Microsoft has done it again. The new launch of the Hotmail Anti-Spam Safety bar marks a new low in forcing Microsoft technology on the internet community. The new bar incorporates a header field known as Sender ID. The idea is that a server generates a finger print and sends it along with an email. This verifies the sending email server with the recieving email server to make sure that it is valid.

      The problem is that this technology was created by Microsoft, and is by no means embraced by the web community. Everett-Church told News.com that "Microsoft has been trying to shove Sender ID down the throats of the Internet community for several years now, to little effect. Sender ID isn't widely deployed, meaning that average users are now at risk for having their legitimate e-mail tagged as spam when they send messages to Hotmail users." I wonder how many of my emails to friends with Hotmail Accounts will get lost now because I often use some fashion of a PHP Mailer to send them. I'm not about to include an unsanctioned header in my emails without a damn good reason, and no, Microsoft telling me I should is not a damn good reason.