microsoft Office that’s probably getting linked to everywhere is certainly worth reading. After Microsoft tried to strong arm the city of Houston into signing up for a subscription to Office, they went elsewhere and wound up signing on with a Web-based provider of productivity apps called SimDesk. Reading the article, the big question I have about SimDesk is how they handle security. It seems like all of the documents are stored on a central repository, and that seems like a recipe for trouble to me. It’s probably not a big deal given the security habits of most organizations, but I think it would be a barrier to adoption for many organizations. The other question is the degree to which Microsoft bullies people about piracy to close sales. From the article it seems like this is a common tactic, and that they make accusations without much evidence to back them up. Does Microsoft get information on licenses used versus licenses purchased, or do they just open every transaction under the assumption that the customer is cheating them?