Behind the Scenes at Microsoft, A9, and Amazon

Microsoft’s IE blog is reporting on the behind the scenes efforts which lead up to the recent announcement that IE7 will support A9.com’s OpenSearch interface. You can read even more about this on the A9 blog.

While this is not directly related to AWS, it is a perfect example of how open standards (e.g. XML and HTTP), common formats (e.g. RSS), generous licensing, and direct person to person collaboration can take an idea from concept to production in a matter of weeks.

Through an odd twist of fate, the two Amazonians involved (Dewitt Clinton and Jeff Barr) were once colleagues on the same team at Microsoft. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.