2 ms·

If the government had not stepped in Microsoft would have owned the entire internet. They could have killed Firefox and Chrome by not allowing them to be instal

by guelo 10y ago

If the government had not stepped in Microsoft would have owned the entire internet. They could have killed Firefox and Chrome by not allowing them to be installed. They were already building proprietary features into IE that only their products could use. The open web would be dead and become a proprietary web owned by Microsoft.

scholia 10y ago
That was never going to happen. The value proposition for DOS and Windows was that they were open to running anything and everything. Microsoft was the ocean, not the shark. As for adding features to browsers, they all did that. Netscape tried to build its business on "looks better in Netscape", and Microsoft simply implemented support for Netscape features (much like it had implemented support for 1-2-3 and WordPerfect features in Office). There was never any prospect of "a proprietary web owned by Microsoft". In the mid-90s, Microsoft did have plans for a web-like network as a sort of distributed OLE (Blackbird), but quickly went "all in" on the web. The closest was the use of ActiveX controls on the web, but other browser makers could have supported ActiveX if they had wanted to. (Firefox decided against.) Otherwise, neither Firefox nor Chrome existed when the anti-trust case ended, and there has never been any prospect of Microsoft killing either. It was Netscape that featured in the anti-trust case, and Microsoft won the browser case 2-1 on appeal.
- guelo 10y ago
  You're judging Microsoft's actions as if they kept their systems open out of the goodness of their hearts or something. The only reason Microsoft didn't get more aggressive with their lock-in attempts was because of antitrust fears. Apple blocks apps on iOS at their whim, no reason MS would not have done the same with their monopoly to devastating consequences.
  - scholia 10y ago
    Not at all. I'm just stating the facts. You're indulging in speculation.

by guelo 10y ago

scholia 10y ago

That was never going to happen. The value proposition for DOS and Windows was that they were open to running anything and everything. Microsoft was the ocean, not the shark. As for adding features to browsers, they all did that. Netscape tried to build its business on "looks better in Netscape", and Microsoft simply implemented support for Netscape features (much like it had implemented support for 1-2-3 and WordPerfect features in Office). There was never any prospect of "a proprietary web owned by Microsoft". In the mid-90s, Microsoft did have plans for a web-like network as a sort of distributed OLE (Blackbird), but quickly went "all in" on the web. The closest was the use of ActiveX controls on the web, but other browser makers could have supported ActiveX if they had wanted to. (Firefox decided against.) Otherwise, neither Firefox nor Chrome existed when the anti-trust case ended, and there has never been any prospect of Microsoft killing either. It was Netscape that featured in the anti-trust case, and Microsoft won the browser case 2-1 on appeal.

guelo 10y ago
You're judging Microsoft's actions as if they kept their systems open out of the goodness of their hearts or something. The only reason Microsoft didn't get more aggressive with their lock-in attempts was because of antitrust fears. Apple blocks apps on iOS at their whim, no reason MS would not have done the same with their monopoly to devastating consequences.
- scholia 10y ago
  Not at all. I'm just stating the facts. You're indulging in speculation.