Re: DOJ asked to stop MS monopolization of browser market

Timothy Arnold-Moore <tja[_at_]mds.rmit.edu.au> wrote:
>
> While I agree with the desirability of supporting competitor browsers,
> and the unwelcome consequences of handing control of standards to MS
> (who have demonstrated an inability to design good standards or even to
> conform to those designed by others), I'm not sure that preventing a
> browser from being integrated into the operating system is either
> realistic or desirable.

I think that Microsoft's demonstrated inabilities may have an undesireable impact on the results you discuss in the following paragraph:

> Integrating a browser into the OS is a really good idea, not just for MS
> to extend their monopolies but because it empowers the OS to interact
> with information and networks in a seamless fashion. The stand-alone
> browser is already a relic. Even Netscape are integrating editing,
> email, news services and a host of other related functionalities into
> their `browser'. Netscape doesn't produce a stand-alone browser anymore
> so why should we try and force MS to? The merging of OS and middleware
> has been predicted for many years and is finally being realised.

I have not used the new Windows 98 nor have I used Internet Explorer 4. I have read reviews of beta testers, always with the caveat that it is a beta version being tested. I also read the postings to a Windows setup newsgroup on Usenet. The complaints are legion, beginning with those who just plain don't like the IE interface to their computer to bugs in the software -- it is a beta, after all.

But the more serious problem is Microsoft's inability to get bug-free applications out the door to the consumer. I have serious reservations about making my desktop a part of the Internet. The current issue of Byte magazine has two articles about the serious security issues with Windows NT and Windows 95. Lawyers using MSIE as their interface to the desktop and the net should be assured, and their clients should be assured, that the data on their computers is secure. My limited understanding of the situation with the various Windows OSes is that using MSIE as an interface for both the computer and the net raises serious concerns about the security of the data stored in our computers.

A side question: If MSIE is an integral part of Windows 98 OS, what is MSIE that runs on the Mac with shared code?

Phil Stripling
philip[_at_]civex.com Received on Thu Oct 30 1997 - 17:07:25 GMT