3 ms·

> You can't market your way into billions of sales over such a long period while a superior product exists at a lower price sold literally right next to it. Mi

> You can't market your way into billions of sales over such a long period while a superior product exists at a lower price sold literally right next to it. Microsoft's "Internet Explorer" would like a word with you...

mleo 2y ago
Consumers and companies will give up a lot for “free”. Look at social media and advertising. When one has to pay there is more scrutiny on a purchase.
Spivak 2y ago
That's actually a great example of my point. For a long time IE was the best game in town, that's where all those pixeley "Works Best in Internet Explorer" banners came from. They got a boost from being the default but the bigger boost was because it was free. You had to pay for Netscape and later on Firefox/Opera were about the same. It wasn't until a truly better browser showed up, Chrome, that IE was unseated and that information spread like wildfire. It had a long tail of death from the perspective of web devs but they stopped being the market leader right quick.
- cassianoleal 2y ago
  > You had to pay for Netscape >> The "N" evaluation versions were identical to the commercial versions; the letter was intended as a reminder to people to pay for the browser once they felt they had tried it long enough and were satisfied with it. >> This distinction was formally dropped within a year of the initial release, and the full version of the browser continued to be made available for free online, with boxed versions available on floppy disks (and later CDs) in stores along with a period of phone support. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator#Origin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator#Origin You _could_ pay for Netscape for a brief period of less than a year after initial release. You never _had_ to, and I was a user from some time in 1995, all the way through the Mozilla Application Suite, then later Phoenix / Firefox. I never paid a penny for the privilege.
layer8 2y ago
Internet Explorer was my preferred browser as an end user for more than a decade, for its native UI and text rendering. It was mostly only a pain for web developers.
- Spivak 2y ago
  Which lines up exactly to the current state of iOS so it's no wonder HN's opinion is what it is. If you don't use iOS but have to develop for it it's completely understandable that you end up resenting it.

mleo 2y ago

Consumers and companies will give up a lot for “free”. Look at social media and advertising. When one has to pay there is more scrutiny on a purchase.

Spivak 2y ago

That's actually a great example of my point. For a long time IE was the best game in town, that's where all those pixeley "Works Best in Internet Explorer" banners came from. They got a boost from being the default but the bigger boost was because it was free. You had to pay for Netscape and later on Firefox/Opera were about the same. It wasn't until a truly better browser showed up, Chrome, that IE was unseated and that information spread like wildfire. It had a long tail of death from the perspective of web devs but they stopped being the market leader right quick.

cassianoleal 2y ago
> You had to pay for Netscape >> The "N" evaluation versions were identical to the commercial versions; the letter was intended as a reminder to people to pay for the browser once they felt they had tried it long enough and were satisfied with it. >> This distinction was formally dropped within a year of the initial release, and the full version of the browser continued to be made available for free online, with boxed versions available on floppy disks (and later CDs) in stores along with a period of phone support. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator#Origin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator#Origin You _could_ pay for Netscape for a brief period of less than a year after initial release. You never _had_ to, and I was a user from some time in 1995, all the way through the Mozilla Application Suite, then later Phoenix / Firefox. I never paid a penny for the privilege.

layer8 2y ago

Internet Explorer was my preferred browser as an end user for more than a decade, for its native UI and text rendering. It was mostly only a pain for web developers.

Spivak 2y ago
Which lines up exactly to the current state of iOS so it's no wonder HN's opinion is what it is. If you don't use iOS but have to develop for it it's completely understandable that you end up resenting it.