Microsoft Plays Catch-up ... Again November 25, 1995 Microsoft, the computer industry's contraversial 500 lb. gorilla, is trying to bring its might to bear on the Internet. Between the Microsoft Network, integrating TCP/IP into their recent Windows 95 release, and bundling other Internet tools with their "Plus Pack", they have shown a strong desire to grab a piece of the growing Internet pie.The guys in Redmond haven't had to deal with being something other than having the lion's share of the market in quite awhile, so now that they're trying to stake their claim on the 'net, they are forced to relearn their old come-from-behind tricks. Unfortunately for Microsoft, to be top dog on the Internet, you have to demonstrate innovation or leading edge technology. With a history of allowing others to sow the seeds of early market innovation and then showing up for the harvest, this could be tough for Microsoft. One thing Microsoft has shown a particular talent for, however, is the ability to perform Orwellian rewrites of history to placate the masses and secure their position at the top. One example of this sort of mindless rhetoric is the letter sent to C|Net's Christopher Barr by John Ludwig, a VP at Microsoft. In case you don't have time to actually read the letter, which is as entertaining as it is scary, I'm going to toss in a few of the jucier tidbits here.
"You assert that Microsoft is a follower in the Internet space. The explosion of Internet applications over the last year is entirely due to Microsoft's leadership, however. The establishment of a common API for accessing the Internet, Windows Sockets, is directly responsible for the current explosion of apps. This API created the platform for ISVs to target; it is why we have hundreds of Windows Internet apps today. Microsoft, Intel, and the various TCP/IP vendors led this effort long ago, before Netscape even existed or was a gleam in anyone's eye." This passage smacks of the arrogance that Microsoft constantly displays. The use of the word "entirely" is quite humorous in itself. Mr. Ludwig would like you to forget that Microsoft never released a TCP/IP stack for Windows 3.1. Oddly enough, there were plenty of Internet applications available for Windows 3.1, they just had to rely on the leadership of companies like NetManage, Trumpet, and FTP to provide them with a networking protocol that they could use. Granted, Microsoft provided freely available 32-bit TCP/IP stacks for Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and made it easy for even the untutored to connect to the Internet with Windows 95. Do you suppose they were market leaders here? Only if you ignore the fact that MacTCP has been available for years, and for as long as most Internet users can remember, TCP/IP has been at the foundation of Unix. Furthermore, this so-called explosion of apps isn't really that exciting or fresh at all. Most Internet apps are just different ways to do the same few things, read and send e-mail, browse the Web, and use ftp or telnet. I don't hesitate to state that their were applications that did all of these things available on other platforms before they appeared for Windows. Now, where's the Internet leadership that Mr. Ludwig was talking about. Sounds like another vacuous argument to me.
"Is Netscape the great cross-platform solution? Certainly Netscape has a stronger offering today than Microsoft, but I notice that the Windows version of Netscape is starting to outpace the versions on other platforms. And I notice that Netscape features like PlugIns are Windows-only features. It seems like the definition of cross-platform is pretty vague." It's here that Mr. Ludwig really starts showing his sour grapes attitude toward the true market leaders, Netscape. Not only does he make a bold attempt to discredit Netscape's multiplatform efforts, but he plugs his own products at the same time. How crafty.
Unfortunately, the facts don't support Microsoft in this case either. Netscape has done an excellent job in maintaining a common interface across all platforms, and their ability to make webpages appear identically no matter what computer you're using is impressive. Microsoft certainly hasn't even tried, and a page displayed on Mosaic for the Mac has a good chance of looking nothing like a page displayed on Mosaic for Solaris. I think that the definition of cross-platform is very clear. You can download Netscape (or Mosaic) for nearly any desktop machine currently available. In Netscape's case, the interface is identical and on every platform the Navigator is extremely robust and full-featured. To me, companies like Netscape provide the clear definition of cross-platform in a manner that's easy for anyone to understand. Best of all, Mr. Ludwig tells us a patent lie when he states that PlugIns are Windows only features. Look here for proof that he's lying. That's right, the Mac Plug-in SDK is available from Netscape right now. It is truly unfortunate that Microsoft, probably the most powerful corporation in the computer industry, has to resort to these sorts of tactics to push their agenda forward. Rather than making bold moves and providing the computer industry with the "next big thing", they opt to follow in the footsteps of braver corporations and eventually overtake them. It's just sad that we, as consumers, have allowed them to ply their wares in this manner for so long. Every Microsoft customer should thank their lucky stars for companies like Apple, WordPerfect, Lotus and Netscape. Without them, you'd still be using DOS, dealing with the 640k barrier, and wishing you had decent applications. Do yourself a favor and download Netscape. Then pay them for it.
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