“Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is pledging to continue improvements to security in his company’s products, part of a high-stakes campaign to convince large customers that Windows software is safe. ‘New security risks have emerged on a scale that few in our industry fully anticipated,’ Gates wrote in a 1,500-word e-mail distributed late Thursday to about 1 million people. He cited figures showing corporate losses to hackers and other types of electronic attacks exceeded $455 million in 2001. Gates acknowledged that the technology industry must make significant improvements, adding that, ‘Microsoft has a responsibility to help its customers address these concerns, so they no longer have to choose between security and usability,'” reports Ted Bridis for Associated Press. If your mouse hand isn’t shaking too hard from rolling on the floor laughing your arse off, click here to read the whole article.