Time for Microserfs to be heroes

Microsoft's decision to back a comic, Heroes Happen Here, about everyday superheroes in the IT professional community, could be seen as shining a welcome light on the thankless toil of IT departments everywhere. The unsung supermen and superwomen, holding the weight of their company's future on their mighty shoulders, deserve no less.

Unfortunately, more cynical minds may also see HHH as a rather blunt attempt by Microsoft to push Windows Server 2008 and encourage adoption of its Silverlight web graphics platform. To view the cartoon strip in full means downloading the software Microsoft is positioning as a rival to Flash.

Any new web endeavour these days must also pass the Web 2.0 test and it seems HHH is no different, with readers asked to interact by submitting their real-life IT stories.

What would happen if Microsoft's own employees chose to share some of their "real-life" tribulations? The results would certainly make interesting reading — but, in case that never happens, we decided to draw our own conclusions...