Warning: "Analysts" Don't Get It
Poster: Aron Schatz
Posted on August 24, 2006 at 1:23:34 PM
I really can't stand reading articles about people defending Microsoft as a monolopy without understanding the facts. This article in News.com is one of them. Let me quote one thing...
The question is why would consumers want IE unbundled from the CORE Windows operating system. Well, given the fact that there are MANY critical flaws in IE every month and also the fact that IE is tied into the CORE OF WINDOWS, you would think it would be a HUGE security risk by placing the browser in the OS like that. That is number one. Number two, Microsoft IE cannot be uninstalled no matter how hard you try... Vendor Lock-in? You need IE to run Windows Update. even if you install Firefox and set it to the default, IE still pops up with mundane crap.
Let's compare this with Apple's OS. Apple is also closed source so they should act like Microsoft, right? Wrong! Apple bundles software with their Mac OS, but that software can be easily uninstalled... just put it in the trash and empy it. All done. Seriously, take Safari and throw it in the trash... No more Safari. Now do you get it?
Quote
What's really new here? Not much. Microsoft has been accused--not just in Europe--of bludgeoning its way to the top of the software universe by using proprietary code and savvy marketing tie-ins to head off not just other operating systems but also add-on software products that could compete with Microsoft's own versions. Its allegedly anticompetitive bundling of Internet Explorer into Windows, for example, was a major focus of the EC's antitrust complaint and, indeed, Microsoft dutifully complied with Europe's unbundling order. The result is the marketing of a Euro-special version of Windows, sans browser, that no one in the world actually wants to purchase. Why should they? While it certainly helps Microsoft to have IE as a built-in default browser pre-installed on personal computers--on the theory that lazy users won't look any further for their browser needs--nothing stops those users from installing another browser if they wish. The inclusion of Internet Explorer is a cost benefit for consumers.
The question is why would consumers want IE unbundled from the CORE Windows operating system. Well, given the fact that there are MANY critical flaws in IE every month and also the fact that IE is tied into the CORE OF WINDOWS, you would think it would be a HUGE security risk by placing the browser in the OS like that. That is number one. Number two, Microsoft IE cannot be uninstalled no matter how hard you try... Vendor Lock-in? You need IE to run Windows Update. even if you install Firefox and set it to the default, IE still pops up with mundane crap.
Let's compare this with Apple's OS. Apple is also closed source so they should act like Microsoft, right? Wrong! Apple bundles software with their Mac OS, but that software can be easily uninstalled... just put it in the trash and empy it. All done. Seriously, take Safari and throw it in the trash... No more Safari. Now do you get it?