Most people already do most of their stuff through a browser We merely settled on a standardized approach to networked GUIs. Instead of proliferation of 3rd pa

Most people already do most of their stuff through a browser We merely settled on a standardized approach to networked GUIs. Instead of proliferation of 3rd party networking apps like usenet/email clients, ftp clients, various VB/Oracle business forms apps, people simply use HTTP-based UI stack. Frankly, not that big of a deal. People _feel_ like that's a big deal because this opened networking to the masses, presented a lot of business opportunities, but fundamentally, this hasn't changed anything. The type of applications people are running hasn't changed. If your data needs to be shared with others, you need an application with a network access and it means a web site. If not - why does it need to be in a browser? Yes, people waste time online a lot, that only means they aren't really using their computers. It's like watching TV: most of them have CPUs and RAM and stuff,yet you aren't seeing "TV evangelists" screaming that new era of computing has arrived: with 50" screens and remotes instead of keyboards. That, however, is happening with the iPhone: look how excited everybody is about "desktop apps" you can run on it. Paul is right: new website founders have no reason to fear Microsoft because they aren't competing with them. But that's not new: it is exactly like starting a landscaping or dog walking business in the 90s: Microsoft couldn't care less. If anything, they have won. They have such a strong grip on Windows platform that it takes big balls to start a company in that space. My deepest respect to Xobni for taking on the challenge.