After quitting Microsoft 20 years ago, Paul Allen is selling his first broad consumer software since he left the outfit.

Apparently he has set up an outfit which peddles a program that lets users keep better track of e-mails in Microsoft's Outlook. Xiant was born because Allen was frustrated at having to sort e-mails and it will release the software and perhaps other programs originally built for Allen.

Allen, 56, has had a mixed record as an investor in media and technology companies since he left Microsoft in 1983. Ironically he has been sitting on lots of things that he got his engineers to develop for him. One thing he might have kicked himself over was that his engineers developed touch screens that let Allen view his music and videos from various rooms in his house, his yacht and on a computer while travelling.

Slingbox is similar to another thing that Allen had sitting around. Xiant's Filer program will suggest the best choices for folders to place an e-mail message when the user right-clicks on the message. Allen likes filing things. He is the son of a librarian which might explain it.