Microsoft Hatred FAQ

[axel at white-eagle.invalid.uk]

In comp.lang.perl.misc Matt Garrish <matthew.garrish at sympatico.ca> wrote:

>> Part of their behavior really escape me.  The whole thing about browser
>> wars confuses me.  Web browsers represent a zero billion dollar a year
>> market.  Why would you risk anything to own it?
 
> It may not be worth loads of money in-and-of itself now (don't forget 
> Netscape wasn't always free, though), but if you control how people view the 
> Internet you can make a lot of money in other ways, especially if you build 
> your browser into your operating system and warp standards so that people 
> who design sites take advantage of the proprietary features. Eventually the 
> hope is that your OS and browser will become the only means of accessing the 
> internet. And if your OS and browser are the only way to access the 
> Internet, who in their right mind would use another system?

There was a time in the early-mid 1990s that Microsoft was making noises
about setting up a 'commercial Internet' through which they hoped
to control all online trading (with a percentage of each transaction
going to themselves of course). I forget the exact details but it
seemed a very real suggestion at the time.

Axel