I hope this isn't a stoopid question...

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

OK, I saw this video on Google Video where Bill Gates was in court being asked about a memo where someone suggested integrating IE into Windows to wipe out Netscape. This, combined with the fact that Vista is being released in Europe without Media Player and the current browser wars got me thinking...

What difference does it make to Uncle Bill if I use IE or FF? I still have to buy a copy of Windows. I hope someone can explain it to me.

Thanks.

 

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

If everyone used IE they (MS) could begin to implement proprietry code which means that software developers would have to pay MS inorder to develop applications for the platform, rather than basing their apps on Open Standards.

At least thats my take on it, hope it makes sense!

 

Think its a power thing really.

Its like buying a vauxhall and sticking a ferrari badge on it.

The less people use other brands, the more they become
dependant on one, that was his origional plan, world domination.

Plus he needs the money for his mortgage, have you seen the size of his house?????

Oh, I forgot, he's probably never heard of a mortgage.

 

Interesting idea Simon, but that wouldn't be the case with IE because the standards the web is based on are already open source (HTML etc) I think.

 

Never mind anything else, someone who does that shouldn't even have the privelige of being shot!

 

Hi Baba.... You Have heard the term Chav? Have you not lol
(mind you , can think of quite a few chavs i'd give the privelige to shoot!)

 

It doesn't make any difference to Uncle Bill at all because you have bought and paid for IE. He has your money, as usual

It made a huge difference to Netscape though. They used to sell their browser and many people (me included) preferred it to the Microsoft offering. However when Micro$oft bundled IE into the OS people stopped buying Netscape.

As I remember Netscape Communicator was about 12 quid, and it included a browser (Navigator), an email client and Composer, a fairly good web page building tool, in its day.

 

A-ha, I didn't know that. Things are a bit clearer now!

 

Another thing to remember that for every client application for web browsing, e-mail, and web page creation and editing, there's a corresponding back end server application. Some relationships that I know are:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer - Microsoft Internet Information Service
• Microsoft Outlook - Microsoft Exchange Server
• Microsoft Frontpage - Microsoft Internet Information Service
• Netscape Browser - Netscape Enterprise Server
• Lotus Notes - Lotus Domino Server

That translates to another revenue stream.

 

Yes, good point, it has a knock on effect

 

It's all making a lot more sense to me now guys. Thanks.

 

I really don't understand the whole business.
Why would I want to buy a product with something taken out?
I'm all for competition, if I think that FF is better than IE then OK, I'll use FF.
If I buy a car and don't like the Ford windscreen wipers I'll change them. It would never occur to me to go and buy a version of the car with no windscreen wipers on it. How come windscreen wiper manufacturers haven't caught on to this?
I mean, where else in the world does this happen? Where do you draw the line? Shoes available without laces?