Is the software giant really going to try to break Apple's lock on the handheld-media-player market? Google "Origami" and "Microsoft" if you want to get a sense of the rumors floating around the Web. I'll toss out another question: Is there any market Microsoft doesn't try to dominate? Sometimes it works (Xbox) and sometimes, it just doesn't (PC gaming peripherals).

Mary Jo Foley of Microsoft Watch points to a site with a teaser video; you don't get a lot of information on Origami, but it's somehow intriguing. Which is the plan, naturally. More info is promised on March 2. Mary Jo is skeptical about MS's ability to take on Apple in the design arena; I'd echo that concern, looking at these pictures I scooped off the Web. I can't verify that these are actually the device; if so, there's aesthetic work to be done.

Still, the thought that Origami might be more than a media player, but a powerful new convergence gadget, is alluring. Mary Jo goes so far as to speculate that "Microsoft will convince its chums in the market-research business to create a whole new category of all-in-one mobile communicators (better than Sidekicks; more comprehensive than Treos; able to leap even BlackBerries in a single bound!) which Microsoft's units will dominate from the outset." If so, I'm going to be forced to start saving my pennies.