Until reading this ZDNet article interviewing Don Box, it had not occurred to me that HTTP isn't everything we could want it to be. No sarcasm. People are jumping all over this story, but sheez, he makes some good points. 
On the other hand, the fear such a bold idea evokes is quite reasonable too. Any change in the way the Web behaves, authored by Microsoft, the owner of the dominant browser, could remove any possibility of competition with them in this vital space. [Scripting News]