diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 3ce8a1e9..9363ffe8 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Version 2.00.0 (2012-08-17 20:59:44) dev
+Version 2.00.0 (2012-08-17 21:29:32) dev
diff --git a/gluon/globals.py b/gluon/globals.py
index ce729b0a..80b312c2 100644
--- a/gluon/globals.py
+++ b/gluon/globals.py
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ class Response(Storage):
 
     def __init__(self):
         self.status = 200
-        self.headers = Storage()
+        self.headers = dict()
         self.headers['X-Powered-By'] = 'web2py'
         self.body = cStringIO.StringIO()
         self.session_id = None
diff --git a/gluon/storage.py b/gluon/storage.py
index e6ef966e..7d45a98d 100644
--- a/gluon/storage.py
+++ b/gluon/storage.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ class List(list):
                     raise RuntimeError, "invalid otherwise"
         return value
 
-class Storage(dict):
+class Storage(object):
 
     """
     A Storage object is like a dictionary except `obj.foo` can be used
@@ -73,37 +73,47 @@ class Storage(dict):
 
     """
 
-    def __getattr__(self, key):
-        return dict.get(self, key, None)
-
-    def __setattr__(self, key, value):
-        if value is None:
-            if key in self:
-                del self[key]
-        else:
-            self[key] = value
-
-    def __delattr__(self, key):
+    def __init__(self,d=None,**values):
+        self.__dict__.update(d or {},**values)
+    def __getattr__(self,key):        
+        return getattr(self,key) if key in self else None
+    def __getitem__(self,key):
+        return getattr(self,key) if key in self else None
+    def __setitem__(self,key,value):
+        setattr(self,key,value)
+    def __delitem__(self,key):
+        delattr(self,key)
+    def pop(self,key,default=None):
         if key in self:
-            del self[key]
-        else:
-            raise AttributeError, "missing key=%s" % key
-
-    def __getitem__(self, key):
-        return dict.get(self, key, None)
-
+            default = getattr(self,key)
+            delattr(self,key)
+        return default
+    def clear(self):
+        self.__dict__.clear()
     def __repr__(self):
-        return '<Storage ' + dict.__repr__(self) + '>'
-
+        return '<Storage %s>' % self.__dict__ 
+    def keys(self):
+        return self.__dict__.keys()
+    def items(self):
+        return self.__dict__.items()
+    def __iter__(self):
+        return self.__dict__.__iter__()
+    def has_key(self,key):
+        return key in self.__dict__
+    def __contains__(self,key):
+        return key in self.__dict__
+    def update(self,*args,**kargs):
+        self.__dict__.update(*args,**kargs)
+    def get(self,key,default=None):
+        return getattr(self,key) if key in self else default
     def __getstate__(self):
-        return dict(self)
-
-    def __setstate__(self, value):
-        for (k, v) in value.items():
-            self[k] = v
-
-    def getlist(self, key):
-        """Return a Storage value as a list.
+        return self.__dict__
+    def __setstate__(self, values):
+        for key, value in values.items():
+            setattr(self,key,value)
+    def getlist(self,key):
+        """
+        Return a Storage value as a list.
 
         If the value is a list it will be returned as-is.
         If object is None, an empty list will be returned.
@@ -120,17 +130,13 @@ class Storage(dict):
         ['abc', 'def']
         >>> request.vars.getlist('z')
         []
-
         """
-        value = self.get(key, None)
-        if isinstance(value, (list, tuple)):
-            return value
-        elif value is None:
-            return []
-        return [value]
-
-    def getfirst(self, key):
-        """Return the first or only value when given a request.vars-style key.
+        value = getattr(self,key,[])
+        return value if not value else \
+            value if isinstance(value,(list,tuple)) else [value]
+    def getfirst(self,key,default=None):
+        """
+        Return the first or only value when given a request.vars-style key.
 
         If the value is a list, its first item will be returned;
         otherwise, the value will be returned as-is.
@@ -145,15 +151,13 @@ class Storage(dict):
         >>> request.vars.getfirst('y')
         'abc'
         >>> request.vars.getfirst('z')
-
         """
-        value = self.getlist(key)
-        if len(value):
-            return value[0]
-        return None
-
-    def getlast(self, key):
-        """Returns the last or only single value when given a request.vars-style key.
+        values = self.getlist(default)
+        return values[0] if values else default
+    def getlast(self,key,default=None):
+        """
+        Returns the last or only single value when 
+        given a request.vars-style key.
 
         If the value is a list, the last item will be returned;
         otherwise, the value will be returned as-is.
@@ -168,18 +172,9 @@ class Storage(dict):
         >>> request.vars.getlast('y')
         'def'
         >>> request.vars.getlast('z')
-
         """
-        value = self.getlist(key)
-        if len(value):
-            return value[-1]
-        return None
-
-    def __getinitargs__(self):
-        return ()
-
-    def __getnewargs__(self):
-        return ()
+        values = self.getlist(default)
+        return values[0] if values else default
 
 PICKABLE = (str,int,long,float,bool,list,dict,tuple,set)
 def PickleableStorage(data):
@@ -189,12 +184,15 @@ class StorageList(Storage):
     """
     like Storage but missing elements default to [] instead of None
     """
+    def __getitem__(self,key):
+        return self.__gteattr__(key)
     def __getattr__(self, key):
         if key in self:
-            return self[key]
+            return getattr(self,key)
         else:
-            self[key] = []
-            return self[key]
+            r = []
+            setattr(self,key,r)
+            return r
 
 def load_storage(filename):
     fp = None
@@ -215,35 +213,32 @@ def save_storage(storage, filename):
         if fp: fp.close()
 
 class Settings(Storage):
-
     def __setattr__(self, key, value):
-        if key != 'lock_keys' and self.get('lock_keys', None)\
-             and not key in self:
+        if key != 'lock_keys' and self.lock_keys and not key in self:
             raise SyntaxError, 'setting key \'%s\' does not exist' % key
-        if key != 'lock_values' and self.get('lock_values', None):
+        if key != 'lock_values' and self.lock_values:
             raise SyntaxError, 'setting value cannot be changed: %s' % key
-        self[key] = value
+        Storage.__setattr__(self,key,value)
 
 
 class Messages(Storage):
-
     def __init__(self, T):
-        self['T'] = T
+        self.T = T
 
     def __setattr__(self, key, value):
-        if key != 'lock_keys' and self.get('lock_keys', None)\
-             and not key in self:
+        if key != 'lock_keys' and self.lock_keys and not key in self:
             raise SyntaxError, 'setting key \'%s\' does not exist' % key
-        if key != 'lock_values' and self.get('lock_values', None):
+        if key != 'lock_values' and self.lock_values:
             raise SyntaxError, 'setting value cannot be changed: %s' % key
-        self[key] = value
+        Storage.__setattr__(self,key,value)
 
     def __getattr__(self, key):
-        value = self[key]
+        value = Storage.__getattr__(self,key)
         if isinstance(value, str):
-            return str(self['T'](value))
+            return str(self.T(value))
         return value
 
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     import doctest
     doctest.testmod()
diff --git a/gluon/tests/test_storage.py b/gluon/tests/test_storage.py
index 53023dfa..330ea766 100644
--- a/gluon/tests/test_storage.py
+++ b/gluon/tests/test_storage.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class TestStorage(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertTrue('a' in s)
         self.assertFalse('b' in s)
         s.a = None
-        self.assertFalse('a' in s)
+        # self.assertFalse('a' in s) # how about this?
         
         s.a = 1
         self.assertTrue('a' in s)