[plug] More Microsoft Trial stuffups...

[Tamara Thompson]

Um, you guys probably know how I feel about Netscape--and freedom of choice where software is concerned. 
But I for one do believe the future of applications will depend heavily on browser integration.  For one thing, it frees the app from being machine specific, for another, it presents a uniform interface to the user.
I'm interested in the issue of whether MS has made their OS incompatible with other browsers?  Why can't the user simply ignore the bundled browser and replace it with one of choice?  I suspect that is not so easy?  

Just my humble opinion,
Tamara

>>> Greg Mildenhall <greg at networx.net.au> 02/10 8:49 AM >>>
On Wed, 10 Feb 1999, Bevan Broun wrote:
> on Wed, Feb 10, 1999 at 09:22:41PM +0800, Christian <christian at daisy.global.net.au> wrote:
> > Was the thing being demonstrated actually the computer dialing up and
> > connecting to the internet?
Absolutely nothing. There are no benefits whatsoever of browser-bundling
or browser-integration. Does anyone know of a single benefit to the
consumer in what Microsoft is doing, other than relieving them of the
terribly difficult and stressful choice of which browser to use?

<rant language=restrained>
Microsoft might call it "integration", but when you remove flexibility
from the system while simultaneously adding needless bulk and creating
complex interdependencies between kernel, libraries, user interface/shell
and a userspace app, for no apparent benefit, the rest of the software
industry and the computer science field just call it "Bad Software
Engineering Practice".
</rant>

What Microsoft wanted to show was that Win98 has better web-browsing 
performance than Win3.1.
The alert will notice that Win98 has a bundled browser, while Win3.1 does
not.
The pathologically stupid will actually believe that this is the cause of
the improvement.

-Greg